Never Take Sweets from a Stranger
Back to browse
73% Critic Match

Never Take Sweets from a Stranger

...and then he made us play that silly game...

7.3 / 10 1960 1h 21mNR English
DramaMysteryThriller

Storyline

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.

Cast & Crew

Patrick Allen

Patrick Allen

Peter Carter

Lead
Gwen Watford

Gwen Watford

Sally Carter

Janina Faye

Janina Faye

Jean Carter

Felix Aylmer

Felix Aylmer

Clarence Olderberry Sr.

Niall MacGinnis

Niall MacGinnis

Defense Counsel

Michael Gwynn

Michael Gwynn

Prosecutor

Alison Leggatt

Alison Leggatt

Martha

Bill Nagy

Bill Nagy

Clarence Olderberry Jr.

What People Are Saying

4.0
A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Cyril Frankel's vision lands with breathtaking precision.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
4.0
Every frame feels alive. Never Take Sweets from a Stranger is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker