Witchfinder General

The year is 1645, England is in the grip of bloody Civil War. On the one side stand the Royalist party of King Charles, on the other, Cromwell's Parliamentary party: the Roundheads. The Structure of law and order has collapsed. Local Magistrates indulge their individual whims, justice and injustice are dispensed in more or less equal quantities, without opposition. An atmosphere in which the unscrupulous revel, and the likes of Matthew Hopkins take full advantage of the situation. In a time where the superstitions of country folk are still a powerful factor, Hopkins preys upon them, torturing and killing in a supposed drive to eliminate witchcraft from the country, and doing so with the full blessing of what law there is. However, his influence is confined largely to the Eastern Sector of the country: East Anglia, which is held firmly in Cromwell's grasp, but not so firmly that Roundhead cavalry patrols have everything their way. For there persists an ever present threat of the remnant

Witchfinder General (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

John Stearne: [about Richard Marshall] He's after our blood! Matthew Hopkins: You're forgetting our powers... he could be a witch.

Witchfinder General (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Matthew Hopkins: By the way, you know what they call me now? John Stearne: What? Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General.

Witchfinder General (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Swallow: Stop that, Richard! Richard Marshall: What? Swallow: What you're thinking. Richard Marshall: What am I thinking? Swallow: Ungodly thoughts of your Sara, that's my guess. Richard Marshall: Thoughts of Sara? Yes. Ungodly? Depends on how you look at it.

Witchfinder General (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Swallow: [finding Richard beating Hopkins with an axe] God! [takes Harcourt's gun and shoots Hopkins dead] Richard Marshall: You took him away from me... you took him from me... you took him from me... you took him from me! YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME! Swallow: [makes the sign of the cross] ... May God have mercy on us all.

Witchfinder General (film), CC BY-SA 4.0