Two magnificent actors, Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough star in "Seance on a Wet Afternoon," a 1964 film directed by Brian Forbes. Stanley was one of the truly great stage and film actresses of the last century; unfortunately, her film performances are very rare.
Here Stanley plays Myra Savage, a woman who probably believes that she is a true psychic and communicating with her late son. Her late son tells her that in order to gain a big reputation, she needs to kidnap the child of a wealthy family, collect the ransom, and then psychically come up with the location of the child and the money.
Myra doesn't do much - instead, she sends her weak, cowed husband Billy (Attenborough) to do the kidnapping. They make one room in the house look like a hospital room and, wearing surgical masks, they tell the child she's sick and in hospital. The whole thing starts to make Billy extremely nervous, as he realizes that his delusional wife, whom he's been jollying along all these years, is in fact nuts.
Brilliant performances by Stanley and Attenborough, Stanley capturing the manipulative nature of Myra as well as her delusions, and Attenborough simply amazing as a weak-willed milksop who seems willing to do anything to avoid a confrontation with Myra.
Though this is a somewhat slow film but extremely atmospheric and suspenseful. This is not only due to Forbes' direction, but is also driven in part by Stanley's portrayal of the unstable Myra. You never know what she's going to do next, but you can guess - and it scares you.
Excellent film.
Here Stanley plays Myra Savage, a woman who probably believes that she is a true psychic and communicating with her late son. Her late son tells her that in order to gain a big reputation, she needs to kidnap the child of a wealthy family, collect the ransom, and then psychically come up with the location of the child and the money.
Myra doesn't do much - instead, she sends her weak, cowed husband Billy (Attenborough) to do the kidnapping. They make one room in the house look like a hospital room and, wearing surgical masks, they tell the child she's sick and in hospital. The whole thing starts to make Billy extremely nervous, as he realizes that his delusional wife, whom he's been jollying along all these years, is in fact nuts.
Brilliant performances by Stanley and Attenborough, Stanley capturing the manipulative nature of Myra as well as her delusions, and Attenborough simply amazing as a weak-willed milksop who seems willing to do anything to avoid a confrontation with Myra.
Though this is a somewhat slow film but extremely atmospheric and suspenseful. This is not only due to Forbes' direction, but is also driven in part by Stanley's portrayal of the unstable Myra. You never know what she's going to do next, but you can guess - and it scares you.
Excellent film.