The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970)

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

Anthony Armstrong (story) (segment "Case of Mr. Pelham, The")
Basil Dearden (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 February 1970 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Stalked by fear and terror - night and day!

Plot:

Harold Pelham encounters a duplicate of himself in the aftermath of a car crash. After that moment his life was upsetted.

Plot Keywords:

Car | Car Accident | Doppelganger | Accident | Extramarital Affair

Cast

Roger Moore	...	Harold Pelham
Hildegard Neil	...	Eve Pelham
Alastair Mackenzie	...	Michael Pelham
Hugh Mackenzie	...	James Pelham
Kevork Malikyan	...	Luigi
Thorley Walters	...	Frank Bellamy
Anton Rodgers	...	Tony Alexander
Olga Georges-Picot	...	Julie Anderson
Freddie Jones	...	Dr. Harris - Psychiatrist
John Welsh	...	Sir Charles Freeman
Edward Chapman	...	Barton
Laurence Hardy	...	Mason
Charles Lloyd Pack	...	Jameson
Gerald Sim	...	Morrison
Ruth Trouncer	...	Miss Bird, Pelham's secretary
Aubrey Richards	...	Research Scientist
Anthony Nicholls	...	Sir Arthur Richardson
John Carson	...	Ashton
John Dawson	...	Philip, the barber
Terence Sewards	...	Jeweller's Assistant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Houston	...	Lab Assistant (uncredited)
James Payne	...	Taxi driver (uncredited)
Jacki Piper	...	Secretary (uncredited)
John Scott	...	ER Operation Room specialist (uncredited)
Charles Simon	...	Porter (uncredited)
Tony Wright	...	Man in Club (uncredited)

Directed by
Basil Dearden

Writing credits
Anthony Armstrong		(story) (segment "Case of Mr. Pelham, The")
Basil Dearden		(screenplay) and
Michael Relph		(screenplay)
Bryan Forbes		uncredited

Produced by
Basil Dearden	....	executive producer
Michael Relph	....	producer
Jack Rix	....	associate producer
Bryan Forbes	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Michael J. Lewis

Cinematography by
Tony Spratling

Film Editing by
Teddy Darvas

Casting by
G.B. Walker

Art Direction by
Albert Witherick

Costume Design by
Beatrice Dawson

Makeup Department
George Blackler	....	makeup artist
Barbara Ritchie	....	hair stylist
John Webber	....	makeup artist

Production Management
John Comfort	....	unit production manager: second unit (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robin Dawson	....	second unit director
Ted Morley	....	assistant director
Frank Watts	....	second unit director
Gino Marotta	....	assistant director: second unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Michael Pittel	....	set dresser
E.W. Brister	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Peter Childs	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Michael Finlay	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Keith Batten	....	boom operator
Norman Bolland	....	sound recordist
Charles Crafford	....	sound editor
Dennis Whitlock	....	sound recordist
Len Abbott	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Tom Howard	....	special effects (as Tommy Howard)
Charles Staffell	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
James Devis	....	camera operator (as Jimmy Devis)
Ronnie Pilgrim	....	still photographer
George Courtney Ward	....	still photographer (as George Courtney-Ward)
Tony White	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Laurel Staffell	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Michael J. Lewis	....	conductor
Lawrence Ashmore	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Sidney Margo	....	music contractor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
George Andrews	....	unit driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Rita Davison	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)
• Excalibur Films

Distributors

• Anglo-EMI Film Distributors (1970) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner-Pathé Distributors (1970) (UK) (theatrical)
• Levitt-Pickman (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Lii-Filmi (1974) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Cinema Club (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• TV3 (1992) (Finland) (TV)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1990) (UK) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 (DVD) (2006) | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:11 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1990)

Filming Locations:

Associated British Elstree Studios, Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)

Trivia:

Just over a year from its initial release its writer/director Basil Dearden also died in a car accident.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the beginning of the film as Pelham is driving erratically in the Rover 3.0 Ltr saloon, the section of motorway is different depending on whether shots are taken at the rear of the car or the front of the car. This can be seen by the presence or absence of white lines (separating the lines of traffic) respectively.

Quotes:

Harold Pelham:Espionage isn't all James Bond on Her Majesty's Secret Service. Industry goes in for it too, you know.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Passions of Carol (1975)

Basil Dearden meets Roger Corman

Roger Moore plays a man whose other half (the half with panache) finally wins control over his body, a body that was nearly killed (actually dies on the operating table for a few seconds) in a ferocious (and excitingly filmed) car crash. A conservative and safety conscious partner in a London engineering firm, he's let life slip by a bit too much, not making love with his wife, passing up on the chance to score with God knows how many beautiful young women, the one here being a photographer, and myriad other potentialities. Well the other Moore, (more like Bond) gets a shot at the life force after the accident, and the first one (Mr. Conservative) is increasingly bewildered at reports of sightings of him here and there, when he was somewhere else. Fighting for his family, his work, his reputation, and his sanity, he has most viewers rooting for him to come out on top. The two sides finally have it out in a brilliant conclusion, one in a Bentley (or Rolls) and the other in an Astin (or Lotus), that reaches classic cinematic proportions in this high class Cormanesque near masterpiece.