Never Take Sweets from a Stranger

"...and then he made us play that silly game..."

1960 1h 21m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 49

DramaMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Peter Carter, his wife Sally and their young daughter Jean move to a sleepy Canadian village, where Peter has been hired as a school principal. Their idyll is shattered when Jean becomes the victim of an elderly, and extremely powerful, paedophile. The film was neither a box office nor a critical success, it garnered criticism for breaking a significant public taboo.

“...and then he made us play that silly game...”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

FlixFlingSubscription

FlixFlingRent

FlixFlingBuy

Cast

Patrick Allen
Peter Carter
Gwen Watford
Sally Carter
Janina Faye
Jean Carter
Felix Aylmer
Clarence Olderberry Sr.
Niall MacGinnis
Defense Counsel
Michael Gwynn
Prosecutor
Alison Leggatt
Martha
Bill Nagy
Clarence Olderberry Jr.

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Cyril Frankel
Writers: John Hunter
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

81 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

66 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Cyril Frankel, shot by Freddie Francis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Elisabeth Lutyens. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alfred Cox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Patrick Allen and Gwen Watford and Janina Faye carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "...and then he made us play that silly game...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0054116 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Cyril Frankel directs. Freddie Francis behind the camera. Elisabeth Lutyens scores. Alfred Cox cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

181 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
266 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Cyril Frankel, shot by Freddie Francis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Elisabeth Lutyens. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Alfred Cox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Patrick Allen and Gwen Watford and Janina Faye carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "...and then he made us play that silly game...".
8IMDB entry: tt0054116 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 49 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "canada", "chase", "candy", "patriarch".

The technical file

Cinematography: Freddie Francis
Original score: Elisabeth Lutyens
Editing: Alfred Cox
Production design: Bernard Robinson
Makeup / hair: Roy Ashton
Runtime: 81 min · 1h 21m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960)

Also by

Cyril Frankel

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-07-21
★ 8/10
I don't know who's more dangerous, you or your father? Never Take Sweets from a Stranger is directed by Cyril Frankel and written by John Hunter who adapts from the play Pony Cart written by Roger Garis. It stars Patrick Allen, Gwen Watford, Janina Faye, Felix Aylmer, Michael Gwynn, Alison Leggatt and Niall MacGinnis. Music is by Elisabeth Lutyns and John Hollingsworth and Megascope cinematography by Freddie Francis. British family the Carter's have emigrated to small town Canada and are rocked when it is revealed that 9 year old Jean (Faye), and her friend Lucille (Frances Green), were asked to dance naked for candy at the home of elderly Clarence Olderberry Senior. Filing an official complaint, parents Peter (Allen) & Sally (Watford) are astounded to find the town's denizens are reluctant to believe the Carter's take on things. It becomes apparent that the Olderberry family were instrumental in the building of the town and the family has much power within it. With the town closing ranks on the British outsiders, there's a real chance that a suspected paedophile will go unpunished and maybe strike again? Thought provoking and intelligent handling of sensitive material, Hammer's Never Take Sweets from a Stranger has finally garnered the credit it deserves. Back on release the taboo subject of the plot ensured the film was mostly shunned, with bad marketing also proving to be a hindrance. However, it is ahead of its time in many ways, Frankel's (School for Scoundrels) picture manages to gnaw away at the senses with its calm and measured approach work. Francis' (The Innocents) black and white photography a clinical ally to the realism wrung out by Frankel. The alienation of the Carter family is steadily built up, the small town mentality to strangers in their little world unspools calmly by way of credible acting and believable passages of dialogue. By the time the last third arrives, the frustration of the Carter's is shared by the viewers, things get legal and gripping, and then it's the uncoiling of the spring to unleash the denouement. Point made, a message movie of some standing, monsters in our midst indeed. Not merely the predators preying on our children, but also the guilty around them, ignorance most definitely isn't bliss. 8.5/10

Production companies