Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)

Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) (Blu-Ray) (*)

Out of Stock
(Expected in Stock in 5-10 days)

Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
Edgar Allan Poe Awards
Oscar Academy Awards
San Sebastian International Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Mono )
Spanish ( Mono )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Spain ( Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C )

Running Time:
111 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1964 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Bryan Forbes

Written By:
Bryan Forbes
Mark McShane

Actors:
Kim Stanley ..... Myra Savage
Margaret Lacey ..... Woman at First Seance
Marie Burke ..... Woman at First Seance
Maria Kazan ..... Woman at First Seance
Lionel Gamlin ..... Man at Seances
Marian Spencer ..... Mrs. Wintry
Richard Attenborough ..... Billy Savage
Godfrey James ..... Mrs. Clayton's Chauffeur
Judith Donner ..... Amanda Clayton
Ronald Hines ..... Policeman Outside Clayton's
Hajni Biro ..... Maid at Clayton's
Mark Eden ..... Charles Clayton
Nanette Newman ..... Mrs. Clayton
Diana Lambert ..... Sheila - Mr. Clayton's Secretary
Frank Singuineau ..... Bus Conductor

Synopsis:

Myra Savage, helped by her husband Billy, earns a meagre living as a medium. Acting on instructions from Arthur, her dead son, she evolves a master plan to gain professional recognition. Bill reluctantly helps her by kidnapping Amanda Clayton, the young daughter of a wealthy industrialist. She is concealed in their house and a ransom demanded. Mrs Clayton, distraught, comes to a seance for help. Billy is convinced of Myra's insanity when she informs him that Amanda must be killed to further the plan. He is too implicated and weak to refuse. When the police finally come to ask for Myra's help the voice of Amanda tells them the whole story.

Myra, a self-styled psychic in London, concocts a scheme to gain celebrity. She convinces Billy, her weak-willed husband, to kidnap the young daughter of wealthy parents. She and Billy will demand money, and then she will go to the parents with extra-sensory messages that will help the police find the child and the ransom. The plan unfolds beautifully, except that after her first visit to the parents, the police want to check her out. He's scared. As her delusions worsen, Bill realizes Myra may not want the child found alive. Behind it all is also the death at birth, years before, of their only child, whom they've named Arthur and who is Myra's contact with the beyond.

Kim Stanley plays a crooked medium who has become slightly unhinged since the death of her son. Craving money and publicity, she concocts a scheme with her weak-willed husband (Richard Attenborough). The pair will kidnap a wealthy young girl, collect the ransom, then use her 'powers' to help the parents locate the child. The scheme falls apart, but not in the way that anyone might expect. Adapted by director Bryan Forbes from a novel by Mark McShane, Seance on a Wet Afternoon is a compelling psychological melodrama made doubly powerful by Stanley's mesmerizing performance.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 29 November, 2016.