This film is part of Rentals

This film is not rated

I accept this guidance

Title of error

Torment

A mad mystery novelist decides to murder his long-suffering secretary in this macabre British B Picture from distinguished director John Guillermin.

Crime 1950 68 mins Not rated

Director: John Guillermin

Rent for £3.50

Overview

Brother crime writers Cliff and Jim Brandon (Dermot Walsh and John Bentley) both long for svelte secretary Joan (Rona Anderson). But while Jim is the gentlemanly sort, Cliff is a neurotic psychopath. Researching a new novel, Cliff commits a murder – and when Joan rejects him, he decides to kill her too. Prolific adventure-specialist John Guillermin – later to shoot 1974’s The Towering Inferno – made his directorial feature debut with this fast-paced British B Picture.

Torment received some unexpectedly macabre publicity shortly after its release. A brief scene shows mad-mystery writer Cliff making preparations to hang Joan, the unresponsive object of his obscene affections. According to press reports at the time, after witnessing this shocking stuff onscreen, Somerset man Stanley Williams promptly went home and hanged himself – after decking himself out in a woman’s ‘old-fashioned nightdress’. Stanley’s father decided that Torment was entirely to blame for the tragedy, and he asked the coroner to write to the BBFC to demand that the film be banned.

Director

John Guillermin

Featuring

Dermot Walsh , Rona Anderson and John Bentley

Genres

Crime and Drama

Certificate

Not rated

Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Rent for £4.50

Kill Kill

Action and Adventure 2023 105 mins Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat

A pair of commandos square off against savage bandits in this breathless action thriller set on a moving train.

Rent for £3.50

Rynox Rynox

Crime 1932 46 mins Director: Michael Powell

Michael Powell’s earliest existing film is a twisty thriller crafted with a bold visual style that is unmistakeably influenced by Fritz Lang.

Rent for £3.50

Hotel Splendide Hotel Splendide

Comedy 1932 53 mins Director: Michael Powell

Music hall veteran Jerry Verno stars as a lowly clerk who gets more than he bargained for when he inherits a hotel, in Michael Powell's charming comedy.

Rent for £3.50

The Night of the Party The Night of the Party

Crime 1934 61 mins Director: Michael Powell

Michael Powell’s fun stage adaptation about a murder at a society party, with characterful performances from its fine ensemble cast.

Rent for £4.50

Anatomy of a Fall Anatomy of a Fall

Crime 2023 152 mins Director: Justine Triet

Justine Triet's gripping, Palme d'Or-winning psycho-thriller is deeply intelligent with a spellbinding performance from Sandra Hüller.

Rent for £3.50

Mean Streets Mean Streets

Crime 1973 112 mins Director: Martin Scorsese

Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel excel in Scorsese’s seminal tale of the conflict between Catholicism and crime in New York’s Little Italy.

Rent for £3.50

Dead Ringers Dead Ringers

Horror 1988 116 mins Director: David Cronenberg

David Cronenberg's multi award-winning psychological thriller exploring the bizarre lives of identical twins Elliot and Beverly, both played by Jeremy Irons.

Rent for £3.50

Mulholland Dr. Mulholland Dr.

Thriller 2001 142 mins Director: David Lynch

David Lynch’s beautifully baffling, surreal psychological thriller.

Rent for £3.50

Master Gardener Master Gardener

Drama 2022 111 mins Director: Paul Schrader

Joel Edgerton stars as a meticulous horticulturalist with a dark past, in Paul Schrader’s creeping gritty thriller.

Rent for £4.50

Anatomy of a Fall Anatomy of a Fall

Crime 2023 152 mins Director: Justine Triet

Justine Triet's gripping, Palme d'Or-winning psycho-thriller is deeply intelligent with a spellbinding performance from Sandra Hüller.

Rent for £4.50

Shoshana Shoshana

Historical drama 2023 121 mins Director: Michael Winterbottom

A young Jewish woman’s relationship with a British policeman stationed in British Mandatory Palestine has lasting consequences for the region in Michael Winterbottom's powerful thriller.

Rent for £4.50

Love Lies Bleeding Love Lies Bleeding

Romance 2023 104 mins Director: Rose Glass

Rose Glass’s gripping and gory follow-up to Saint Maud finds a lesbian couple drawn into a web of violence in 1980s small-town New Mexico.

Rent for £3.50

Floodtide Floodtide

Drama 1949 90 mins Director: Frederick Wilson

The son of a Scottish farmer get a job in a shipyard and shows an unexpected flair for design, conceiving a revolutionary ship.

Rent for £2.50

Song of Paris Song of Paris

Comedy 1952 83 mins Director: John Guillermin

When an englishman returns from abroad, he must face the powers of a foreign court in this British screwball gem.

Rent for £2.50

The Crowded Day The Crowded Day

Drama 1954 83 mins Director: John Guillermin

Five women's lives intertwine in a bitter-sweet tale of shop-floor intrigue.

Rent for £10.00

Kensuke's Kingdom Kensuke's Kingdom

Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 84 mins Director: Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry

Michael Morpurgo’s beloved novel is brought to life in this delightful, animated tale of a young castaway who discovers he’s not alone.

Rent for £4.50

Unicorns Unicorns

Romance 2023 120 mins Director: Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd

Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd have created a moving romance between an Essex mechanic and a South Asian drag queen.

Rent for £4.50

Call Jane Call Jane

Drama 2022 90 mins Director: Phyllis Nagy

Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver star in this confident directorial debut from Carol screenwriter Phyllis Nagy about a network of women providing safe abortions in 1960s America.