Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

moonspinner55 Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, king of the recycled thriller, here does an uncredited rewrite on Josephine Tey's novel "Brat Farrar", with siblings Janette Scott and Oliver Reed on the verge of sharing the family fortune when their brother, long thought a suicide, returns to the fold. Hammer Films production, distributed stateside by Universal, eschews the Gothic castles and ghouls for psychotic relatives--and when Oliver Reed gets wound up, there's hardly anyone more off-balanced. Melodrama is certainly crisp and well-mounted, balancing shudders with general hysteria, but these mad, maddening characters do not merit much interest. ** from ****

Spondonman I have a soft spot for this Hammer psycho-thriller – at 12 years old it was the first film I'd seen which I noted down as being worth watching again, and which over the following decades I dutifully have. It was shown on UK ITV's long-running Appointment With Fear on Friday night 15th October 1971, before the ATV Midlands linkman Peter Tomlinson started devaluing the experience with toy panda's et al. Looking back through rose tinted spectacles at this rather nasty film it obviously made a huge impression on me, but what of now?A dysfunctional household sitting on a half million pound fortune seem to have plenty of problems: a suspiciously sympathetic nurse who could have a few screws loose looking after a feeble minded girl apparently on the verge of madness while her madly impetuous arrogant brother drinks himself to death (Oliver Reed of course), all overseen by a bizarre aunt. Even the family lawyer and his son have axes to grind; then at last along comes someone who seems open and likable, the only trouble being he's supposed to have committed suicide 8 years before. Which of them is honest, crooked or both? Good acting captured by atmospheric black and white filming, with exceptional production values when you remember it was made on Hammer's usual shoestring budget. It holds the attention well until the climax when with 3 minutes left it unfortunately veers into contrived melodrama - as you watch more movies you lose count of the number of times you see story resolution in this flame - sorry, lame manner. Reed put the Ham in Hammer in those last minutes, even if he was performing a unique Danse Macabre with his ultimate skeleton in the closet!However, still excellent admirable stuff with many plot twists and turns to savour and enjoy, and still on my Watch Again list.

Ben Larson Writer Jimmy Sangster, the man behind Hammer films such as Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein, also penned this gem. Sangster, sadly, departed our presence last month, but his legacy of films lives on.Fans of Oliver Reed, Proximo in The Gladiator, will enjoy this early look at his talent. He was brilliant as he changed from his normal obnoxious self to a psychotic.Little sister Eleanor (Janette Scott) keeps seeing her dead brother Tony (Alexander Davion). Is she mad, or is he an impostor?I came across this film while watching 100 Years of Horror: Maniacs. It is a good film for Hammer Horror lovers, and those who like classic horror. It won't do much for those who are into modern horror.Terrific ending.

Scarecrow-88 An impostor claiming to be Tony(Alexander Davion), a young man who had been recorded as having thrown himself over a cliff many years ago, shakes the already fragile foundation of a family riddled with psychological turmoil. Aunt Harriet(Sheila Burrell)has been trying to keep what's left of the Ashby family together despite obvious problems stemming from the loss of parents and Tony, a young 15 year old deemed as so depressed he committed suicide from sadness. Simon Ashby has spent practically his entire inheritance on booze and a fancy sports car & wants sister Eleanor's(Janette Scott)share of wealth as well. Since Tony's demise, Eleanor, who was very close to him, has been battling mental health issues. Simon has been yearning for her to completely slip off the deep end so he can gain her inheritance if the poor girl was locked away in an asylum. Meanwhile, Harriet tries to keep Simon from ruining himself on liquor among other things. As this man claiming to be Tony shows up into the picture, Simon really begins to teeter on the brink and we watch as he plans to murder his brother..and Eleanor..when his alternatives in gaining extra cash seem skittish at best.Hammer tries their hand at a psychological family tragedy where deception and attempts at murder weigh heavy in the story. Acting is the key ingredient..that and a little twist concerning Tony. Tony's ghost haunts this film throughout as every character, including the impostor, can not shake his looming shadow overhead. Something's got to give as Simon is so sociopathic and greedy..yet, there's something in this story, regarding Tony, that has him even wound tighter. The film has another interesting aspect that plays out as it continues..the impostor is falling in love with Eleanor, and it's easy to see why because Janette Scott imbues her with so many wonderful traits such as her innocence, gentleness & warmth..and, it doesn't hurt that she's quite striking on the eyes.Oliver Reed is so intense as Simon, someone clearly with a few screws that have loosened over the years, he's a force-of-nature. He IS the movie as the alcoholic basketcase willing to do whatever it takes to seize on an inheritance others stand in his way of receiving.But, the film is ultimately about, to me anyway, the inability to escape your guilt regarding past acts and undiscovered secrets that suffocate you. The avarice of greed is also a heavy theme as Simon would do anything to gain that extra bit to supply his alcohol habit which will drown away iniquities of the past.