ABP Corp., 1970

starring: Pamela Franklin, Michele Dotrice, Sandor Elès

directed by: Robert Fuest

the plot: Two young nurses from London, Jane (Franklin) and Cathy (Dotrice), are taking a cycling holiday through the French countryside. Jane is sensible and pragmatic and wants to plan their route, but frivolous Cathy insists on flirting with a mysterious man (Elès) she spots at a roadside pub. Jane and Cathy later travel along a desolate country road. Taking a break, Cathy decides she wants to sunbathe and nap, but Jane wants to move on. They have a vicious argument, and Jane leaves Cathy alone. Later, at a lonely café, the owner tries to tell Jane, in broken English, that this very road was the scene of a past murder of a female cyclist, with the killer still at large. Jane heads back to where she left Cathy, but she’s vanished. Jane visits the local gendarme, convinced that the mysterious man from the pub is Cathy’s attacker. When she discovers Cathy’s hidden corpse, the determined murderer makes his dangerous identity known to Jane.

why it’s good: This neglected gem greatly deserves a viewing. Screenwriter Brian Clemens says in his DVD commentary that a visit to the beautiful, sun-drenched French countryside made him feel uneasy—isolated places are always vulnerable. He and director Fuest turn bright, open space thoroughly creepy and remote. The horror takes place out in the open. As Jane realizes her friend may have been murdered, the language barrier, common 40 years ago (but practically nonexistent in France today), only furthers her feelings of helplessness. Setting is a key character in many films, and in this forgotten treasure, the deserted, alternately breezy and then dead-quiet farmland is the most menacing presence of all. Never has the song of late-afternoon crickets sounded so disquieting. Especially when it stops.

why you should own it: Pamela Franklin made a fine debut in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” (1969), and would go on to deliver a stunning performance in the near-perfect “Legend of Hell House” in 1973. Here she manages to maintain Jane’s practical, levelheaded competency while simultaneously portraying a young woman alone, panicked, and hopelessly out of her depth. The sexual menace in the climactic scene is surprising and disturbing. Michelle Dotrice (daughter of actor Roy Dotrice) clearly has a ball as a blonde, flirty coquette whose reckless obtuseness gets her killed. The French cast members are dependably odd and menacing. The Anchor Bay DVD features fine, if unfocused, commentary by Fuest and Clemens, as well as seemingly endless trailers, which were typically much longer prior to the 1980s. An American remake of the film came out in 2010.