MovieChat Forums > The Reptile (1966) Discussion > Hammer Casts

Hammer Casts

posted 14 years ago by Harold_Robbins
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Hammer's casts were always interesting - while at first glance, aside from Michael Ripper and Jacqueline Pearce the cast of THE REPTILE may seem second-tier (Ray Barrett and Jennifer Daniel - long careers, yes, but big names then or now?), Noel Willman was a highly-respected stage director as well as an actor, who won a 1962 Tony Award for directing the Broadway version of MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, received a nomination for directing the original Broadway production of THE LION IN WINTER, and directed Katharine Hepburn in her last two Broadway appearances (A MATTER OF GRAVITY and THE WEST-SIDE WALTZ).

"Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke."

[–] jd-116 14 years ago

One of the reviews of this film says that it is Harold Pinter who plays the role of Charles Spalding (that's the guy who gets offed in the first reel). The film credits attribute this role to one David Baron, and sure enough it seems Pinter used this stage name in some of his early roles, although the rambling bio on IMDB does not mention this fact. (Or maybe it does but the article is unreadable.) But there was also a real David Baron here;
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1542150/
and it seems that this would be the correct attribution.

Ray Barrett was ubiquitous on British TV in the 1960s. "The Troubleshooters" held a big role for him but there is no mention of this series either on IMDB or on the bio pages for either Barrett or his co-star Geoffrey Keen (another occasional Hammer player by the way).

More here; http://www.startrader.co.uk/mogul/mogul/tr_series.htm