The Man Who Haunted Himself *** (1970, Roger Moore, Hildegard Neil, Olga-Georges Picot, Anton Rodgers, Freddie Jones, Thorley Walters, John Carson, John Welsh, Gerald Sim, Edward Chapman) – Classic Movie Review 8397

Director Basil Dearden’s 1970 The Man Who Haunted Himself is a slight but effective tale of terror starring Roger Moore as Mr Harold Pelham, the quiet, boring businessman who recovers from a near fatal road accident, only to discover that a sinister, extrovert double is appearing in all his familiar haunts.

The creepy psychological thriller yarn slightly struggles to find somewhere to go after its promising beginnings and results in a moderate Tales of the Unexpected-type story with a passable production and adequate acting, but with Moore doing very well by the material. Indeed Moore felt that it was one of his best films.

The screenplay by Dearden and producer Michael Relph is carefully adapted from Anthony’s Armstrong’s short story The Case of Mr Pelham and Dearden directs (in his final film before a fatal road crash on 23 March 1971 on the M4 motorway, near Brentford, London, aged 60) with his usual smooth and deft touch. Associated British studio boss Bryan Forbes had a hand in the script and production.

It was the movie before Moore became an international movie star as James Bond in Live and Let Die. Dearden also directed Moore in three episodes of his 1971 TV series The Persuaders.

The Man Who Haunted Himself also features Hildegarde Neil, Olga-Georges Picot, Anton Rodgers, Freddie Jones, Thorley Walters, John Carson, John Welsh, Gerald Sim, Edward Chapman, Laurence Hardy, Charles Lloyd Pack, Hugh Mackenzie, Alastair Mackenzie, Kevork Malikyan, Ruth Trouncer, Aubrey Richards, Anthony Nicholls, John Dawson and Terence Sewards.

Dearden won the 1960 BAFTA Film Award for Best British Film for Sapphire (1959). He entered films as an assistant to director Basil Dean (and changed his name from Dear to avoid being confused with Dean). Dearden directed his first film in 1942 The Black Sheep of Whitehall, with Will Hay.

RIP Roger Moore (1927–2017).

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8397

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