1966's "Let's Kill Uncle" was director William Castle's direct follow up to his second Joan Crawford vehicle, "I Saw What You Did," sharing with that entry a child friendly sense of fun that precludes any real danger. This time his protagonists are both preteens, Pat Cardi as 12 year old millionaire Barnaby Harrison, whose father left him a fortune after perishing in a presumed car accident, and Mary Badham as Chrissie, initially bored with the boy's seemingly tall tales before learning the actual facts from his guardian, police Sgt. Frank Travis (Robert Pickering). All three land on Serenity Island where Chrissie has gone to live with pretty maiden aunt Justine (Linda Lawson), while Barnaby resides with the sole other occupant, his Uncle Kevin (Nigel Green), a decorated WW2 hero with a literary background in 'killing the enemy.' Poor Chrissie is frightened by a disabled fisherman (Ref Sanchez) who stays at a rundown hotel that has a small pool with a shark in it, which she discovers soon enough after falling in. Things start happening once Uncle Kevin arrives by plane, his cheerfully disarming nature belying a sinister intent that becomes clear almost immediately, hypnotizing the boy to walk straight off a cliff so that he alone will inherit the $5 million. The unexpected presence of Justine saves Barnaby from certain death, but the adults don't believe his wild story of an avaricious uncle desperate to collect, and to his great surprise, the war veteran cheerfully admits his guilt, calling upon his nephew to 'play the game' in order to survive. Chrissie becomes his staunch ally in self defense, picking poisonous toadstools for a dinner of steaks, or seeking out one of the island tarantulas for a sneak attack. The material is there for a crackerjack 'cat and mouse' triumph with tongue firmly in cheek, but Castle's once gifted directorial eye seems to have deserted him at this stage, four more box office failures to follow ("The Spirit is Willing," "The Busy Body," "Project X," and "Shanks"), one massive success in a production both written and directed by Roman Polanski, "Rosemary's Baby." The budget was so pitifully small with the phony jungle sets that even a 1940s Tarzan movie would look more convincing. Nigel Green was just starting to make a name for himself in the US, and gives the picture tremendous weight after a half hour buildup without him. Mary Badham, so engaging here and as Gregory Peck's daughter in "To Kill a Mockingbird," that it was a shame that her acting career ended at such a young age. Pat Cardi struggled for a bit longer, his only adult roles a chimpanzee in "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" and the nerdy star of the cult classic "Horror High," earning him most acclaim in the decades since (he not only got along well with Mary during shooting but also remained a lifelong friend). Cardi insisted that the abrupt climax was compromised by studio interference, it would be interesting to learn what Castle himself had intended.
Review of Let's Kill Uncle
