This awesome British Gothic horror film features the debut of one of Great Britain's shining gifts to the world of cinema, Laurence Harvey, playing the amoral playboy in a wealthy family who is basically disowned and resorts to murder to get what he wants. One of the maids quits, basically telling anyone who will listen that the once great home is now haunted which completely destroys the once jolly old home by making it the place no one will visit. One by one, other members of the household leave including Harvey's once formidable brother (Alexander Archdale) who took over the running of the house, long-time housekeeper Grace Arnold and Harvey's lady love, Lesley Osmond, leaving Harvey alone to rule a kingdom of one. But fate plays a funny trick on Harvey who finds out the hard way that grabbing a title by scheming and trickery will lead to the loss of one's soul in the harshest of ways, through one's sanity.
This will not be of interest to horror fans looking for ghoulish looking creatures popping out of closets or hiding in a basement because the horror here is extremely subtle. Harvey's performance guides this film through its melodramatic conclusion because his range expands from coolly plotting to deranged rantings as he cannot control what is going on around him no matter how malevolent he becomes. The increasing loss of his sanity is delicious to watch. Telling the story through flashback is intelligent because the whole story revolves around, not only the house, but a particular musical piece which is instrumental in developing not only Harvey's downfall but the circle surrounding the film's set-up. Harvey would go onto play other similarly melancholy schemers ("A Killer Walks" is an excellent follow up to watch afterwards), but his debut on screen is one that deserves to be marked as one of the best introductions to cinema ever.
This will not be of interest to horror fans looking for ghoulish looking creatures popping out of closets or hiding in a basement because the horror here is extremely subtle. Harvey's performance guides this film through its melodramatic conclusion because his range expands from coolly plotting to deranged rantings as he cannot control what is going on around him no matter how malevolent he becomes. The increasing loss of his sanity is delicious to watch. Telling the story through flashback is intelligent because the whole story revolves around, not only the house, but a particular musical piece which is instrumental in developing not only Harvey's downfall but the circle surrounding the film's set-up. Harvey would go onto play other similarly melancholy schemers ("A Killer Walks" is an excellent follow up to watch afterwards), but his debut on screen is one that deserves to be marked as one of the best introductions to cinema ever.