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

Althoough this is a French film, all three lead actors are actually American. The rest of the cast is European. In addition, the film was shot in English.

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Connections

Referenced in Bleeder (1999)

User Reviews

Plodding film, but it's refreshing to see Bronson actually acting.

Back in the good old days, before the success of "Death Wish" forced him into playing the same role of the angry vigilante over and over again, Charles Bronson was a fine, versatile actor; in this 1971 film, he actually plays the victim of a larger scheme (though he does some victimizing of his own, too), and he's the best - if not the only - reason to see this otherwise static, plodding thriller. Anthony Perkins disappoints as the slightly deranged brain surgeon. The version I saw was in French, though the actors clearly spoke English on the set; this only added to the strangeness of the experience. Oh, and good luck to anyone trying to figure out what the title has to do with anything else. (**)