IMDb > Peeping Tom (1960)
Peeping Tom
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Peeping Tom (1960) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 2)
Peeping Tom (1960) -- A young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror.
Peeping Tom (1960) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   8,157 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 9% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Leo Marks (original story and screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Peeping Tom on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 May 1962 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Years ahead of its time and still one of the most disturbing and psychologically complex horror films ever made! (DVD) more
Plot:
A young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
(7 articles)
Tiff ‘09: Broken Embraces
 (From SoundOnSight. 24 September 2009, 8:25 PM, PDT)

Stage Fright: The Grand-guignol And The Popularity Of Horror
 (From Fangoria. 19 September 2009, 7:54 PM, PDT)

User Comments:

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. Rosan

Michael Goodliffe ... Don Jarvis
Jack Watson ... Chief Insp. Gregg
Shirley Anne Field ... Diane Ashley
Pamela Green ... Milly, the model
more
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Face of Fear (USA) (TV title)
more
Runtime:
101 min | USA:86 min (cut version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
UK:X (original rating) | Germany:12 (re-rating) (2005) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Finland:K-14 (2000) | Finland:K-16 (1983) | UK:15 (re-rating) | UK:15 (reclassification) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:(Banned) (1960) | Spain:13 | Sweden:(Banned) (1961-1973) | Sweden:15 (re-rating) | USA:Not Rated

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 25 Most Dangerous Movies". more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: As Mark approaches the prostitute on the street in the opening scene of the movie, the wall behind her shows Mark's shadow and a second shadow that appears to be of a crouched person walking with him. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
[Mark approaches the prostitute, covertly filming her]
Dora: It'll be two quid
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
20 out of 24 people found the following comment useful.
bizarre, 5 June 2003
10/10
Author: Lumpenprole from United States

The first time I saw Peeping Tom, it was exhilarating. The clever films within the film, puns, raw Freudian imagery, the bold acting and the way the plot unfolds as logically as a fable kept me enthralled through to the end. I tried watching it again last night and I couldn't shake an absolutely crushing sadness that emanates from Mark Lewis. He's like some aborted twin of the director in 8 1/2. But whereas Guido's creative instinct and drive emerged from a house full of women pampering him and a magical incantation that he was told will animate an ominous painting, Mark's is a murderous urge to have some of the control and power denied him by his father. Like a record stuck playing the same sound over and over, Mark has grown into an emotional cul-de-sac where he watches the story of his torture and his revenge every night.

Mark is trying to work his way out of this loop by filming a documentary. If he can create a record of sadistic control over everything around himself, maybe the act of making a story out of his life will at least give him an end to his suffering. The frenzied excitement, practically joy, of his suicide is a miserable thing to contemplate. He says that he's spent a long time preparing his walkway of cameras to capture his final rush to meet the fate he inflicted on so many others. At previous points in the film, he's noted that he expected to get caught and it's clear he's very happy to have been revealed in exactly the circumstances he staged. His documentary is a success.

Mark tries to develop a world outside of the documentary that he knows will kill him. He talks to the psychologist about getting help and his expression clearly indicates that he just can't see giving years of therapy a chance. Mark's clumsy and sincere attempts to develop a normal relationship with Helen fall into the same category - it would be so nice, but he's got something he has to do. Something creative, albeit monstrous, hardwired into Mark has to express itself `regardless of the consequences.'

As with other Michael Powell films, it's not for all audiences. Powell tells his stories with lavish color-coded signals, revels in dramatic extremes, and is unapologetic about pulling dirty tricks like dragging out Moira Shearer's death scene to the point where 1) you fully realize that Mark is an exacting composer and 2) you long for him to get on with it and kill her already.

Like everything else filmed before 1999 (when The Matrix set the current standard for believable CGI and HBO programming made R-rated material ho-hum), the fx/gore do not live up to contemporary expectations.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Peeping Tom (1960)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Moira Shearer gets upper billing?! MSStMarie
The other screams *spoilers* skindili
mark mark mark mark mark mark badbro13
PEEPING TOM screening in NYC (Sept 2/3) khan0890
Quite a costly DVD 80sgal4ever
the percussion number by Wally Stott that Moira Shearer dances to! fabelwesentlich
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