64: Psychomania (aka The Death Wheelers) (1973) – Benmar Productions – Dir. Don Sharp – Beryl Reid, George Sanders & Nicky Henson
About this episode
The episode discusses the 1973 British horror film Psychomania, exploring its production, cast, and cultural significance.
This time we watched the 1973 British horror film Psychomania, a cult biker horror oddity originally filmed as The Living Dead before the title changed. In the United States it appeared as The Death Wheelers. Not to be confused with the 1963 American film Psychomania, also known as Violent Midnight. The film was produced by Benmar Productions, better known for Spaghetti Westerns shot in Spain. They also made Horror Express later the same year with the same writers, which we covered back in episode 7. Psychomania was created in association with Scotia Bar Distributors who had director Don Sharp under long term contract. Don Sharp was born in Tasmania and began as an actor before becoming a director in the mid 1950s. He turned out low and medium budget films including the Tommy Steele musical It’s All Happening, then Hammer Films hired him and he made several well received thrillers. He also worked as second unit director on Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. Quiz time for Jon. Sharp directed BigChrisLee six times. Name them. Beryl Reid plays psychic medium Mrs Latham. She left school at 16 and debuted in 1936 as a music hall performer at the Floral Hall in…
People in this episode
Hosts: Ross, Jon, James
Topics covered
- British horror film
- cult films
- biker horror
- film history
- director Don Sharp
Keywords
- Psychomania
- Don Sharp
- Beryl Reid
- British horror
- cult films
- film history
- Horror Express
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Benmar Productions, Scotia Bar Distributors
Books & works: Psychomania, The Living Dead, The Death Wheelers, Horror Express, Just A Minute, Tin
More episodes of General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast
- 69: General Witchfinders LIVE: Folk Horror, M.R. James & Nigel Kneale
- 67: Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) – Hammer Horror – Dir. Terence Fisher – Peter Cushing, Susan Denberg & Thorley Walters
- 66: The Asphyx (aka Spirit of the Dead) (aka The Horror of Death) (1972) – Glendale Film – Dir. Peter Newbrook – Robert Stephens, Robert Powell & Jane Lapotaire – Freddie Young Shot
- 65b: K9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend (1981) – BBC – Writer Terence Dudley – Elisabeth Sladen, John Leeson & Bill Cole – Doctor Who Spinoff Special
- 65a: The Ice House (1978) – BBC – Dir. Derek Lister, Writer John Bowen – John Stride, Elizabeth Romilly & Ewan Hooper – BBC Ghost Story for Christmas
- 63 (Part 2): Flash Gordon (1980) – Starling Productions – Dir. Mike Hodges – Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson & Max von Sydow
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