Madame Sin (1972) – Nostalgia Central

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