Richard Burton plainly had demons to exorcise when he took time off from glumly trudging through some of the worst films of the sixties & seventies to keep his good lady wife Liz in fur coats and jewels to join forces with Nevill Coghill to perform this little-seen act of philanthropy on behalf of the Oxford University Dramatic Society to bring to the screen this time-honoured saga of a man who sold his soul to the Devil in order to gaze upon the beauty of Helen of Troy (aptly played by Miss Taylor herself).
The gothic tone is established from the outset by beginning with an enormous closeup of a skull, the prominently displayed name of Taylor probably did very little for it's marquee value but thankfully the role is completely wordless so thankfully for once we don't have to hear that awful voice; although we do hear that raucous laugh.
The gothic tone is established from the outset by beginning with an enormous closeup of a skull, the prominently displayed name of Taylor probably did very little for it's marquee value but thankfully the role is completely wordless so thankfully for once we don't have to hear that awful voice; although we do hear that raucous laugh.