A young soldier seeks to put an end to the evils caused by a vicious witch-hunter when the latter terrorizes his fiancée and kills her uncle.A young soldier seeks to put an end to the evils caused by a vicious witch-hunter when the latter terrorizes his fiancée and kills her uncle.A young soldier seeks to put an end to the evils caused by a vicious witch-hunter when the latter terrorizes his fiancée and kills her uncle.
- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations
Wilfrid Brambell
- Master Loach
- (as Wilfred Brambell)
Hilary Heath
- Sara
- (as Hilary Dwyer)
John Trenaman
- Trooper Harcourt
- (as John Treneman)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaVincent Price regarded his performance here as the finest of his horror movie career.
- GoofsThere are several references to the value of payments in 'guineas'. However, the gold coin of that name was not minted until 1663, eighteen years after the film was set.
- Quotes
Matthew Hopkins: Men sometimes have strange motives for the things they do.
- Alternate versionsAll British versions prior to 1996 were cut by 1 min 26 secs by the UK censor on original release. The Redemption Video release restores this material from a U.S laserdisc.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Nightwatch Presents Edgar Allan Poe: The Conqueror Worm (1973)
Featured review
When One Wants an Orthodoxy enforced
Without the use of monsters or other worldly apparitions Vincent Price in Witchfinder General created a fabulous portrayal with Matthew Hopkins. The demons that were within Hopkins are those we struggle with every day when others tell us how and what to think. And religious fundamentalism with the power of the state to enforce it is still a force to be reckoned with. Even here in the USA.
The setting is Great Britain of the civil war era with Roundheads and Cavaliers battling for control. The Roundheads being Puritans were the ones doing the inquisiting there and Price is only a person too glad to offer his services.
In fact in every society when one wants an orthodoxy enforced there are always people psychologically deranged enough for such work. Price works with a partner in Robert Russell who's a little bit more honest about the fact he's a sadist. He grates on Price a bit, but the two find a lot of mutual satisfaction.
A lot of the same themes can be found in the Tyrone Power classic Captain From Castile only it's the Catholics enforcing their doctrine in that one.
Here Price in his work debauches the girlfriend of Roundhead soldier Ian Ogilvy and when he finds out he becomes a man with a mission.
Witchfinder General is a study in sadism and with an eternal message about the mind of humankind being unshackled. Delivered with a really special performance by Vincent Price.
The setting is Great Britain of the civil war era with Roundheads and Cavaliers battling for control. The Roundheads being Puritans were the ones doing the inquisiting there and Price is only a person too glad to offer his services.
In fact in every society when one wants an orthodoxy enforced there are always people psychologically deranged enough for such work. Price works with a partner in Robert Russell who's a little bit more honest about the fact he's a sadist. He grates on Price a bit, but the two find a lot of mutual satisfaction.
A lot of the same themes can be found in the Tyrone Power classic Captain From Castile only it's the Catholics enforcing their doctrine in that one.
Here Price in his work debauches the girlfriend of Roundhead soldier Ian Ogilvy and when he finds out he becomes a man with a mission.
Witchfinder General is a study in sadism and with an eternal message about the mind of humankind being unshackled. Delivered with a really special performance by Vincent Price.
helpful•184
- bkoganbing
- Sep 20, 2012
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Edgar Allan Poe's The Conqueror Worm
- Filming locations
- Kentwell Hall, Long Melford, Suffolk, England, UK(The trial of the witches/John Lowes is hung)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £83,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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