Hysteria

Always enjoy the acting of Robert Webber, (Chris Smith),"Twelve Angry Men" who gets himself in a car accident and is unable to remember anything about himself or where he came from. Chris is an American in England and finds himself in a hospital being treated by a British Doctor, named Dr. Keller, (Anthony Newlands). Dr. Keller does everything he can for Chris and informs Chris he has a penthouse to go to and can live there until he gets well with all expenses paid by the person who caused the accident. Chris enjoys his new surroundings, but he has no one to visit him except his nurse who is a good looker and she has fallen in love with Chris, which he is not aware of. The story has many twists and turns and Chris begins to think he is crazy or has lost his mind. Gina McConnell, (Jennifer Jayne) plays the sexy nurse and there is another gal who keeps Chris quite busy. Enjoy.

This is by no means an esoteric, deeply psychological thriller, but entertain it does, and well at that. Not an unfamiliar plot thesis here but it is a cleverly laid out amnesia story and suitably paced melodrama with a lot of the usual mid 60's ambiance, including a nicely orchestrated jazz score, (from Don Banks & co.), which ever so deftly weaves in and out of a given scene with subtle acuity. Special kudos to the tenor sax player in the orchestra for his gorgeous musical renderings.

It was nice to see the "Hammer" people opt for Robert Webber as the lead here, something he rarely got a chance to do stateside. The other cast members were more than competent in fulfilling the requirements of their respective roles which also helped make for a nice 90 minute flashback to an earlier time. The story itself takes a twist or two in the plot development to keep things interesting.

Thanks go to TCM for airing films like this which would probably never be shown anywhere else.

Hysteria concluded the trilogy of psychological thrillers that Freddie Francis directed for Hammer. The series began with Paranoiac (1963) and Nightmare (1964). The plot concerns an American amnesia victim Chris Smith (Robert Webber), whom is being used as a tool by the ruthless Dr Keller (Anthony Newlands) and his beautiful mistress (Lelia Goldoni). Between them they plan to frame Chris for the murder of Keller's wife, but their clever plan proves to be their own outdoing. In 1965, it was poorly received by critics and the public, but it's a gripping thriller and Freddie Francis directs the somewhat far fetched script by Jimmy Sangster with pace, building it neatly to it's climax. The black and white Cinematography by John Wilcox manages some decent compositions of a gray and dank 1960's London. The only criticism is the somewhat unsuitable music score by Don Banks, which is too jazzy for this type of film.

Those who love the psychological twisters of the sixties will find this one of the best, with its masterful twists and turns of the plot. The question in this film is: Is our hero (played with aplomb by Robert Webber) really going mad, or is someone trying to convince him he's mad? Is he seeing things and hearing voices or is someone playing ghastly tricks on him? If so, for what purpose?

The ending leaves no strings untied, which in this case is a feat Hitchcock would be proud of, and in fact, you can see the influence of the Hitchcock films throughout this one. It especially reminds me of "Dial M for Murder". The film does seem very dated by today's standards, but is well worth a screening.

Hysteria is directed by Freddie Francis and written by Jimmy Sangster. It stars Robert Webber, Anthony Newlands, Jennifer Jayne, Maurice Denham and Lelia Gordon. Music is by Don Banks and cinematography by John Wilcox.

From the long line of Hammer Thrillers with one word titles that followed in the wake of Psycho, Hysteria is a decent addition to the roster. Plot in simple terms finds Webber as Chris Smith, a survivor of a car crash who is suffering with amnesia. Upon finding out some mysterious benefactor has been footing the hospital bills for him, he is naturally intrigued as to who it is. Following the bare minimum of clues, while struggling with angry voices he hears in his head, Smith finds himself in a vortex of mystery and shifty shenanigans.

What follows is a monochrome murder mystery laced with psychopathic tendencies, paranoia, dangerous attractions, twists and extended flashbacks. It's all a bit flimsy if you wanted to dissect it as a viable story, but Sangster comes up with some good ideas in the name of entertainment, and Francis is able to eek out suspense at regular intervals. Cast are fine, including the sometimes maligned Webber who sits the role well, while Denham offers up a good one as the detective who is not to be taken lightly.

Good solid twisty thriller from Hammer. 7/10