''Maniac'' (also known as ''The Maniac'') is a 1963 British

psychological thriller film Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and ...

directed by

Michael Carreras Michael Henry Carreras (21 December 1927 – 19 April 1994) was a British film producer and director. He was known for his association with Hammer Film Productions, Hammer Films, being the son of founder James Carreras, and taking an execu ...

and starring

Kerwin Mathews Kerwin Mathews (January 8, 1926 – July 5, 2007) was an American actor best known for playing the titular heroes in ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' (1958), ''The Three Worlds of Gulliver'' (1960) and '' Jack the Giant Killer'' (1962). Early lif ...

Nadia Gray Nadia Gray (born Nadia Kujnir; 23 November 1923 – 13 June 1994) was a Romanian film actress. Biography Gray was born into a Jewish family in Bucharest. Her father moved to Romania from Russia, and her mother was from Akkerman (Bessarabia). ...

and

Donald Houston Donald Daniel Houston (6 November 1923 – 13 October 1991) was a Welsh actor whose first two films—'' The Blue Lagoon'' (1949) with Jean Simmons, and ''A Run for Your Money'' (1949) with Alec Guinness—were highly successful. Later in ...

Plot

The story tells of vacationing American artist Jeff Farrell who becomes romantically involved with an older woman named Eve Beynat in southern France while at the same time harboring an attraction to her teenage stepdaughter, Annette. Eve's husband/Annette's father Georges is in an asylum for, four years ago, using a blowtorch to kill a man who had raped Annette. Believing it will help make Eve his for life, Jeff agrees to assist her in springing Georges from the asylum. Of course, Eve has a completely different agenda in mind. Inspector Etienne sets up a plot to help trap the real killer, and the climactic scenes are set at

Les Baux-de-Provence Les Baux-de-Provence (; oc, label= Provençal, Lei Bauç de Provença), commonly called Baux, is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southern France. It is located in the Alpilles mountains ...

in the huge stone galleries dug into the rock of the Val d'Enfer on the road to

Maillane Maillane (; oc, Malhana) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department in southern France in the former Provinces of France, province of Provence. Geography Maillane is located north-west of Sain ...

Cast

as Jeff Farrell *

as Eve Beynat *

as Henri * Liliane Brousse as Annette Beynat *

George Pastell George Pastell (13 March 1923 – 4 April 1976) was a Cypriot character actor in British films and television programmes. Sources vary as to whether his real name was Nino (IMDb) or George Pastellides (BFI). His marriage record gives his name a ...

as Inspector Etienne *

Arnold Diamond Arnold Diamond (18 April 1915 – 18 March 1992) was an English character actor, regularly cast in small parts on television. He graduated from RADA in 1936, and his stage work included the RSC, and three years in Agatha Christie's ''The Mo ...

as Janiello *

Norman Bird John George Norman Bird (30 October 1924 – 22 April 2005) was an English character actor. Early life Bird was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. A RADA graduate, he made his West End theatre, West End debut in Peter Brook's produ ...

as Salon *

Justine Lord Justine Lord (born Jennifer Schooling; 8 March 1937) is an English actress, active on television throughout the 1960s. She began her acting career in repertory theatre, and in the 1960s made guest appearances in “Live Now Pay Later” (1962 ...

as Grace *

Jerold Wells Jerold Wells (8 August 1908 – 19 July 1999) was an English actor. He was born in Wallington, Hampshire, and died in Bath, Somerset. He appeared primarily in British comedies. Films included ''Adventures of a Plumber's Mate'' and the TV-made ...

as Giles *

Leon Peers Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

as Blanchard *

André Maranne André Maranne (14 May 1926 – 12 April 2021) was a French-English actor best known for playing roles in English-language films beginning in the mid-1950s. Life and career Born André Gaston Maillol in Toulouse, France, Maranne's best known r ...

as Salon

Production

The film was shot in black-and-white in the

Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the ''P ...

district of southern France and the MGM British Studios in

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. Some filming occurred at

Bray Studios Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the ...

in Berkshire.

Release

''Maniac'' was released by

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve clas ...

on 20 May 1963 in the United Kingdom. Released on Blu-ray by Mill Creek in 2018.

Critical reception

Andy Black wrote: "''Maniac'' was written and produced by Jimmy Sangster, with Michael Carreras handling direction, and what an under-rated director he was. Donald Houston is George, an escapee from a French asylum (obviously '' Les Diaboliques'' had a big effect on Sangster, who also set ''

Taste of Fear ''Taste of Fear'' is a 1961 British thriller film directed by Seth Holt. The film stars Susan Strasberg, Ronald Lewis, Ann Todd, and Christopher Lee in a supporting role. It was released in the United States as ''Scream of Fear''. Plot After ...

'' in France) who wants to kill his wife's lover. The wife is Nadia Gray, and the lover is Kerwin Matthews. Houston underplays, and also has a fetish for oxy-acetylene torches, with which he causes much panic. A brief 86 minutes and full of little twists and 'who's-behind-the-door' shocks, it really works first time you see it, but is not a film to watch repeatedly." Turner Classic Movies wrote "''Maniac'' has excellent production values but labors under the weight of yet another gimmicky and obvious script by Jimmy Sangster...The acting is fine, especially that of Kerwin Mathews and Liliane Brousse."; and in ''The New York Times'',

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

wrote "''Maniac'' has one thing and has it in spades—a plot of extraordinary cunning...(It) takes on a twitching suspense that simmers, sizzles and explodes in a neat backflip", though he concluded "Michael Carrera's direction is uneven and the characters are a generally flabby lot...''Maniac'' remains a striking blueprint, with satanic tentacles, for a much better picture."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maniac 1963 films 1960s thriller films Films shot in England Hammer Film Productions films British thriller films Films directed by Michael Carreras Columbia Pictures films Films shot in France British black-and-white films Hammer Film Productions horror films Films with screenplays by Jimmy Sangster Films produced by Jimmy Sangster Films shot at Bray Studios Films shot at MGM-British Studios 1960s English-language films 1960s British films