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What a Carve Up!

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7.0/10 • 18

1961-09-151h 24m

HorrorComedyThrillerMystery

It's Corpus Delectable.......

Ernie's Uncle Gabriel has just died but to claim his inheritance he must spend the night in the ancestral family home with the rest of his rather eccentric relatives. Ernie's imagination has been affected by his constant immersion in cheap horror novels, but his wildest fears turn out to be justified when the guests begin to drop dead.

Directors
Pat Jackson
Editors
Gordon Pilkington

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Sid James

    Sid James

    Sid Butler

  2. Kenneth Connor

    Kenneth Connor

    Ernie Broughton

  3. Donald Pleasence

    Donald Pleasence

    Everett Sloane

  4. Shirley Eaton

    Shirley Eaton

    Linda Dickson

  5. Dennis Price

    Dennis Price

    Guy Broughton

  6. Michael Gough

    Michael Gough

    Fisk - the Butler

  7. Valerie Taylor

    Valerie Taylor

    Janet Broughton

  8. Esma Cannon

    Esma Cannon

    Aunt Emily

  9. George Woodbridge

    George Woodbridge

    Dr. Edward Broughton

Reviews1

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John Chard Avatar

John Chard

Oct 6, 2019

8/10

Ring Madame Tussauds and ask if anyone is missing. When Uncle Gabriel dies, all his relatives are summoned to an old country mansion in the middle of nowhere to hear the reading of his will. Once there, tho, somebody starts murdering them one by one and the remaining group must solve the mystery or expect not to see the night out. What a Carve Up! is adapted from Frank King's novel The Ghoul and stars Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Donald Pleasence, Shirley Eaton, Dennis Price, Esma Cannon and Michael Gough. Basically this fine and amusing film is a sort of British version of genre pieces like Scared Stiff, The Cat And The Canary and The Ghostbreakers, or a spoof of its source material if you like. All the elements are in place, a bunch of eccentric and odd characters land at a ghostly mansion, greeted by a limping scary looking Butler {Gough}, and they then promptly spend the night trying to stay alive. Set to a backdrop of a thunderstorm, creaking floorboards, revolving secret doors and "what was that?", did the eyes just move on that painting? There's nothing new here of course in terms of creepy house formula, it is however a premise that never grows old if it is done right. Either seriously or as a comedy. Thankfully, What a Carve Up! does everything it possibly can to make it work as a creepy house mystery spoof. The gags are excellently written by Cooney & Hilton, which in turn are delivered with comic agility from the cast. Who rightly are having a blast with the material to hand. The "who done it?" reveal is a good one after the red herrings have been and gone, and a nice cameo at the finale feeds Sid James another in a long line of fine gags within the piece. Finally getting a DVD release in late 2008, this film has now started to pick up newcomers and the revisit crowd alike. Which is real nice to see. Because as long as you are a fan of the creepy house comedy mystery then you shouldn't be disappointed in this one. 8/10

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
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