Wealthy John Preston arrives in small town Deanbridge. He invests in local businesses and gets involved in community affairs. Eventually, he meets a local belle, Sally, and wins her from ...
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Betta St. John | ... | Sally Sandford | |
| Alexander Knox | ... | Dr. Peter Walton | |
| Christopher Lee | ... | John Preston | |
| Sandra Dorne | ... | Sylvia - in dream / Maria | |
| Patrick Holt | ... | Sylvia's Husband in Dream (as Pat Holt) | |
| John Stuart | ... | Dr. Underwood | |
 |
Bill Fraser | ... | Joe Newton |
|
|
Gabrielle Gay | ... | Seamstress |
|
|
Peter Grant | ... | Bob Newton |
| Betty Ann Davies | ... | Mrs. Sandford | |
| John Longden | ... | Richard Sandford | |
|
|
Guido Lorraine | ... | Headwaiter |
|
|
Dinah Anne Rogers | ... | Phyllis |
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Storyline
Wealthy John Preston arrives in small town Deanbridge. He invests in local businesses and gets involved in community affairs. Eventually, he meets a local belle, Sally, and wins her from her current boyfriend. She agrees to marry him. Then, he begins to have strange dreams about Sylvia, a beautiful woman from his past, who comes to Deanbridge to blackmail him. In his dream, Preston strangles the scheming woman, but is then confronted by a strange Frenchman. He tells his dream to Dr. Walton, who feels Preston is suppressing things in his past, and should regain his memory before marrying Sally. Written by Mike Rogers <MICHAELPEM@aol.com>
Plot Keywords:
dream | memory | community | male female relationship | father daughter relationship |Taglines:
Why Did His Devilish Dreams Persist? (original US poster) See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
14 December 1955 (USA) See more »Filming Locations:
Brighton Film Studios, St Nicholas Road, Brighton, East Sussex, England, UKCompany Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
This was Betty Ann Davies' final movie before her death on May 14, 1955 at the age of forty-four.. It was released seven months after her death. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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This obscure psychological thriller, a typical "quota quickie" of British cinema during that period, is notable in hindsight for giving the late Sir Christopher Lee perhaps his first genuine star part; while the film's veritable protagonist, he still receives third (albeit above-the-title) billing after female lead Betta St. John (she would be reunited with the future horror icon on both CORRIDORS OF BLOOD {1958} and THE CITY OF THE DEAD {1960}) and Alexander Knox (who turns up well into the proceedings of this modest 66-minute offering in a role that is basically an extension of his character in Joseph Losey's THE SLEEPING TIGER {1954})! Other respectable names are those of cinematographer Jack Cox (responsible for Alfred Hitchcock's THE LADY VANISHES {1938}) and director MacDonald (who, after a promising career, seemed unable to surmount the commercial failure of CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS {1949} – which led to him being reduced to helming the likes of DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS {1954}!).
Anyway, while the film under review is bracketed within the horror genre in the few reviews I could find, as I said, it really treads suspense territory – as the ambitious (and, unsurprisingly, supercilious) Lee begins to crack under the strain of a hazy past intermittently re-awakened in a series of "realistic" nightmares. While the first half is somewhat ordinary (another suitor for St. John, smitten since childhood, seems to be on hand merely as someone for her to fall back on after Lee – here in atypically romantic mode – finally goes off the deep end!), the couch sessions between doctor Knox and employer-cum-secret patient Lee (and which, more often than not, take the form of confrontations) grab the attention well enough. Similarly, though the dream sequences are necessarily not of the (perhaps expected) ethereal kind, the revelation packs a definite punch though, in truth, the movie's title does rather give the game away too readily!