Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)

Director:

Bryan Forbes

Writers:

Bryan Forbes (screenplay)
Mark McShane (novel)

Release Date:

5 November 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A psychic convinces her weak-willed husband to kidnap the child of a wealthy couple, so she can use her abilities to locate the child and thus achieve fame.

Plot Keywords:

Ransom | Little Girl | Stillbirth | Seance | Mental Illness

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Kim Stanley	...	Myra
Margaret Lacey	...	Woman at first Seance
Marie Burke	...	Woman at first Seance
Maria Kazan	...	Woman at first Seance
Lionel Gamlin	...	Man at Seances
Marian Spencer	...	Mrs. Wintry
Richard Attenborough	...	Billy
Godfrey James	...	Mrs. Clayton's Chauffeur
Judith Donner	...	Amanda
Ronald Hines	...	Policeman Outside Clayton's
Hajni Biro	...	Maid at Clayton's
Mark Eden	...	Mr. Clayton
Nanette Newman	...	Mrs. Clayton
Diana Lambert	...	Sheila - Mr. Clayton's Secretary
Frank Singuineau	...	Bus Conductor
Gerald Sim	...	Beedle
Stanley Morgan	...	Man in Trilby
Maggie Rennie	...	Woman at Second Seance (as Margaret McGrath)
Michael Lees	...	Plain Clothes Policeman
Patrick Magee	...	Walsh
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arnold Bell	...	Mr. Weaver (uncredited)

Directed by
Bryan Forbes

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bryan Forbes		screenplay
Mark McShane		novel

Produced by
Richard Attenborough	....	producer
Jack Rix	....	associate producer
Bryan Forbes	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
John Barry

Cinematography by
Gerry Turpin		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Derek York

Art Direction by
Ray Simm

Makeup Department
Stuart Freeborn	....	makeup artist
Barbara Ritchie	....	hairdresser

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christopher Dryhurst	....	assistant director
Simon Relph	....	first assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Peter James	....	set dresser
Jock Lyall	....	construction manager
Alan Roderick-Jones	....	set designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bill Daniels	....	sound recordist
George Fisher	....	dubbing editor
Gus Lloyd	....	sound assistant

Camera and Electrical Department
Gerry Anstiss	....	camera assistant
David Harcourt	....	camera operator
Ted Lockhart	....	camera grip
George Courtney Ward	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Laurel Staffell	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Laurel Staffel)

Music Department
John Barry	....	conductor
John Barry	....	music arranger
Sidney Margo	....	music contractor (uncredited)

Other crew
Penny Daniels	....	continuity
Diana Hawkins	....	publicist (uncredited)
Ann Skinner	....	production secretary (uncredited)

Thanks
Ernest Lough	....	acknowledgment: permission for using "Hear my Prayer"
George Thalben-Ball	....	acknowledgment: permission for using "Hear my Prayer" (as Dr. Thalben Ball)

Production Companies

• Beaver Films
• Allied Film Makers (AFM)

Distributors

• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1964) (UK) (theatrical)
• Artixo Productions (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• VidAmerica (1984) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Carlton Visual Entertainment (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2011) (Australia) (video) (VOD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:115 min | UK:121 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

41 Marryat Road, Wimbledon, London, England, UK

Company:

Beaver Films

Trivia:

Bryan Forbes looked for that house with the turret as a film location; when he went to the owner for permission, she asked who was in the film. When told that an American actress named Kim Stanley, the woman blanched, stepped back, and said that Stanley was one of her oldest friends whom she had not seen in 17 years.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the final seance, there is a close up of a man's hand with a pinkie ring and gray sleeve, who is not at the table. It is a repeated shot from the previous seance, when the gray-jacketed man took part.

Quotes:

Myra Savage:What we are doing is a means to an end. Now you agree with the end, don't you? Well then you must agree with the means! You can't have one without the other.

Movie Connections:

References 8½ (1963)

Soundtrack:

Hear my Prayer

Excellent psychological horror

This great, seldom-scene movie stars Kim Stanley as an unbalanced woman who holds seances in her home and concocts a plot to gain celebrity with her so-called "powers". With the help of her husband, she plans to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy couple, then use her "powers"to reveal the girl's whereabouts. As the story unfolds, the audience is shown the reasons behind the woman's emotional problems and the growing inevitability of disaster that her plan holds. Richard Attenborough gives a great performance as he teeters between the desire to fulfill his unhappy wife's scheme and the knowledge that the deed they are doing is wrong. Reccommended for those who want a shiver without the gore. Thought provoking.