HYSTERIA

HYSTERIA (1965). Director: Freddie Francis.

One of Jimmy Sangster's worst scripts is the main problem of this silly pseudo-thriller in which an American (Robert Webber) traveling from France to England winds up losing his memory in an auto crash. The dead driver's widow, Denise (Lelia Goldoni), arranges for his treatment in a clinic and for him to stay in her luxury apartment. Trying to summon up comparisons with Psycho, there's some business with a bloodied knife and then a corpse being found in or near a shower stall with the water running and so on -- but this is no Psycho and doesn't even come close. The film never works up more than the mildest of suspense as it tries to make you wonder who Webber really is and how he fits in with Denise, the dead body, and Dr. Keller (Anthony Newlands), the doctor who's been treating him. Jennifer Jayne from The Crawling Eye plays Gina, a nurse and romantic interest. A riot of loose ends and stupid contrived murder "plots," Hysteria is simply tedious and terrible and never makes much sense. Goldoni had a better role in Theatre of Death a couple of years later. Sue Lloyd of Corruption briefly plays a zesty French hooker. Dan Banks' jazzy score is pretty bad.

Verdict: Unmemorable British thriller. *1/2. 

MANIAC (1963)

MANIAC (1963). Director: Michael Carreras. 

Jeff Farrell (Kerwin Mathews, of 7th Voyage of Sinbad fame), is vacationing in France when he comes across an inn run by a pretty young woman, Annette (Liliane Brousse), and her stepmother, Eve (Nadia Gray). Jeff romances both but winds up falling for Eve, who tells him how her husband Georges (Donald Houston of The Flaw) was institutionalized after taking a blow torch to the man who raped his daughter four years before (this is detailed in the prologue). Eve has fallen in love with Jeff and hopes to free the hopefully cured Georges so he can get his life and daughter back, at least, while she goes off with her new love, Jeff. Jeff agrees to help Eve break her husband out of prison, but things go awry when Georges apparently murders the asylum employee who aids him in his escape. Now what do they do? Maniac holds the attention but it has absolutely no style or atmosphere and veteran cinematographer Wilkie Cooper's work is unimpressive. Just about everything about the movie is unconvincing, including the mostly flat acting (especially from Mathews and Gray, who generate little heat) and especially the twist ending, which comes as a surprise but seems to make everything a bit pointless. Jimmy Sangster's [Fear in the Night]  typically convoluted screenplay is not one of his better ones. Like other films, the title was supposed to create an identification with Psycho, but this is nowhere in the same league as Hitchcock's thriller.

Verdict: Watch once and then forget it! **1/4. 

THE NANNY

THE NANNY (1965). Director: Seth Holt. Screenplay by Jimmy Sangster.

A ten-year-old boy, Joey Fane (William Dix), suspected of being responsible for the drowning death of his younger sister, comes home from an institution and gets into a battle of wits with the middle-aged nanny (Bette Davis) -- in the process testing the patience of his stern father (James Villiers) and fragile, emotionally-devastated mother (Wendy Craig). But does his hatred of the nanny perhaps have a basis in reality? This very suspenseful movie keeps you guessing nearly until the end, and Davis' excellent performance (for once her latter-day affected style works to her advantage) doesn't give it away. Little Dix, a remarkably confident and talented child actor, is more than a match for Davis, and the other performances, including that of Jill Bennett as his aunt with a weak heart, are all very effective. Pamela Franklin is also good as a young upstairs neighbor who wonders if it's nanny or little Joey who's nuts. Very interesting story with a moving finale. Dix later appeared in Doctor Doolittle but his career did not continue into adulthood. 

Verdict: This is one of Hammer studios' best pictures. ***. 

FEAR IN THE NIGHT

FEAR IN THE NIGHT (1972). Produced and directed by Jimmy Sangster.

Newlyweds Peggy (Judy Geeson of Berserk) and Robert Heller (Ralph Bates) have moved into a cottage on the grounds of a boys school owned and run by headmaster Michael Carmichael (Peter Cushing of The Beast Must Die). Michael has a much younger wife named Molly (Joan Collins). Peggy has already been attacked by a man with a prosthetic arm back in the city, when this same man breaks into the cottage. Robert, who knows that Peggy was seeing a doctor after a nervous breakdown, isn't certain whether to believe her or not. One evening he has to go on an errand for Michael, and Peggy is left all alone in the house. Bad things are going to happen ... 

Ralph Bates and Judy Geeson

Fear in the Night is an intriguing and suspenseful Hammer thriller with some excellent performances. Even if you get clued in to some of the things that are going on, there are still some interesting twists to the story. Once everything has unfolded there is also a degree of pathos when you realize how cruelly one of the innocent characters has been used. The great Peter Cushing adds some class to the picture as he generally does, Bates doesn't give away if he's keeping secrets or not, Collins is suitably tough and forceful in her portrayal, and Geeson generally manages to deal with all of the sinister goings-on with aplomb. Sangster, who also co-wrote the screenplay, never lets the pace flag. It all builds to a quite satisfactory conclusion. 

Verdict:  Notable Hammer suspense film with fine performances. ***. 

JACK THE RIPPER (1959)

Betty McDowall and Lee Patterson

JACK THE RIPPER (1959). Directed by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman.  Screenplay by Jimmy Sangster. 

Women are being carved up in Whitechapel, London in the late 19th century after an unknown man asks them "Are you Mary Clark?" American reporter Sam Lowry (Lee Patterson) comes to London and meets up with his old friend, Inspector O'Neill (Eddie Byrne), who has been assigned to the case. Among the suspects is Dr. Traner (John Le Mesurier), whose ward, Anne (Betty McDowall) wants a position in his hospital over his objections. Other suspects include the friendly and mute hunchback, Louie (Endre Muller) and the less-friendly Dr. Urquhart (Garard Green), among others. 

Endre Muller and John Le Mesurier

Jack the Ripper does not at all stick to the facts of the true story, using only fictional characters and making the victims dance hall girls and barmaids along with prostitutes (To our knowledge, Jack only killed prostitutes). Nevertheless the film is interesting and has atmosphere, although the musical score is a little too jazzy at times. "Jack" comes to a suitably gruesome and horrifying end at the movie's climax, which briefly goes to color to show the blood. He has also been given a fairly credible motive. The picture is generally well-acted, absorbing, and fast-paced, but it has really nothing to do with the real Jack the Ripper. 

Verdict: Not the real story at all, but not bad on its own terms. ***.