Never Take Sweets from a Stranger 1960

imdb-logo 7.4 / 10

Never Take Sweets from a Stranger

Peter Carter, his wife Sally and their young daughter Jean move to a sleepy Canadian village, where Peter has been hired as a school principal. Their idyll is shattered when Jean becomes the victim of an elderly, and extremely powerful, paedophile. The film was neither a box office nor a critical success, it garnered criticism for breaking a significant public taboo.

Peter Carter, his wife Sally and their young daughter Jean move to a sleepy Canadian village, where Peter has been hired as a school principal. Their idyll is shattered when Jean becomes the victim of an elderly, and extremely powerful, paedophile. The film was neither a box office nor a critical success, it garnered criticism for breaking a significant public taboo.

Videos & Photos

All 1 Videos & 17 Photos

... Peter Carter

... Sally Carter

... Jean Carter

... Clarence Olderberry Sr.

... Defense Counsel

... Prosecutor

User reviews

See All 1 Reviews

23 Jun 2021 by John Chard

I don't know who's more dangerous, you or your father? Never Take Sweets from a Stranger is directed by Cyril Frankel and written by John Hunter who adapts from the play Pony Cart written by Roger Garis. It stars Patrick Allen, Gwen Watford, Janina Faye, Felix Aylmer, Michael Gwynn, Alison Leggatt and Niall MacGinnis. Music is by Elisabeth Lutyns and John Hollingsworth and Megascope cinematography by Freddie Francis. British family the Carter's have emigrated to small town Canada and are rocked when it is revealed that 9 year old Jean (Faye), and her friend Lucille (Frances Green), were asked to dance naked for candy at the home of elderly Clarence Olderberry Senior. Filing an official complaint, parents Peter (Allen) & Sally (Watford) are astounded to find the town's denizens are reluctant to believe the Carter's take on things. It becomes apparent that the Olderberry family were instrumental in the building of the town and the family has much power within it. With the town closing ranks on the British outsiders, there's a real chance that a suspected paedophile will go unpunished and maybe strike again? Thought provoking and intelligent handling of sensitive material, Hammer's Never Take Sweets from a Stranger has finally garnered the credit it deserves. Back on release the taboo subject of the plot ensured the film was mostly shunned, with bad marketing also proving to be a hindrance. However, it is ahead of its time in many ways, Frankel's (School for Scoundrels) picture manages to gnaw away at the senses with its calm and measured approach work. Francis' (The Innocents) black and white photography a clinical ally to the realism wrung out by Frankel. The alienation of the Carter family is steadily built up, the small town mentality to strangers in their little world unspools calmly by way of credible acting and believable passages of dialogue. By the time the last third arrives, the frustration of the Carter's is shared by the viewers, things get legal and gripping, and then it's the uncoiling of the spring to unleash the denouement. Point made, a message movie of some standing, monsters in our midst indeed. Not merely the predators preying on our children, but also the guilty around them, ignorance most definitely isn't bliss. 8.5/10

Release Date:

Mar 04, 1960 (United Kingdom)

Run Time:

1hr 21`

MMPA Rating:

Original Language:

English

Production Countries:

United Kingdom

Status:

Released

Related Movies To

Never Take Sweets from a Stranger

Write Review

Found 1 reviews in total

23 Jun 2021 by John Chard

I don't know who's more dangerous, you or your father? Never Take Sweets from a Stranger is directed by Cyril Frankel and written by John Hunter who adapts from the play Pony Cart written by Roger Garis. It stars Patrick Allen, Gwen Watford, Janina Faye, Felix Aylmer, Michael Gwynn, Alison Leggatt and Niall MacGinnis. Music is by Elisabeth Lutyns and John Hollingsworth and Megascope cinematography by Freddie Francis. British family the Carter's have emigrated to small town Canada and are rocked when it is revealed that 9 year old Jean (Faye), and her friend Lucille (Frances Green), were asked to dance naked for candy at the home of elderly Clarence Olderberry Senior. Filing an official complaint, parents Peter (Allen) & Sally (Watford) are astounded to find the town's denizens are reluctant to believe the Carter's take on things. It becomes apparent that the Olderberry family were instrumental in the building of the town and the family has much power within it. With the town closing ranks on the British outsiders, there's a real chance that a suspected paedophile will go unpunished and maybe strike again? Thought provoking and intelligent handling of sensitive material, Hammer's Never Take Sweets from a Stranger has finally garnered the credit it deserves. Back on release the taboo subject of the plot ensured the film was mostly shunned, with bad marketing also proving to be a hindrance. However, it is ahead of its time in many ways, Frankel's (School for Scoundrels) picture manages to gnaw away at the senses with its calm and measured approach work. Francis' (The Innocents) black and white photography a clinical ally to the realism wrung out by Frankel. The alienation of the Carter family is steadily built up, the small town mentality to strangers in their little world unspools calmly by way of credible acting and believable passages of dialogue. By the time the last third arrives, the frustration of the Carter's is shared by the viewers, things get legal and gripping, and then it's the uncoiling of the spring to unleash the denouement. Point made, a message movie of some standing, monsters in our midst indeed. Not merely the predators preying on our children, but also the guilty around them, ignorance most definitely isn't bliss. 8.5/10

Cast & Crew of

Never Take Sweets from a Stranger

Directors & Credit Writers

... Continuity

... Assistant Director

... Director

Cast

... Peter Carter

... Sally Carter

... Jean Carter

... Clarence Olderberry Sr.

... Defense Counsel

... Prosecutor

... Clarence Olderberry Jr.

... Eunice Kalliduke

... Tom Demarest

... Lucille

... Hammond

... Sylvia Kingsley

... Neal Phillips

... Mrs. Demarest

... Dr. Stevens

... Mrs. Olderberry

... Charles Kalliduke

... Miss Jackson

Produced By

... Producer

... Executive Producer

... Production Manager

Videos & Photos of

Never Take Sweets from a Stranger

Videos ( 1)

Photos ( 17 )

Related Movies To

Never Take Sweets from a Stranger

Found 12 Movies in total

poster-Final Destination Bloodlines
Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)

0 /10

Plagued by a violent recurring nightmare, college student Stefanie heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all.

Run Time: 1hr 50` . MMPA: R . Release: 14 May 2025

Director: Carl Mason , Dominic Dobrzensky , Melissa Dotto

Producer: Alice S. Kim , Juraj Spisak , Toby Emmerich

Stars: Tony Todd , Melissa Barrera , Anna Lore , Renata Vaca , Quintessa Swindell , Mary Elizabeth Winstead

poster-The Twisters
The Twisters (2024)

0 /10

A deadly patchwork of destructive cyclones is on an apocalyptic path of convergence at a populated Midwest city center. There, the twisters will merge into one mega tornado that threatens to obliterate the cities for hundreds of miles around.

Run Time: 1hr 27` . MMPA: . Release: 28 Jun 2024

Director: Michael Su

Producer: Brendan Petrizzo , Paul Bales , Avery Guerra

Stars: Kayla Fields , Mark Justice , Paul Logan , Curtis Strong , Tiffany , Sofia Riba

poster-28 Years Later
28 Years Later (2025)

0 /10

Twenty-eight years since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway. When one member departs on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.

Run Time: 1hr 55` . MMPA: R . Release: 18 Jun 2025

Director: Sarah Mulberge , Lucy Hatherley , Danny Boyle

Producer: Cillian Murphy , Alex Garland , Bernard Bellew

Stars: Cillian Murphy , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Jodie Comer , Charlie Hunnam , Jack O'Connell , Ralph Fiennes

poster-Diablo
Diablo (2025)

0 /10

Ex-con Kris Chaney seizes the daughter of a Colombian gangster to fulfill a noble promise to the young girl's mother. When her father enlists both the criminal underworld and a psychotic killer to exact his revenge, Kris relies on everything he's ever learned to stay alive and keep his word.

Run Time: 1hr 31` . MMPA: R . Release: 13 Jun 2025

Director: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza

Producer: Grady Craig , Francisco Carrillo , Scott Adkins

Stars: Scott Adkins , Marko Zaror , María del Rosario , Lucho Velasco , Diana Hoyos , Alanna de la Rosa

poster-Life After Fighting
Life After Fighting (2024)

0 /10

Retired martial arts world champion Alex Faulkner has settled into a simple life, when the disappearance of two of his students leads to an unthinkable discovery close to home. Just when all hope of finding the children is lost, he locates the imprisoned girls and unsurfaces an international child trafficking operation, which draws him back into the fight of his life against those behind it.

Run Time: 2hr 6` . MMPA: . Release: 07 Jun 2024

Director: Bren Foster

Producer: Chelsea Jean Foster , Bren Foster , Navid Bahadori

Stars: Bren Foster , Cassie Howarth , Luke Ford , Annabelle Stephenson , Anthony Nassif , Arielle Jean Foster

poster-STRAW
STRAW (2025)

0 /10

What will be her last straw? A devastatingly bad day pushes a hardworking single mother to the breaking point — and into a shocking act of desperation.

Run Time: 1hr 45` . MMPA: R . Release: 05 Jun 2025

Director: Matt Hendren , Roger Berard , Tyler Perry

Producer: Nadia Brown , Angi Bones , Kim Taylor-Coleman

Stars: Taraji P. Henson , Sherri Shepherd , Teyana Taylor , Sinbad , Rockmond Dunbar , Ashley Versher

poster-The Amateur
The Amateur (2025)

0 /10

After his life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a brilliant but introverted CIA decoder takes matters into his own hands when his supervisors refuse to take action.

Run Time: 2hr 3` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 09 Apr 2025

Director: James Hawes , Svetlana Punte

Producer: Jonathan Hook , Dan Wilson , Rami Malek

Stars: Rami Malek , Rachel Brosnahan , Caitríona Balfe , Laurence Fishburne , Jon Bernthal , Holt McCallany

poster-Crypto Legacy
Crypto Legacy (2020)

2.5 /10

Troy Morgan doesn't like his family's farm. The place creeps him out. After spotting some strange lights one evening, Troy and his little sister Carrie go to investigate the creepy barn.

Run Time: 1hr 11` . MMPA: . Release: 01 Oct 2020

Director: Charles Townsend

Producer: Charles Townsend

Stars: Sheri Gill Dixon , Brian Kunz , Brandon Young , Nathaniel Barton , Linzi Gray , Thalia Reynolds

poster-The Accountant²
The Accountant² (2025)

0 /10

When an old acquaintance is murdered, Wolff is compelled to solve the case. Realizing more extreme measures are necessary, Wolff recruits his estranged and highly lethal brother, Brax, to help. In partnership with Marybeth Medina, they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.

Run Time: 2hr 13` . MMPA: R . Release: 23 Apr 2025

Director: Fernando Chien , Gavin O'Connor , Alina Gatti

Producer: Jeanne McCarthy , Jamie Patricof , Gavin O'Connor

Stars: Ben Affleck , Jon Bernthal , J.K. Simmons , Cynthia Addai-Robinson , Daniella Pineda , Alison Robertson

poster-Conjuring the Cult
Conjuring the Cult (2024)

0 /10

After discovering his blood-soaked daughter dead in the bathtub, David Bryson attends a self-help group to help save him from his ghostly nightmares. But when a group of mysterious cult-like women offer to help him resurrect his daughter. David's choices will not just decide his fate... but the fate of his dead daughter's SOUL.

Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: . Release: 01 Oct 2024

Director: Calvin Morie McCarthy

Producer:

Stars: Neil Green , Elissa Dowling , Chynna Rae Shurts , BJ Mezek , Jason Brooks , Brad Littlefield

poster-Utopia
Utopia (2024)

0 /10

A soldier searching for his missing wife breaks into a high-tech facility, believing she's been caught in a human trafficking ring. But beyond its walls, he finds a surreal, futuristic fantasy park where reality and illusion blur. As he navigates this seductive and dangerous world, a shocking truth pulls him deeper into a deadly game where nothing is as it seems.

Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: R . Release: 09 Dec 2024

Director: James Bamford

Producer: Kyle Otto , Scott Karol , Danail Hadzhiyski

Stars: Moe Dunford , Charlotte Vega , Michael D. Xavier , Daniel Bernhardt , Jason Flemyng , Wanda Banda

poster-F1 The Movie
F1 The Movie (2025)

0 /10

Racing legend Sonny Hayes is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team—and mentor a young hotshot driver—while chasing one more chance at glory.

Run Time: 2hr 36` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 25 Jun 2025

Director: Adam Kirley , Kailyn Dabkowski , Joseph Kosinski

Producer: Máté Gajdics , Penni Thow , Dani Lasser

Stars: Brad Pitt , Damson Idris , Kerry Condon , Tobias Menzies , Lewis Hamilton , Javier Bardem