foosie-2

Anthony Newley plays the title character (real name Herbert Nebbish) who walks off his TV show after 2 songs. It seems he hears a voice in his head telling him the world is going to end in February. He travels around asking what other people are doing about this, and encounters Anna Quayle (his then co-star in STOP THE WORLD), John LeMesurier, his psychiatrist who longs for more sex in his life, and Joan Hickson (a judge), among others. Clever use is made of song lyrics integrated into some of the dialogue. This seems part and parcel of the kind of gently weird plays and shows of the 1960s, like ONE WAY PENDULUM and THE BED SITTING ROOM. A copy exists on YouTube but the video is messy. The end credits are interesting for citing the then current West End shows in which some of the cast are appearing.

This last one was not written or directed by Argento, and there are no giallo traits. 'Pay close attention' he suggests at the introduction, but what he really means is 'try to stay awake' through another tedious, drawn-out hour.

This one was written by Argento, but not directed by him. It had the trade-mark close-up of the black gloved hand. But it also had old fashioned iris-in of details the director wanted you to notice, like in silent films. One of the most annoying plot devices in that no one believes the eyewitness, and there is no physical evidence. Even the blood left on the highway is gone, a nice trick, unexplained. Hard to be sympathetic to the hysterical heroine.