Jean Carter (Janina Faye), nine-year-old daughter of the town's newly-appointed school principal, Peter Carter (Patrick Allen) and his wife Sally (Gwen Watford), is playing in the woods with her 11-year-old friend Lucille (Frances Green), when Jean discovers she has lost her purse containing her "candy" money. Lucille tells her she knows where they can get sweets for nothing, and leads her to an imposing mansion, from which the owner, Clarence Olderberry Sr. (Felix Aylmer), a tall, gaunt man of 70 has been watching the girls from a window. That night Jean, unable to sleep, tells her parents that Oldeberry made her and Lucille dance before him nude in exchange for some candy. Carter files a complaint, but the local police chief, Captain Hammond, is skeptical of Jean's story and warns Carter that the Oldenberry family put the town on the map and have far more standing in the community than the new-comer Carters. Oldenberry Jr. (Bill Nagy) also tells Carter that if he follows up on the complaint he may be certain that Oldenberry's lawyers will show Jean no mercy. In the ensuing trial, the defense lawyers confuse Jean, make her an uncreditable witness, and Oldenberry is acquitted, after the enraged Carter attacks him physically in court. While her parents are packing to leave town, Jean and Lucille again are playing in the woods, and are approached by Oldenberry, and the two girls flee in blind panic. Reaching a desolate lake, they find an old rowboat and attempt to escape in it, but the mooring rope is still attached to the shore. And Oldenberry is using it to pull the boat and the girls to him.
Never Take Candy from a Stranger: the alternative US version
Conspiracy Theories: Inside 'Never Take Sweets from a Stranger' (2018, 25 mins): an analysis of the film and its production by Hammer expert Jonathan Rigby, BFI curator Josephine Botting and cultural historian John J. Johnston
Hammer's Women: Gwen Watford (2018, 8 mins): British cinema expert Dr Laura Mayne explores the life and career of the prolific English film, stage and television actress
An Interview with Janina Faye (2018, 15 mins): the British actress recalls her time working with Hammer
An Appreciation by Matthew Holness (2018, 12 mins): the actor, writer, director and Hammer fan reflects on many aspects of the film
The Perfect Horror Chord (2018, 44 mins): a new appreciation of composer Elisabeth Lutyens by David Huckvale, author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
US Theatrical Trailer
Brian Trenchard-Smith trailer commentary (2013, 4 mins): a short critical appreciation
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