Well plotted black & white psychological thriller from Hammer is loosely based on Josephine Tey's "Brat Farrar". The legendary Oliver Reed stars as Simon Ashby, a snippy, sardonic young man set to inherit a sizable amount of money from his late parents. Part of his problem is his tendency to grossly misbehave. He gets ever so much worse when a man (Alexander Davion) claiming to be his brother Tony shows up. You see, Tony supposedly committed suicide two years ago. Meanwhile, Tony and Simon have a sister (Janette Scott) who is also quite fragile.Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster keeps the twists a-coming in this effectively paced little film, directed capably by talented Freddie Francis. Even if the viewers figure out where this is headed well before the finish, Sangster, Francis, and company do keep you entertained with their stylish telling of this tale. It's very nicely shot in widescreen by Arthur Grant, with fine use of locations and some genuine moments of tension.The main draw are an array of excellent performances, especially from Reed, who doesn't have to stretch himself very much by playing a character who's a bit of a hell raiser. Scott and co-star Liliane Brousse are quite lovely to look at, with Scott earning our sympathies as the girl desperate to have her brother back. Sheila Burrell is appropriately icy as Aunt Harriet, and Maurice Denham (as the family lawyer), John Bonney (as his son), and John Stuart (as the family butler) all lend some valuable support.If you're a fan of Reed or Hammer films in general, you should dig it.Eight out of 10.

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.

Loutish, selfish, psychotic spoiled rich jerk Simon (a typically fine and intense Oliver Reed) plots to drive his troubled sister Eleanor (a strong and sympathetic performance by the lovely Janette Scott) crazy so he can inherit all of their wealthy deceased parents' substantial fortune. Simon's plans go awry when a mysterious man (nicely played by Alexander Davion) shows up claiming to be Eleanor's beloved long lost brother Tony. Director Freddie Francis, working from a clever and twist-ridden script by Jimmy Sangster, maintains a steady pace throughout, ably creates an edgy atmosphere of seething guilt and suffocating paranoia, and relates the involving story in a pleasingly straightforward manner. The excellent supporting cast are another significant asset: Sheila Burrell as the kindly, concerned Aunt Harriett, Liliane Brousse as Simon's gorgeous mistress Francoise, John Stuart as loyal butler Williams, and Maurice Denham as uptight family lawyer John Kossett. Arthur Grant's polished black and white cinematography, Elisabeth Lutyens' moody orchestral score, and the rousing macabre conclusion are all up to par. As usual, it's Reed's brooding and explosive acting that really makes this picture so enjoyable and hence well worth a look.

The shadow of LES DIABOLIQUES (1954) and PSYCHO (1960) always loomed large over much of Hammer's output set in contemporary times; this is a moderately well-done example of that subgenre with the usual driving-an-heiress-mad plot here given a boost by the return of a long-lost brother and a would-be last minute revelation that all is not well with hard-living brother Simon Ashby (a perfectly cast Oliver Reed in a showy role). For some odd reason, I could have sworn that this film was directed by Michael Carreras, so much so that I did a double-take when Freddie Francis' name (whose first directorial job for Hammer this was) appeared on the screen; as it turned out, I was confusing this film with the similarly-titled MANIAC (1963) - unsurprisingly, another Hammer thriller in the same mould!