A highly entertaining, rarely seen melodrama with a lot of grim underpinnings. Ingrid Thulin is released from a Nazi concentration camp to find that gigolo husband Maximilian Schell has shacked up with her stepdaughter. What ensues is a roundelay of lies, fraud and murder plots, mostly sprung from the demented mind of Samantha Eggar, giving a great performance as Thulin's neglected stepdaughter, a sociopath who cares only for herself. Eggar & Schell are a match made in hell, but Thulin, very much a survivor, does not fall easily for their shenanigans. Directed with a firm hand by J. Lee Thompson, who keeps the film virtually entirely indoors, adding to the feeling of claustrophobic dread. There are fine performances by the three principles and an excellent supporting role for Herbert Lom (as Thulin's wily colleague). The pre-credit sequences is astounding.
Review of Return from the Ashes
Return from the Ashes
(1965)
A grim melodrama with some outstanding acting
4 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers