Keeping a TV recording of the very good The Borderlands by the side,I started look for another title to watch for a British Horror double bill. Catching me completely by surprise,my dad revealed a rarely mentioned Hammer Horror he had picked up,which led to me turning paranoiac. The plot:After the deaths of their parents in an air-crash the ties that bind the Ashby family together start to snap. Sinking into depression with the rest of his brothers and sisters, Tony Ashby appears to end it all by jumping off a cliff into the sea,an act which none of the other family members see take place.Taken care of by Aunt Harriet,Simon starts becoming increasingly aware of how fragile his sister Eleanor is in the mansion. Wanting all the inheritance for himself,Simon begins playing games that get Eleanor to question her sanity.Fearing that she's starting to see ghosts,Eleanor and the rest of the family discover that "dead" Tony is actually alive. As everyone appears to accept that he is telling the truth,"Tony" starts playing a paranoiac game… View on the film: Cracking under the pressure of her family and the re-appearance of Tony, Janette Scott gives a great performance as Eleanor,whose stuck in the mansion status leads Scott to getting Eleanor to lunge out in violently fearful,and abrasively passionate ways. Bringing light into the Ashby family,Alexander Davion gives a sharp, icy performance as Tony,whose handsome looks Davion sands down to a reveal calculating bite. Joined by a simmering Sheila Burrell as Aunt Harriet,Oliver Reed gives a cracking performance as Simon,who Reed balances between wrapping cruel mind-games round Eleanor, and falling down to the madness of the Ashby family.Beginning the themes that would re-appear in the excellent Amicus Giallo The Psychopath, director Freddie Francis & cinematographer Arthur Grant blend the Gothic smoke of Hammer Horror with dazzling Film Noir stylisation, with the isolation of the Ashby mansion being reflected in water and deranged family members spying on each other in shadows. Backed by a spidery score from Elisabeth Lutyens, Francis brings frightful doubt into the mansion with crisp side shots giving the impression of ghosts/mysterious figures,and a digging deep inside the foundation,allow Francis to unmask fiery secrets.Loosely based on Josephine Tey's novel,the screenplay by Jimmy Sangster wonderfully uses each Ashby family member to set the other one off to psychological horror,from the fury of mourning from Harriot,to the screams of Eleanor and the cackling weirdness of Simon. Whilst the ending is too neat and tidy,Sangster brilliantly makes Tony a Noir loner trapped in a horror nightmare,with the "love" Eleanor has for Tony edging towards a risqué undertone,and the ambiguity of this Tony being real or fake making each of the Ashby's feel paranoiac.

Well plotted black & white psychological thriller from Hammer is loosely based on Josephine Tey's "Brat Farrar". The legendary Oliver Reed stars as Simon Ashby, a snippy, sardonic young man set to inherit a sizable amount of money from his late parents. Part of his problem is his tendency to grossly misbehave. He gets ever so much worse when a man (Alexander Davion) claiming to be his brother Tony shows up. You see, Tony supposedly committed suicide two years ago. Meanwhile, Tony and Simon have a sister (Janette Scott) who is also quite fragile.Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster keeps the twists a-coming in this effectively paced little film, directed capably by talented Freddie Francis. Even if the viewers figure out where this is headed well before the finish, Sangster, Francis, and company do keep you entertained with their stylish telling of this tale. It's very nicely shot in widescreen by Arthur Grant, with fine use of locations and some genuine moments of tension.The main draw are an array of excellent performances, especially from Reed, who doesn't have to stretch himself very much by playing a character who's a bit of a hell raiser. Scott and co-star Liliane Brousse are quite lovely to look at, with Scott earning our sympathies as the girl desperate to have her brother back. Sheila Burrell is appropriately icy as Aunt Harriet, and Maurice Denham (as the family lawyer), John Bonney (as his son), and John Stuart (as the family butler) all lend some valuable support.If you're a fan of Reed or Hammer films in general, you should dig it.Eight out of 10.

Loutish, selfish, psychotic spoiled rich jerk Simon (a typically fine and intense Oliver Reed) plots to drive his troubled sister Eleanor (a strong and sympathetic performance by the lovely Janette Scott) crazy so he can inherit all of their wealthy deceased parents' substantial fortune. Simon's plans go awry when a mysterious man (nicely played by Alexander Davion) shows up claiming to be Eleanor's beloved long lost brother Tony. Director Freddie Francis, working from a clever and twist-ridden script by Jimmy Sangster, maintains a steady pace throughout, ably creates an edgy atmosphere of seething guilt and suffocating paranoia, and relates the involving story in a pleasingly straightforward manner. The excellent supporting cast are another significant asset: Sheila Burrell as the kindly, concerned Aunt Harriett, Liliane Brousse as Simon's gorgeous mistress Francoise, John Stuart as loyal butler Williams, and Maurice Denham as uptight family lawyer John Kossett. Arthur Grant's polished black and white cinematography, Elisabeth Lutyens' moody orchestral score, and the rousing macabre conclusion are all up to par. As usual, it's Reed's brooding and explosive acting that really makes this picture so enjoyable and hence well worth a look.

Paranoiac (1963): Starring Oliver Reed, Janette Scott, Sheila Burrell, Alexander Davion, Liliane Brousse, Maurice Denham, Harold Lang, Arnold Diamond, John Stuart, Laurie Leigh, Sydney Bromley, Marianne Stone, Colin Tapley, Jack Taylor....Director Freddie Francis, Screenplay Jimmy Sangster, Based On The Novel By Josephine Tey.The Hammer horror films, a British production, gained rapid popularity and audience in the early 60's, in the wake of such revolutionary new horror movies such as Hitchcock's "Psycho". These Hammer films were still produced well into the 1970's after actor Christopher Lee had earned success in his signature role of Dracula. In this early Hammer film directed by Freddie Francis from 1963, we meet the wealthy Ashby family who live in a beautiful estate by the sea. The entire family has felt the loss of the young Tony, a choir boy who is thought to have committed suicide by throwing himself off the cliffs and into the sea. At first, we are led to believe his older sister Eleanor (played by the beautiful and talented Janette Scott) has been most affected by his death. She begins to see him everywhere - in the church, walking by the estate grounds, etc. No one else sees him and so they believe she is going insane. Things are not always what they appear to be. The nurse hired to care for Eleanor, a French woman named Francoise (Liliane Brousse)is in actuality the lover of Simon Ashby, brother to the deceased Tony. Before long a man claiming to be Tony (Alexander Davion) appears and the drama is set into motion. No one believes that this is Tony, who was reported dead and they don't buy his tale of having been roaming for years and finally decided to show up back home. There are reasons behind the suspicions of Aunt Harriet (Sheila Burrell) that he is an impostor. The movie is slow and more of a murder mystery than anything else, at times needlessly long and very talky. The mystery is slowly revealed by the impostor. Tony was murdered by Simon and he kept his cadaver hidden in a chamber where he, out of guilt and madness, plays the organ and has Aunt Harriet dress up as Tony and mimic singing his voice through a phonograph. "Paranoiac" is a about madness and deception. Aunt Harriet knew about Simon being a murderer and kept it a secret for years. There is also a matter of selfishness and desire for fortune, as portrayed in the characters of Simon and the impostor. He soon begins to change his heart when he falls for Eleanor. The hint of incest is another part of the twisted tale. They are not actually brother and sister and Eleanor learns this but she is drawn to him romantically because she had repressed desires for her brother. All this was very shocking and bold in early 1960's cinema. The film has very little action and could have benefited from supernatural elements. Why no ghost ? But it is still a dark and Gothic film and a product of its time. The dramatic, chilling music is by Elisabeth Lutyens and the impressive cinematography by Arthur Grant. The film was made in England and the panoramic scenes of the high cliffs and the sea is very symbolic of madness. It is almost Edgar Allen Poe, "Fall of the House Of Usher" in style but never quite gets to there because it's a film that does not brake any new barriers except that it has a hint of incest and mystery. It is like the screenwriter was so repressed that they did not dare go too far. But it's not one of the more successful Hammer films. For this reason, I can only rate this film a 6 out of 10. It's still very worthwhile if only to see famed actors Janette Scott and Oliver Reed in well-executed performances. The dialog is solid and the acting is powerful, especially Oliver Reed as the intense and insane Simon. A good film but not great.