Screen legend Bette Davis, working again for Britain's Hammer Studios after 1965's "The Nanny", gets a part here that she can really sink her teeth into, and does, in this often quite amusing dark comedy, scripted and produced by Jimmy Sangster, that is based on the play by Bill MacIlwraith. Davis plays Mrs. Taggart, matriarch of a family in the construction business, whose put-upon sons gather for her 40th anniversary, which is still celebrated even though her husband has passed on. Two of the men, Henry (James Cossins) and Terry (Jack Hedley) are rather meek; Henry has a penchant for stealing ladies' underwear and wearing womens' clothes, and Terry is dominated just as much by his wife Karen (Sheila Hancock) as he is by his mom. The youngest, Tom (Christian Roberts) is substantially more carefree and brings his fiancée Shirley (the stunning Elaine Taylor) along to this anniversary. One can see this movie's roots in the stage with the way it basically revolves around its dialogue and acting. And it takes really good acting and writing to hold one's attention in such circumstances, and fortunately "The Anniversary" does satisfy in that respect. The dialogue is frequently, devastatingly biting and sardonic, and the actors do really seem to delight in it, especially Davis. The biggest key to why the movie works as well as it does is the whole nature of the Mrs. Taggart character - ultimately, we can see that it's impossible to keep this lady down for very long. She's on to the others' secrets more than they realize, and can quickly shift gears or provide a revelation of her own if it looks like someone else has her on the ropes. Even at the end, we see how she can continue to stay in control, and manipulate all of her kin like so many puppets. It's also good fun to see the various revelations play out and characters' reactions to them. It drags a little at times, but always comes up with another delicious exchange of dialogue. Also indicative of the stage origin is how few locations there are; the majority of the scenes take place inside the Taggart home. Davis truly leaps off the screen, especially when she's decked out in red dress and eye patch. But that's not to say that the rest of the cast doesn't do fine work as they all have their good moments and hold their own opposite this iconic actress. "The Anniversary" definitely stands out among Hammer's output and is well worth watching for fans. Seven out of 10.
Review of The Anniversary
