Dickey with his own gun. Before dying, Dickey manages to retrieve his tommy gun from his broken-down car, which he had hidden away in the chicken house. Too weak to fire the gun at George, Dickey collapses to the ground and the automatic discharge from the weapon causes George's car to explode in flames. Fearful of being implicated in the killing (and of possible reprisals from Katelbach's other henchmen), Teresa frantically insists that she and George abandon the castle together. But George is in a state of shock and seems unable to move. Suddenly, they hear a car approaching. Not knowing that Dickey's boss had abandoned him, they assume it is Katelbach. Desperate and afraid, Teresa runs off by herself and hides in a cupboard. The car arrives, and it turns out to be Cecil, who had returned to retrieve his rifle. Cecil offers to take them to the police, but George refuses to go. He watches as Cecil and Teresa drive off into the night, leaving George in his ruined castle with his car still on fire. Now utterly alone, George goes on a rampage, running out of the castle and down to the beach. As day breaks, he finally sits down on a rock in the fetal position and weeps hysterically, shouting out the name of his first wife, as the early morning tide rises around him. Cast Production The film was shot on location in 1965 on the island of Lindisfarne (also known as Holy Island) off the coast of Northumberland, England. Lindisfarne Castle, which served as the home in the film, is now a National Trust property and can be toured by the public; despite the passage of time, the building and its surroundings are largely unchanged. Interpretation Like Polanski's previous film Repulsion, released the previous year, it explores themes of horror, frustrated sexuality and alienation, which have become characteristic of many of the director's films, especially Rosemary's Baby and The Tenant. Cul-de-sac has been compared in tone and theme with the works of Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, and these similarities are underscored by the casting of two principal roles in the film: Jack MacGowran was renowned for his stage performances of Beckett's plays and Donald Pleasence originated the role of Davies in Pinter's The Caretaker. The film's German title is Wenn Katelbach kommt (When Katelbach Comes). Christopher Weedman also notes the film's similarities with