Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Bryan Forbes

Writers:

Bryan Forbes (screenplay)
Mark McShane (novel)

Release Date:

5 November 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Myra, a self-styled psychic in London, concocts a scheme to gain celebrity. She convinces Billy, her weak-willed husband...

Plot Keywords:

Ransom | Seance | Kidnapping | Little Girl | Medium

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Kim Stanley	...	Myra Savage
Margaret Lacey	...	Woman at first Seance
Marie Burke	...	Woman at first Seance
Maria Kazan	...	Woman at first Seance
Lionel Gamlin	...	Man at Seances
Marian Spencer	...	Mrs. Wintry
Richard Attenborough	...	Billy Savage
Godfrey James	...	Mrs. Clayton's Chauffeur
Judith Donner	...	Amanda Clayton
Ronald Hines	...	Policeman outside Clayton's
Hajni Biro	...	Maid at Clayton's
Mark Eden	...	Charles Clayton
Nanette Newman	...	Mrs. Clayton
Diana Lambert	...	Sheila - Mr. Clayton's Secretary
Frank Singuineau	...	Bus Conductor

Also Known As:

Séance on a Wet Afternoon

Runtime:

USA:115 min | UK:121 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

41 Marryat Road, Wimbledon, London, England, UK

Company:

Beaver Films

Trivia:

During filming, Richard Attenborough developed kidney stones and was unable to work for an entire day. Since filming was on such a tight schedule, director Bryan Forbes got into costume played his role for some shots.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As Myra looks outwards through the rain spattered window of a child's nursery, the rain falls unnaturally onto the panes - in two bursts - as though it were sprays from a hose or watering can.

Quotes:

Myra Savage: You know what I sometimes wish? I sometimes wish I *were*... ordinary. Like you. Dead ordinary. Ordinary and *dead* like all the others.

Movie Connections:

References The Running Man (1963)

Soundtrack:

Hear my Prayer

An original chiller.

I remember seeing Seance on a Wet Afternoon, before I was teenager. And then seeing it again five or six years later. It still had the same impact watching the movie as I was young child. If this playing on TV tomorrow, I would watch Seance before any TV show. It is an excellent study of characters in story. This is one the movies made me interested in older films. I did not care if the movie was in black and white or color as long as the film is made well. I enjoy for the mysterious atmosphere the movie is set and creativity that the actors bring to their roles. The plot had been copied many of times on film and TV but never can duplicated. Kim Stanley plays the strong controlling wife who does the seances and Richard Attenborough as her weak husband. If like the Others and Sixth Sense, you might like this film.