Wealthy widow Mrs. Bramson (Mona Washbourne) lives in the English countryside with her daughter Olivia (Susan Hampshire) and has a maid/cook named Dora (Sheila Hancock). Dora is pregnant from her boyfriend Danny (Albert Finney). What she doesn't know is that Danny is a psychopath. He charms Mrs. Bramson and starts playing mind games with Olivia and Dora...but he's slowly starting to unravel.
Rightly forgotten thriller. I'm no fan of the 1939 original but it's a masterpiece when compared to this. This was obviously a project Finney really wanted to do--he's one of the co-producers. This was done right after "Tom Jones" became a monster hit so Finney was able to do whatever he pleased. He probably picked this to prove to people that he could act and wasn't just the handsome ladies man he played in "Jones". Now, Finney IS a great actor but he's pretty dreadful in this. He overplays the role to an embarrassing degree. He's so obviously deranged that you wonder why anybody would be charmed or trust him. When he tries to show the violence in his character he looks more silly than anything else. He also adopts a stupid accent that renders most of his dialogue unintelligible. The script doesn't help. It's slow and wanders all over the place. There seem to be gaps in it too. In one scene we see Danny pretty much terrorizing Olivia who he caught in his room. The very next scene he's teaching her how to ride his motorcycle like nothing has happened! Another problem are the characters themselves--none of them are remotely likable. Dora comes across as whiny, Olivia as pathetic and Mrs. Bramson as a real vicious and cruel person. Who wants to spend two hours with these people?
There are a few good things about this. The acting by Hampshire, Hancock and Washbourne is good; there's a nice music score and it's shot appropriately in moody black & white. Still, this is a slow, dull thriller full of annoying characters. Might be worth watching to see Finney showing how you should NOT play a maniac. I give it a 4.
Rightly forgotten thriller. I'm no fan of the 1939 original but it's a masterpiece when compared to this. This was obviously a project Finney really wanted to do--he's one of the co-producers. This was done right after "Tom Jones" became a monster hit so Finney was able to do whatever he pleased. He probably picked this to prove to people that he could act and wasn't just the handsome ladies man he played in "Jones". Now, Finney IS a great actor but he's pretty dreadful in this. He overplays the role to an embarrassing degree. He's so obviously deranged that you wonder why anybody would be charmed or trust him. When he tries to show the violence in his character he looks more silly than anything else. He also adopts a stupid accent that renders most of his dialogue unintelligible. The script doesn't help. It's slow and wanders all over the place. There seem to be gaps in it too. In one scene we see Danny pretty much terrorizing Olivia who he caught in his room. The very next scene he's teaching her how to ride his motorcycle like nothing has happened! Another problem are the characters themselves--none of them are remotely likable. Dora comes across as whiny, Olivia as pathetic and Mrs. Bramson as a real vicious and cruel person. Who wants to spend two hours with these people?
There are a few good things about this. The acting by Hampshire, Hancock and Washbourne is good; there's a nice music score and it's shot appropriately in moody black & white. Still, this is a slow, dull thriller full of annoying characters. Might be worth watching to see Finney showing how you should NOT play a maniac. I give it a 4.