Paranoiac (1963)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Freddie Francis

Writer:

Jimmy Sangster (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

15 May 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

When it comes to love or murder ... there's no one as dangerous ... as the ... Paranoiac!

Plot:

Simon Ashby is a wealthy psychotic who is is coddled by his aunt in their palatial mansion outside of London...

Plot Keywords:

Aunt | Murderer | Alcoholic | Drinking | Clown Mask

Cast

Janette Scott	...	Eleanor Ashby
Oliver Reed	...	Simon Ashby
Sheila Burrell	...	Aunt Harriet
Maurice Denham	...	John Kossett
Alexander Davion	...	Tony Ashby
Liliane Brousse	...	Françoise
Harold Lang	...	RAF Type
Arnold Diamond
John Bonney	...	Keith Kossett
John Stuart	...	Williams
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sydney Bromley	...	Tramp (uncredited)
Laurie Leigh	...	Woman #1 (uncredited)
Marianne Stone	...	Woman #2 (uncredited)
Colin Tapley	...	Vicar (uncredited)
Jack Taylor	...	Sailor (uncredited)

Directed by
Freddie Francis

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jimmy Sangster		writer
Josephine Tey		uncredited (novel "Brat Farrar")

Produced by
Anthony Hinds	....	producer
Basil Keys	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Elisabeth Lutyens

Cinematography by
Arthur Grant

Production Design by
Bernard Robinson

Art Direction by
Don Mingaye

Makeup Department
Roy Ashton	....	makeup artist
Richard Mills	....	assistant makeup artist
Frieda Steiger	....	hair stylist

Production Management
John Draper	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ray Corbett	....	third assistant director
Hugh Harlow	....	second assistant director
Ross MacKenzie	....	assistant director

Art Department
Arthur Banks	....	construction manager
Tom Money	....	property master
Kenneth Ryan	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Jim Groom	....	sound editor (as James Groom)
Ken Nightingall	....	boom operator
Ken Rawkins	....	sound recordist
Alan Thorne	....	sound camera operator

Special Effects by
Les Bowie	....	special effects
Kit West	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Albert Cowlard	....	camera grip
Moray Grant	....	camera operator
Robin Higginson	....	focus puller
David Osborne	....	focus puller

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Molly Arbuthnot	....	wardrobe
Rosemary Burrows	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
James Needs	....	editorial supervisor
James Needs	....	supervising editor

Music Department
John Hollingsworth	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Pauline Harlow	....	continuity (as Pauline Wise)
Maureen White	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• Hammer Film Productions

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1963) (USA) (theatrical)
• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1963) (UK) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (199?) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Universal International Pictures (UI)  us releasing agent

Runtime:

Canada:80 min | USA:80 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X | France:-12 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Quotes:

Simon Ashby: [stumbles through the door inebriated]
Aunt Harriet: Where have you been?
Simon Ashby: [smirk on his face] I've been drinking.
[Looks at the liquor on the bar in the entryway]
Simon Ashby: Now I need to drink some more.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)

An atypical, but remarkable, Hammer film

Freddie Francis has built up an amazing career in cinematography earning multiple prizes and awards thanks to his excellent visual work in movies like "The Elephant Man" (1980) and "The Straight Story" (1999), but he also has a less known (but not less interesting) career as a director that started in 1962 when he co-directed "The Day of the Triffids". Later he would become a regular name in the horror genre, directing films for both Hammer and Amicus, the two most important horror film production companies of the 60s. "Paranoiac" was the first film he did for Hammer, and in many ways ranks as one of his best works.

"Paranoiac" is the tale of the Ashby family, a wealthy clan that has been struck by tragedy twice; first with the death of both parents and later with the suicide of the youngest member of the family, Tony Ashby. The remaining siblings, Simon (Oliver Reed) and Eleanor (Janette Scott) have grown under the care of their Aunt Harriet (Sheila Burrell), but both are emotionally (and psychologically) unstable as Simon is a drunk sociopath who enjoys torturing the weakened Eleanor, who lost the will to live after Tony's death. However, one day a man appears claiming to be Tony (Alexander Davion), and his appearance will shock the Asby's world to its core.

This obscure thriller about death and insanity may not be one of Hammer's best known films, but it's certainly one of the most interesting. Written by Hammer regular Jimmy Sangster (loosely based on Josephine Tey's novel Brat Farrar), the film explores the reactions of the Ashbys when Tony reappears, and it certainly honors its title as the film's theme of Paranoia surrounds every member of the Ashby family. Sangster builds up an interesting tale of mystery and suspense that gets benefited by a well-developed group of characters.

Director Freddie Francis once again excels with the cinematography (by Hammer regular Arthur Grant) of the film and gives the movie a style that mixes British melodrama with old school Gothic horror. The use of black and white (totally against Hammer style) enhances the feeling of paranoia and isolation that surrounds the Ashby family (Francis would return to this in his next film, "Nightmare"), and while it's not what one would expect from a Hammer film, it actually suits the movie better than color.

It's true that Jimmy Sangster's characters carry the film, but a lot of the credit should also go to those who performed them. Oliver Reed gives a tour-de-force performance as Simon, in a brutal, raw and realistic way that one wonders how much of the real Reed was there. Janette Scott gives an appropriate performance, although her over-the-top melodrama at times goes on too much. Alexander Davion is quite effective as the mysterious Tony, and Liliane Brousse adds the film the sensuality and glamor needed. Finally, Sheila Burrell completes the cast with an excellent performance as Aunt Harriet.

This low-key thriller is an excellent example that Hammer was more than Van Helsing and Frankenstein, and has withstood the test of time very well. Hammer fans may miss the typical "Hammer style" elements but the film manages to work very well without them and arguably, is better that way. It has a nice rhythm and pace for the tale, but at times it moves on too fast leaving the feeling that the film is quite short (it has in fact, a runtime of only 80 minutes). The melodrama of the film may turn off viewers expecting a scare-fest, but it gives the film a personality of its own and gives space for the characters to develop.

Francis' career as director may be uneven but "Paranoiac" is a solid thriller that still delivers the chills and along with the superior "Nightmare", is part of a less-known side of Hammer films that explored the horror genre away from Monsters and vampires. Fans of Gothic horror and mystery films will be definitely pleased with this two films. 8/10. Very Recommended.