Was it magic... Or murder they planned?
Working-class British housewife Myra Savage reinvents herself as a medium, holding seances in the sitting room of her home with the hidden assistance of her under-employed, asthmatic husband, Billy. In an attempt to enhance her credibility as a psychic, Myra hatches an elaborate, ill-conceived plot to kidnap a wealthy couple's young daughter so that she can then help the police "find" the missing girl.
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Character
Grave, earnest, classical in form and intimate.
- gravecomic
- earnestironic
- classical in formformally daring
- intimateepic
- warmbleak
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“Is Kim Stanley the best thing in Seance on a Wet Afternoon?”
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“Is this Bryan Forbes's best work?”
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“Does the smallness hold it back?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- John Chardon TMDB · Jul 20198/10
Because your weak, and you need me. Myra Savage is a struggling psychic, who along with her weak-willed husband, Billy, kidnap the young daughter of wealthy parents. The plan is to extort money from the fretting parents and then for Myra to help the parents find the child with her psychic ability, thus improving her standing in the psychic field. But as the story unfolds, Myra grows ever more close to the edge of insanity, could the still born death of the Savage's own child be the critical issue? Seance On A Wet Afternoon is something of a hidden/forgotten British treasure, not only because of the eerie atmospherics, but also because it contains a quite incredible acting performance from Kim Stanley as the troubled Myra Savage. Stanley was nominated for an Academy Award but lost out to Julie Andrews for Mary Poppins, I wonder just how many people even remember Stanley's film? Though chiefly marketed as a crime picture, this piece actually feels more like an offshoot of the horror genre, for it's a genuinely creepy picture that has unease lurking in every marvellous black and white corner. Boosted by an excellently understated turn from Richard Attenborough (also producer here) as
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Cast
- Kim StanleyMyra
- Richard AttenboroughBill
- Margaret LaceyWoman at first Seance
- Marie BurkeWoman at first Seance
- Maria KazanWoman at first Seance
- Lionel GamlinMan at Seances
- Marian SpencerMrs. Wintry
- Godfrey JamesMrs. Clayton's Chauffeur
- Judith DonnerAmanda
- Ronald HinesPoliceman outside Clayton's
Crew
- Bryan ForbesDirector
- Bryan ForbesScreenplay
- Mark McShaneNovel
- Gerry TurpinDirector of Photography
- John BarryOriginal Music Composer
- Derek YorkEditor
- Richard AttenboroughProducer
- Bryan ForbesProducer
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