Watch Never Take Sweets from a Stranger For Free

Waste of time

Such a frustrating disappointment

Captivating movie !

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This flick was screened in 16mm at the Gene Siskel Film Center in 2016 as part of a "British noir" series; associate director of programming Martin Rubin wrote in the center's monthly gazette that this was an "undiscovered gem" that "combines taut suspense with a sensitive treatment of a delicate subject." I agree with that assessment.This film also won me over by getting to the juicy bits, fast; the pacing is nice and quick, so that the pervy Mr. Oldberry does his sick deed (off screen, of course), and the Carter family is left to grapple with the consequences. The Canadian-set film is written superbly for a 1960 "issues" film with a schlocky title; it seamlessly morphs from domestic drama to legal procedural to suspenseful thriller in the final act.A movie like this could have easily gone the way of unintended farce, but its well-rounded characters and willingness to look at all sides of the issue mostly keep it floating above the realm of silliness.The audience at the showing I was in gave a couple chuckles in the beginning, when the film opened with a title card warning us that this story could potentially take place in any town, at any time; those sniggers subsided when the film proved its nuance during the rest of its 80-minute runtime. A great, underseen gem.

Give Hammer Studios credit for this one: they were ahead of the curve in exploring one of the most distasteful real-life horrors of them all. This isn't one of their period Gothics that tend towards the utterly fantastic. It's all too uncomfortably real. It REALLY hits a nerve, even if you, like this viewer, are not yet a parent. The corruption and despoiling of innocence is one of the worst things that we can imagine.Taking place in an Eastern Canadian village, but with a cast still largely consisting of British actors, it tells a tale (based on a play by Roger Garis) of happy married couple Peter and Sally Carter (Patrick Allen, Gwen Watford) who've come to this community where he will be a school principal. Very soon after arriving, their daughter Jean (Janina Faye) and her new friend Lucille (Frances Green) are victimized by elderly pervert Clarence Olderberry Sr. (Felix Aylmer, Polonius in Oliviers' "Hamlet"). The Carters find the path to justice a tricky one to navigate, since the Olderberry family retains such influence in the area.Marked by some very effective acting (Niall MacGinnis as the defence attorney, Alison Leggatt as Watfords' mother, Bill Nagy the old creeps' power-wielding son, Michael Gwynn as the prosecutor, and MacDonald Parke as the judge, et al.), "Never Take Sweets from a Stranger" plays out in a reasonably believable way, with all sorts of arguments being thrown about for how to proceed, and the facts of the matter. Olderberry Jr., understandably enough, has a hard time believing that his father could be such a monster, even though the old man DID spend time in a sanitarium.Exceptionally well shot in black & white widescreen by Freddie Francis (one of the greats in his field), this is overall a well made film and compellingly told story, which leads to positively chilling events.The material is handled is a respectably delicate manner by the filmmakers (including writer John Hunter and director Cyril Frankel), and fortunately does not tend towards the sensational, preferring to remain fairly low-key.Eight out of 10.

This Hammer film is set in Canada and it's always interesting to hear British players sound like they're from across the pond. Gwen Watford and Patrick Carter have come across so Carter can take a job as the new high school principal. One fine day the parents are startled to hear their daughter tell that she and a friend met a kindly old stranger who had them take off their clothes and dance in the nude.When they go to the authorities they've got quite a surprise from them in that they know who it is and are reluctant to take action. It's as if Ben Cartwright in his dotage was given to this behavior. Felix Aylmer who plays such classic good guys as Isaac Of York in Ivanhoe and Merlin in Knights Of The Round Table is our old pervert. Aylmer who possessed one of the most majestic speaking voices in British cinema is silent here.Eventually they get their day in Canadian court, but Aylmer and his family have juice. That only sets things up for the shocking climax.This Hammer film doesn't have the blood and gore associated with the name. It also doesn't really move until the climax. It was rather unnerving to see Felix Aylmer in such a role. It's a sub par film and a sub par Felix Aylmer.

I also saw this film back in the 60s (when it may have been first run on TV) and remember the eerie forest scenes, vividly captured on monochromatic film. It must have created a sensation in those very rigidly conservative times. It was a very taboo topic for 1960, more so than homosexuality but now people are able to talk about it - here in Australia a Royal Commision into child abuse is just getting under way.When Jean Carter (Janina Faye) loses her "candy money" her little friend Louise tells her she knows where they can get candy for free. The Carters have just arrived in a small Canadian town where Peter (Patrick Allen) has just been taken on as the principal of the local school. When he and his wife Sally (Gwen Watford) arrive home from a welcome party, their little daughter is up and wanting to tell them how she received sweets from an elderly man who wanted them to dance before him naked!! Sally goes straight to the police and comes up against a brick wall. The elderly man is Mr. Claude Olderberry Snr., the town's founder and while the Carters are newcomers they soon find out that Olderberry Jnr. runs the town and will do whatever it takes not to have his father's name dragged through the mud. I wondered why the Carter's didn't see Louise's parents initially - they eventually did, only to tell them that they were counting on Louise to testify, which didn't go down too well!!!Meanwhile they have heard different stories, one of the teachers hints that it isn't the first time something like this has happened and the old man has already been sent to a sanatorium to "cure" him. The police make it clear that Sally is at fault for not keeping Jean away as the old dodderer is notorious for his "love" of children. A few of the reviewers were skeptical that an elderly man would pose such a threat to a pair of energetic kids but I thought, as portrayed by Felix Aylmer, he was really scary, he didn't talk but was very menacing!!The case goes to court but the defense lawyers treatment of little Jean is such that Peter drops the suit and Mr. Olderberry gets a full apology from the court. That is not the end though, and the last part features a chase through the woods (I would have been petrified as Olderberry just lurches through the undergrowth!!). Their only escape is in an old boat but they have forgotten to untie the rope and the salacious old man is on the jetty dragging the boat back to it's moorings!!One reviewer said it was given a restricted rating which meant no one under 16 was permitted into the cinema and probably explains why, to the best of my knowledge, it has only been on TV (in Australia anyway) the one time. Only the British could have made a film that was tasteful, forceful and confronting all at the same time and I agree it is a film not to be missed. I also thought Janina Faye was quite good in what would have been a controversial role. I can remember Janina Faye as a spoilt Amy in a British production of "Little Women" back in 1970. I know the teen magazines at the time ("Fab", "Jackie" etc) were full of her. She must have excelled in bratty roles because I recently saw her as a "flatmate from Hell" (you know, the type who borrow your clothes without permission and even steal labelled food from the fridge) in the Thriller episode "Good Salary, Prospects, Free Coffin"!!Highly Recommended.