Review of The Anniversary (1968) by Orlok W — 28 Apr 2014

From Hammer, adapted from Bill MacIlwraith's 1966 play by Jimmy Sangster, and directed by Roy Ward Baker, (A Night to Remember (1958), Quatermass and the Pit (1967) and The Vampire Lovers (1970)), this pitch black comedy has a touch of Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? about it's bones, but with more belly laughs, dark ones at that, but it has a brilliant ensemble cast and some offbeat situations.

It begins when the children of Mrs. Taggart (Bette Davis) come round to her house for the annual anniversary, even though Mrs. Taggart's husband has been dead for 10 years. Her children are transvestite Henry (James Cossins), middle son Terry (Jack Hedley) and philandering younger son Tom (Christian Roberts).

Terry has some with his shrewish wife Karen (Sheila Hancock), who wants her and Terry to move to Canada, while Tom has arrived with his pregnant girlfriend Shirley Blair (Elaine Taylor). Mrs. Taggart is a wicked, cold-hearted bitch who has nothing nice to say about anyone, and throughout the day and evening, her vile words manage to tear her family apart.

It's a very well acted film, with Davis stealing the show as the wicked matriarch, and she's clearly having the time of her life in the role. It was a very different kind of film for Hammer to be tackling, but the result is one of their very best, and they should have tried out more like this, it could have kept them going a bit longer.