Virgin Witch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Virgin Witch | |
---|---|
DVD Cover |
|
Directed by | Ray Austin |
Produced by | Ralph Solomons |
Written by | Klaus Vogel (novel) |
Starring | Ann Michelle Vicki Michelle |
Music by | Ted Dicks |
Cinematography | Gerald Moss |
Editing by | Phillip Barnikel |
Distributed by | Tigon Film Distributors Ltd. |
Release date(s) | June 8, 1972 (Bismarck, North Dakota) October 19, 1973 (Finland) |
Running time | 88 min. |
Country | UK |
Language | English |
IMDb profile |
Virgin Witch is a 1970 British sex/horror movie by director Ray Austin. Producer “Ralph Solomans” was actually a joint pseudonym for wrestling commentator Kent Walton and Hazel Adair the creator of Crossroads. While Adair’s actual name appears on the credits (as co-writer of the song “You Go Your Way”), she and Walton did not own up to producing the film until 1975, when they featured in a Man Alive episode concerning sex films, a revelation that prompted Cinema X magazine (Vol4. No.4) to remark that the pair's films “are far removed from Miss Adair’s more cozy world of Crossroads, but not in fact so far from Walton’s world of the wrestling mat!”. “Klaus Vogal”, who wrote the script and the film's tie-in novelisation, was in fact Crossroads producer Beryl Vertue.
Virgin Witch was filmed in Surrey during 1970 and previewed in the December editions of Mayfair (magazine) and Continental Film Review (in which the title is referred to as "The Virgin Witch"). However, the film is copyrighted as a 1971 production, and censorship problems (see below) would mean it was not widely seen until 1972. The country house location, "Admiral's Walk", [1] would be later used in Satan’s Slave (1976) and Terror (1979), both directed by Norman J. Warren.
The film has subsequently been disowned by its sibling stars Ann and Vicki Michelle. Vicki's website [2] makes no reference to the film, while Ann's [3] cryptically refers to it as "not an experience Ann cares to remember".
Hazel Adair’s other films include With These Hands (1971) a.k.a. Clinic Xclusive, Can You Keep It Up For a Week (1974), Keep it Up Downstairs (1976), and the more mainstream Game for Vultures (1979).
[edit] Censorship History
Virgin Witch was rejected/banned by the British Censor in April 1971, but was passed as ‘X’ by the Greater London Council for a limited release in the capital. The British censor eventually relented and passed a cut version for general release in January 1972.
The 1990s video release(s) on the Redemption/Salvation labels are uncut, as are the current UK and US DVD releases.