Working-class British housewife Myra Savage reinvents herself as a medium, holding seances in the sitting room of her home with the hidden assistance of her under-employed, asthmatic husband, Billy. In an attempt to enhance her credibility as a psychic, Myra hatches an elaborate, ill-conceived plot to kidnap a wealthy couple's young daughter so that she can then help the police "find" the missing girl.
Acting
Kim Stanley's voice work alone will haunt you for days.
Direction
Forbes traps you in Myra's suffocating worldview—no escape possible.
Cinematography
Moody black-and-white London that feels permanently overcast.
Director
Bryan Forbes
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kim Stanley was so method she barely spoke to Attenborough offset, maintaining Myra's domineering energy. She got an Oscar nom for a performance she found 'embarrassingly personal.'
The 1964 British release coincided with real Moors Murders fascination—audiences were primed for working-class evil hiding behind suburban curtains. Forbes later said the timing made him 'mildly nauseous.'
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