Nepoticide v. Avunculicide

Let's Kill Uncle. "You're a charming child, Barnaby," says dear old Uncle as he smiles (or is he merely showing his teeth?) at his twelve-year-old orphan nephew. "But five million dollars charming, you're not." What Uncle means to say in his usual genial way is that since he stands to inherit Barnaby's estate if Barnaby should have a fatal accident, he intends to make sure that Barnaby has a fatal accident--fast.

Uncle (Nigel Green) has opportunity as well as motive. On the isolated Caribbean islet where he and Barnaby (Pat Cardi) are spending a vacation, there are only four other people: a policeman, a fisherman, a divorcee and a 13-year-old girl named Chrissie (Mary Badham). Barnaby tries desperately to make them all understand that dear old Uncle really means to do him in, but only the little girl believes him. "Tell you what," she burbles brightly. "Let's kill Uncle first!"

Up to this point, Uncle is just one more budget dreadful from the monster mill operated by Producer William Castle (Macabre, The Tingler). From here on, it turns into a wonderfully wacky game of you-stab-my-back-and-ril-stab-yours. Uncle strikes first. One dark night he hypnotizes the boy--Barnaby shakes the spell on the brink of a 100-ft. precipice. Barnaby strikes back with some toxic toadstools--Uncle precautiously checks the mushroom sauce. Uncle surrounds Barnaby and Chrissie with a wall of fire--rain puts the fire out. Barnaby plops a tarantula on Uncle's chest--the spider falls happily asleep on Uncle's neck. The spider, as a matter of fact, is the only performer who manages to steal a scene from Actor Green, who comes across as the most stylish blackguard since Cyril Ritchard, as Captain Hook, got gobbled up by that slimy green clockodile.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.