The more you succeed, the more you fear the failures.
This afternoon I'm attending a screening of John Frankenheimer's Seconds at IU Cinema, so it was an extraordinary coincidence that this week's TCM Underground feature was 1968's Corruption, an Anglo take on Eyes Without a Face about a famous surgeon (played by Peter Cushing) who works feverishly to restore his fiancée's looks after her face is disfigured in an accident for which he feels partially responsible. Unlike the plastic surgery that John Randolph undergoes in order to become Rock Hudson, though, the effects of the experimental procedure Cushing performs on model Sue Lloyd (which involves laser surgery and the pituitary glands of donors both living and dead) are temporary at best. (That's what comes of not having the resources of The Company at your disposal, I guess.)
Written by Derek and Donald Ford and directed by Robert Hartford-Davis, the film would have likely slipped through the cracks had its nakedly exploitative trailer not been included on the first volume of the 42nd Street Forever series and subsequently on Trailers from Hell!: Volume One, which comes equipped with an enthusiastic commentary by Edgar Wright. The trailer definitely isolates the most striking moments in the film which involve an increasingly frantic Cushing going out at Lloyd's behest and attacking women willy-nilly to extract the glands she needs to stay beautiful. Less compelling are the scenes between Kate O'Mara (as Lloyd's concerned sister) and Noel Trevarthen (as Cushing's tut-tutting colleague), whose budding relationship has to be put on the back burner when Cushing's antisocial activities come to light and they feel obliged to confront him in person (as opposed to, I don't know, calling the police or something). Meanwhile, the film takes a bizarre turn when Cushing and Lloyd are the victims of a dandy home invasion, leading to an absolutely bonkers denouement. While I wouldn't say I really enjoyed Corruption, at least I can be assured that I'll never see another film quite like it.