The deliciously evil Madame Sin (Bette Davis) is a cross between a female Dr No and the bad fairy in Sleeping Beauty– a sinister, all-powerful matriarch who glides around her remote Scottish castle dressed in swirling black hostess gowns (her only dash of colour is startling blue eye shadow applied trowel-thick).
Her empire is vast and – with the help of her resident henchman, Malcolm De Vere (Denholm Elliott) and his minions – growing all the time.
Utilising the fermenting genius of a bunch of stagnating scientists, Madame Sin plots all sorts of mischief – from assassinations to organising revolutions – with one purpose: to make her richer.
Anthony Lawrence (Robert Wagner) is a retired CIA agent whose plans for sinking back into normal life are thwarted by Madame Sin’s associates.
Although Lawrence doesn’t want to play, he’s forced into a vulnerable position when the lady’s henchmen whisk him off to her Scottish lair. Madame Sin needs Lawrence’s help to steal a Polaris submarine – just one, she assures him, because her buyer has only a billion dollars to spend.
It won’t involve much – just spiriting the commander of the sub, Teddy Cavendish (Gordon Jackson), into her ‘think tank’ where her dotty scientists will use some of their highly efficient machinery to implant information in his brain which will make the poor man react as they want when he returns to duty.
Originally intended to be the pilot for a proposed TV series, Madame Sin – made at Pinewood Studios in England and on location on the Isle of Mull in Scotland – was shown on American television in January 1972 as an ABC “Movie of the Weekend” and released overseas in cinemas.
Madame Sin
Bette Davis Anthony Lawrence
Robert Wagner Malcolm De Vere
Denholm Elliott Commander Teddy Cavendish
Gordon Jackson Monk
Dudley Sutton Barbara
Catherine Schell Nikko
Pik Sen Lim Connors
Paul Maxwell Braden
David Healy White
Alan Dobie Fisherman
Al Mancini Holidaymaker
Roy Kinnear Mr Willoughby
Charles Lloyd Pack Dr Henriques
Frank Middlemass Lengetti
Arnold Diamond Scarred Operator
Burt Kwouk Naval Driver
Paul Young Chief Petty Officer
Jack Weir Lt. Brady
Gerard Norman Naval Officer
Stuart Hoyle Sailor
Stuart McGugan Boat Owner
Iain Agnew Nun #1
Gabriella Licudi Nun #2
Vanessa Kempster Revolutionary #1
John Orchard Revolutionary #2
John Slavid Musician
Barry Moreland
Director
David Greene
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Her empire is vast and – with the help of her resident henchman, Malcolm De Vere (Denholm Elliott) and his minions – growing all the time.
It won’t involve much – just spiriting the commander of the sub, Teddy Cavendish (Gordon Jackson), into her ‘think tank’ where her dotty scientists will use some of their highly efficient machinery to implant information in his brain which will make the poor man react as they want when he returns to duty.
