Someone Behind the Door (1971)
"Quelqu'un derrière la porte" (original title)

A neurosurgeon with a cheating wife takes an amnesiac into his home and conditions him to believe that the cheating wife is his own and to take the "appropriate" action.

Director:

Nicolas Gessner

Writers:

Marc Behm (adaptation), Nicolas Gessner (adaptation),

Stars:

Charles Bronson, Anthony Perkins, Jill Ireland

Cast

Cast overview:
Charles Bronson	...	The Stranger
Anthony Perkins	...	Laurence Jeffries
Jill Ireland	...	Frances Jeffries
Henri Garcin	...	Paul Damien
Adriano Magistretti	...	Andrew
Agathe Natanson	...	Lucy
Viviane Everly	...	Young Girl on Beach
André Penvern	...	Intern
Carl Studer	...	Fisherman (as Carl J. Studer)
Denise Péronne	...	Nurse
Isabelle Del Rio	...	Nurse
Silvana Blasi	...	Mrs. Evans
Colin Mann	...	Sgt. Gordon
Yves Elliot	...	Policeman

Storyline

Dr. Laurence Jeffries, a neurosurgeon, intent on his research, neglects his wife Frances. The frustrated woman accordingly takes a lover, Paul Damien, a French journalist. When he realizes what is going on, Laurence has only one thing in mind, vengeance. A diabolical idea comes to him: why not use one of his patients, an amnesiac, as his instrument of revenge? He soon implements his plan, taking the amnesiac into his home and making him believe that Frances is HIS wife, that she cheats on him and that he has to eliminate her...

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Plot Keywords:

neurosurgeon | cheating wife | journalist | counting | electroencephalogram | 

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Taglines:

No memory, no name, no mind: This man will act out someone else's insanity and revenge.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

France

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 July 1971 (France)

Also Known As:

Someone Behind the Door

Filming Locations:

Folkestone, Kent, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Comacico, Lira Films, Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie (SNC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jill Ireland was the real-life wife of Charles Bronson but plays the wife of Anthony Perkins.

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Connections

Referenced in Bleeder (1999)

User Reviews

A cast against type Bronson.

Bronson's fans would be very surprised ,had they the opportunity to see this Nicolas Gessner movie.He's not here the he-man they expect.He plays an amnesiac,caught like a fly in a cobweb by shrink Perkins.In this kind of thriller ,Perkins' "psycho prestige" works and it makes the audience feel he's watching a Hitchcock ersatz-which is not that much bad after all,a Hitchcock ersatz may be much better than a genuine X....... thriller.The main problem lies in the fact that most of the time,it seems like a filmed stage production.Hitchcock could easily get away with such works as "the rope " or "dial M for murder".Gessner has not his genius and his directing becomes sometimes ponderous. Hitchcok's lessons will be much better applied on "sleuth" ,Mankiewicz's triumph the following year,and to a lesser degree,on Penn's "dead of winter" (1987).

Late Jill Ireland plays the female part ,as it was often the case in those days,as far Bronson movies were concerned.Nicolas Gessner continued his work with American actors on his follow-up which would be a long time coming (late seventies) "la petite fille au bout du chemin" (the little girl who lives down the lane)and featured Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen.It was probably his best .Then he worked abroad without great success.His most notable work was for French TV "le château des oliviers " (early nineties,with Brigitte Fossey)which gained the audience's approval.