Whenever I think of Hammer Horror, I think of bright colourful camp films; but Hammer also made a handful of black and white mysteries, and many of these stand up as some of their best films. Hysteria, Nightmare and Paranoiac are all very good films; but Seth Holt's Taste of Fear tops the lot! This suspenseful mystery draws the viewer in from the start and doesn't let go until the credits role. The film introduces the wheelchair bound character Penny Appleby; an amiable young girl who strives for independence in spite of her disability. The story picks up upon her return home to the French Riviera for the first time in ten years at the request of her father. Her nightmare starts when she begins seeing the corpse of her father at random places around the house and grounds of the place where she's staying. The friendly chauffeur Bob decides to help the girl get to the bottom of the mystery, but everything is turned upside down when it becomes obvious that nobody in the film is what they appear.

Initially, the film plays out like it's going to be quite predictable; and indeed, my prediction for what is going to happen actually does happen...but director Seth Holt doesn't show his hand too early, and there is a major twist at the end that I certainly didn't see coming. Director Seth Holt does a really good job with this film, as he gets good performances out of all his cast, the twists are well worked; and best of all, the atmosphere is scintillating! Holt continually imposes an oppressive air of foreboding over the film, and the creepy house provides a fantastic location for a film like this to take place. The film features a relatively small role for Hammer regular, Christopher Lee, who gets to don a silly accent while remaining mysterious. Lead actress Susan Strasberg is the pick of the cast, however, as aside from being stunning; she's not a bad actress either. The film works principally because it keeps the focus on the mystery, and this means that it retains its thriller intentions throughout. Overall, this might be a lesser known Hammer film; but it's not lesser in quality, and I wouldn't hesitate to name this as one of the best films the studio ever produced.

Sweet, fragile, but resilient wheelchair-bound cripple Penny Appleby (a beautifully warm and touching performance by the lovely Susan Strasberg) goes to France to see her father at a remote seaside villa. Alas, her dad turns out to be away on an errand. Penny starts to see the corpse of her father all over the place. However, her kindly stepmother Jane (well played by Ann Todd) insists that he's still alive. Has Penny lost her mind? Or is someone trying to drive the poor girl mad? Ably directed by Seth Holt, with a clever and compelling script by Jimmy Sangster, a genuinely spooky atmosphere (the scenes with the father's dead body are pretty creepy),handsome black and white cinematography by Douglas Slocombe, sturdy acting from a super cast, a properly shivery score by Clifton Parker, a gradual, yet steady pace, and one doozy of an unexpected surprise plot twist towards the very end, this tidy and absorbing thriller keeps the viewer guessing right to the stirring and startling conclusion. Strasberg simply shines in a rare substantial starring role; she makes for a charming and sympathetic heroine, cuts loose with a few great full-throated screams, and, of course, looks absolutely gorgeous throughout. Moreover, there are fine supporting contributions by Ronald Lewis as affable chauffeur Bob and Christopher Lee as mysterious, concerned physician Dr. Pierre Gerrard. A solid and satisfying winner that's well worth seeing.

Back in the early '60s, everyone was talking PSYCHO. Hitchcock's masterpiece had revived the genre of the psychological thriller and the imitators were being rushed out to take advantage of all the goodwill. Britain's Hammer Films were no exception; in the '60s they released about half a dozen low budget, black and white, taut little thrillers that focused on small casts and psychological disturbance. TASTE OF FEAR is one of the first of these films and also one of the best.

Although it's a PSYCHO imitator, this film has more in line with the French movie LES DIABOLIQUES. The heroine is a crippled young beauty - played well by Susan Strasberg - who keeps seeing her father's corpse popping up in the most bizarre locations. Despite supernatural undertones there's a logical explanation - someone is trying to drive Strasberg mad. But who, and perhaps more importantly, why? The film answers these questions in an intriguing way and with plenty of twists. This is a film where people aren't who they seem to be, where red herrings abound, and where good people are bad and bad people just might be good. Jimmy Sangster's script is strong, well paced and expertly focused.

The small cast all put in grand performances. There are a couple of dodgy accents - Christopher Lee's French accent is weak - but these can be ignored as the subtle acting is well portrayed. Ronald Lewis excels as the helpful chauffeur and Ann Todd is also fine as the sinister stepmother. Christopher Lee is also on hand as a somewhat dubious character and he has a ball with it. Best of the lot is Susan Strasberg, daughter of Lee, who excels as the imperilled heroine battling her own self-hatred as she's surrounded by unfolding intrigue. TASTE OF FEAR is only a little film with four characters but it's a little film done well. If you like good mysteries and plenty of suspense then you could do a lot worse than this movie.