A horror stable with quite a pedigree – founded by the son of esteemed director/cinematographer Freddie Francis, with the old man himself behind the lens – what could go wrong? Well, loads. Young Kevin Francis only managed to squeeze three iffy shockers out before the bailiffs moved in. First up was Persecution, in which Ralph Bates drowned his mother Lana Turner’s cats. Legend of the Werewolf found Sir Fred directing, classic horror signifier Peter Cushing and comic horror signifier Roy Castle acting, and was lighter in tone and all the better for it. Better yet was Tales That Witness Madness (but cf. World Film Services). Cushing stayed on for lurid “something in the attic” gothic fog-in The Ghoul, but the money was swiftly running out. Then, in ’82, apropos nothing, the long-dormant Tyburn released G’Ole!, a peripatetic filmed account of the 1982 World Cup, narrated by Sean Connery.
