Hysteria (1965 film)

Hysteria
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Freddie Francis
Written by	Jimmy Sangster
Produced by	Jimmy Sangster
Starring	Robert Webber Anthony Newlands
Cinematography	John Wilcox
Music by	Don Banks
Production company	Hammer Films
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates	27 June 1965 (1965-06-27) (UK) April 1965 (1965-04) (USA)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Hysteria is a 1965 British murder mystery film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Robert Webber and Anthony Newlands. It was produced by Hammer Films and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Plot

American Chris Smith wakes up in an English hospital unable to remember anything of his life before a recent car accident.

Four months later, he has recovered physically but has still not retrieved his memory. His amnesia is being treated by Dr. Keller, a psychiatrist, who tells him that his bills are being paid by an anonymous benefactor, who has made an apartment available to him. Dr. Keller warns him that he might suffer hallucinations.

The only other link to his past is a photograph torn from a newspaper. Chris has fallen in love with Gina, his nurse.

Upon release from the hospital, Chris moves into a flat and hires Hemmings, a private investigator. Chris visits the photographer of the photo, who tells him that the subject is dead, the victim of a shower murder.

In his flat, Chris hears strange voices coming from next door: a couple arguing. He keeps seeing a woman around town, from time to time, who reminds him of the woman in the photo, and he discovers a bloody knife in his shower.

Chris receives a late night visit from Denise, who claims to be the widow of the man responsible for the automobile accident that caused Chris to lose his memory. Denise bears a remarkable resemblance to the woman in the photograph.

Denise plies Chris with drugs, and after one such episode, he discovers in his shower the body of a murdered woman, which later disappears.

Assisted by Hemmings, Chris tricks Denise and Keller into admitting that they are the murderers, having planned to frame him for the crime, and that the victim is the physician's wife. Chris is reunited with Gina.

Cast

• Robert Webber as Chris Smith
• Anthony Newlands as Dr. Keller
• Jennifer Jayne as Gina McConnell
• Maurice Denham as Hemmings
• Lelia Goldoni as Denise James
• Peter Woodthorpe as Marcus Allan
• Sandra Boize as English Girl
• Sue Lloyd as French Girl
• John Arnatt as Mr. James
• Marianne Stone as Miss Grogan, Marcus Allan's Secretary
• Irene Richmond as Mrs. Keller
• Kiwi Kingston as French Girl's Husband

Reception

Critical

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Although the initial exposition is promising, this macabre melodrama develops less successfully and in an all too familiar vein, while the twist ending seems hardly good enough. The compensations are a few choice macabre or unanticipated moments, and Maurice Denham's intriguingly seedy private-eye."

Box office

The film performed disappointingly at the box office.

Home media

Hysteria was released to DVD by Warner Home Video on 2 November 2011 via the Warner Archive DVD-on-demand service as a Region 0 widescreen DVD.

External links

• Hysteria at IMDb
• Hysteria at the British Film Institute
• Hysteria at the TCM Movie Database