Peeping Tom (1960)

A young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror.

Director:

Michael Powell

Writers:

Leo Marks (original story), Leo Marks (screenplay)

Stars:

Karlheinz Böhm, Anna Massey, Moira Shearer

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Karlheinz Böhm	...	Mark Lewis (as Carl Boehm)
Moira Shearer	...	Vivian
Anna Massey	...	Helen Stephens
Maxine Audley	...	Mrs. Stephens
Brenda Bruce	...	Dora
Miles Malleson	...	Elderly Gentleman Customer
Esmond Knight	...	Arthur Baden
Martin Miller	...	Dr. Rosen
Michael Goodliffe	...	Don Jarvis
Jack Watson	...	Chief Insp. Gregg
Shirley Anne Field	...	Pauline Shields (as Shirley Ann Field)
Pamela Green	...	Milly

Storyline

Mark Lewis, works as a focus puller in a British film studio. On his off hours, he supplies a local porno shop with cheesecake photos and also dabbles in filmmaking. A lonely, unfriendly, sexually repressed fellow, Mark is obsessed with the effects of fear and how they are registered on the face and behavior of the frightened. This obsession dates from the time when, as a child, he served as the subject of some cold-blooded experiments in terror conducted by his own scientist father. As a grown man, Mark becomes a compulsive murderer who kills women and records their contorted features and dying gasps on film. His ongoing project is a documentary on fear. With 16mm camera in hand, he accompanies a prostitute to her room and stabs her with a blade concealed in his tripod, all the while photographing her contorted face in the throes of terror and death. Alone in his room, he surrounds himself with the sights and sounds of terror: taped screams, black-and-white "home movies" of convulsed...

---

Plot Keywords:

serial killer | filmmaking | british horror | psychopathic killer | serial murderer | 

---

Taglines:

Han fotograferede sine smukke ofre i dødsøjeblikket! [Denmark]

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Milly welcomes Mark with "Look who's here - Cecil Beaton!" in the first scene above the newsagents. Sir Cecil Beaton (1904 -1980) was a noted English fashion and portrait photographer.

---

Goofs

Trunk with the body is left open by chief inspector, but in the next shot of it, it is closed.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
[Mark approaches the prostitute, covertly filming her]
Dora: It'll be two quid

---

Alternate Versions

In the scene where Mark is about to kill the 'model' "Milly" she lays on the bed bare breasted. For the US version they had to re-shoot with her breasts covered.

---

Connections

Referenced in Peeping Twins (2007)

User Reviews

The British 'Psycho'

It's difficult to imagine the effect that this film had on critics and audiences when first shown as in the 90's we have become desensitized by the violence and cruelty of slasher movies.

Yet even today this film is deeply disturbing. The lead character is portrayed in a sympathetic light, thanks to a stunning performance from Carl Boem. He is a victim of a cruel and abusive father, desperate to escape the curse that has been handed down to him. There are some memorable scenes: the home movie showing him and his father (played by Michael Powell and his own son), the shot of the beautiful model turning round and showing her hare lip and the projection of one of the murders to the blind mother, with part of the frame projecting onto the murderer.

This is a deeply unnerving film but brilliantly made. Go see.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Face of Fear

Filming Locations:

29 Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP135,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$24,640

Company Credits

Production Co:

Michael Powell (Theatre)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 86 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1