NO BLADE OF GRASS (1970) is a British apocalyptic science fiction film based on the novel THE DEATH OF GRASS by John Christopher. Now, I absolutely loved the book - it's up there with Wyndham's DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS for me - so I was eager to see how this adaptation turned out. It was directed by former Hollywood star Cornel Wilde from his own screenplay, and it certainly plays up the horror inherent in the end-of-the-world story.
This uniquely British effort sees the world's grasses destroyed thanks to a plague that originated in China. Soon, food shortages and rioting are taking place around the world as the human race descends into anarchy. Nigel Davenport plays John Custance, a London-based architect who decides to take his family and a few associates up to his brother's stronghold in Cumbria. The format of the film is a road trip following the group's violent journey as they encounter various unpleasant types along the way. Never has a family trip up the A1 been so deadly!
There are plenty of disturbing moments here, particularly a scene of gang rape and child rape featuring nudity from the underage actress Lynne Frederick, later to become Mrs Peter Sellers. It feels influenced by those biker 'roughies' that were popular on the American grindhouse circuit in the late '60s/early '70s. Meanwhile, a climactic Hell's Angels attack is very similar to the one in DAWN OF THE DEAD and you wonder if Romero saw this when writing that film's screenplay. The most shocking moment is when a pregnant woman goes in labour and we cut to graphic shots of a REAL life birth; I wasn't expecting that one and have never seen any other director pulling the same stunt! DRACULA A.D. 1972 star Christopher Neame plays the baby's father in his pre-Johnny Alucard days. This isn't a great film - it's a far cry from the quality of the book and it lacks all of it's nuance and psychological realism - but for anyone wanting some dark-as-hell viewing it's worth a look.
This uniquely British effort sees the world's grasses destroyed thanks to a plague that originated in China. Soon, food shortages and rioting are taking place around the world as the human race descends into anarchy. Nigel Davenport plays John Custance, a London-based architect who decides to take his family and a few associates up to his brother's stronghold in Cumbria. The format of the film is a road trip following the group's violent journey as they encounter various unpleasant types along the way. Never has a family trip up the A1 been so deadly!
There are plenty of disturbing moments here, particularly a scene of gang rape and child rape featuring nudity from the underage actress Lynne Frederick, later to become Mrs Peter Sellers. It feels influenced by those biker 'roughies' that were popular on the American grindhouse circuit in the late '60s/early '70s. Meanwhile, a climactic Hell's Angels attack is very similar to the one in DAWN OF THE DEAD and you wonder if Romero saw this when writing that film's screenplay. The most shocking moment is when a pregnant woman goes in labour and we cut to graphic shots of a REAL life birth; I wasn't expecting that one and have never seen any other director pulling the same stunt! DRACULA A.D. 1972 star Christopher Neame plays the baby's father in his pre-Johnny Alucard days. This isn't a great film - it's a far cry from the quality of the book and it lacks all of it's nuance and psychological realism - but for anyone wanting some dark-as-hell viewing it's worth a look.