The Man Who Haunted Himself — The Man Who Haunted Himself ( Blu Ray)
The Man Who Haunted Himself is a taut, tense, and wholly compelling early 70’s psychological thriller/ mystery regarding a man who after a car crash has someone trying to steal his life- is it someone pretending to be him, is he losing his mind, or is something else afoot?. In its lead role, we have Roger Moore- most known for his role as James Bond- giving a career highlight performance as the troubled business executive, whose world is slowly but surely unfolding.
Here from Australia's Imprint is a very highly deserved Blu-Ray release of the film. It features a truly wonderfully bright, bold, and crystal clear new HD scan of the film. As well as a great selection of new & archive extras- including two commentary tracks.
The Man Who Haunted Himself is a British from the year 1970- with a good chunk of it filmed in & around central London. It was directed/ co-written by Westcliffe-on-Sea, Essex-born Basil Dearden. Between the early 1940s and 1970s, he had an impressive thirty-seven features to his name. These went from Will Hay starting comedy Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942), onto horseracing drama The Rainbow Jacket (1954). Though to space race romance comedy Man In The Moon (1960), and comedy action film The Assassination Bureau (1969) which is about a female journalist putting a spanner into the work of a group of hitmen.
The film focuses on Harold Pelham ( Moore) a smart, bowl-hatted, and moustached executive who is high up in a city-based marine technology company. We first meet him finishing his work day dead on time, getting in his car, and heading back to his leafy suburbia home. At first, he seems a calm & controlled driver- then he suddenly takes off his seat belt, attacking the cars controls in a manic/ sweaty manner- before he crashes into building works.
He's taken to hospital, and at a point, they lose him on the operating table- been dead brief, his pulse kicks back in, and at first, there seem to be two pluses- though after a bash on the monitor, it corrects itself. Fairly soon he’s back on his feet, and back to work- just in good time as there is a possibility of a merger with another firm- with a big payout possible.
As things unfold & Harold tries to get back to normal life- things are somewhat amiss/strange. As friends/colleagues start saying he’s gone places/ done things he hasn’t- it slowly but surely becomes clear that someone is either pretending to be him, or he’s suffering a breakdown.
Moore is excellent in the role of Harold Pelham- who shifts from being a dependable/ straight line/ neat man, to a troubled and confused fellow, onto a jabbering wreak. The actor is given some great lines & a few troubling monologues. The rest of the cast is very good too- there’s Eve(Hildegard Neil) as his trying to hold it all together wive, and Alexander( Anton Rodgers) as his initially loyal/ supporting executive friend.
I must have first seen The Man Who Haunted Himself on late-night TV some twenty or so years back- and to honest I wasn’t expecting much, as all I knew Moore for was his more sleek spy roles like James Bond or The Saint. But boy was I blown away by the film, and it quickly became one of my fav 70’s thrillers. As Moore gives a career highlight performance, and the film around him is a wonderful tight & tense affair- which grabs you with its iron glove mystery, and you are totally & utterly held for its one hour & thirty-five minutes runtime until the films resolve.
The Blu-ray features a wonderful & crystal-clear new print- which makes the film look like it was made yesterday, aside from some of the back projection/ effects- though these are few & far between.
On the extras side, we get a good selection of both new and archive material. First off on the new side, we have a commentary track from authors Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons- and as we’ve come to expect from these two pros, it’s excellent- mixing top-notch research, worthy observations, and great banter. They start by pointing out the early elements of visual entrapment, learnt behaviour, and personal safety. They point out London locations- more than a few that have changed/ or gone today. We find out that at the time of release, there was hope that the film would show Moore as a great actor- but unfortunately, the film was critically praised, though didn’t do well at the box office. They discuss the original story by Anthony Armstrong, which was first released in November 1940 in Esquire- and its difference to the film, for example in the story Pelham was a bachelor. We find out that the children in the film were dubbed by a female actress, and they both agree this doesn’t work. They discuss the two cars in the film, and their meaning within the plot. They point out notable actors as they appear. Later on, they discuss how the film unusually got regional premiers in the UK- with its London premiere coming later. We find out that the director tragically got killed in a car crash over a year later, on one of the roads filmed in the film. And of course much, much more. I will most certainly be returning to this again.
Otherwise, on the new side, we have The Man Who Became A Friend (15.50) which is an interview with Moore’s biographer/talent agent Gareth Owen. Here we find out the film to hand was the actor’s favourite film, at one point there was going to squeal, and more. And The Men Who Were Haunted( 31.39) interview featurette with actor Freddie Jones and members of the production crew.
On the archive side, we have the following: a 2002 commentary track by actor Roger Moore and uncredited writer/producer Bryan Forbes, moderated by journalist Jonathan Sothcott. Alfred Hitchcock Presents The Case of Mr. Pelham(25.28) – a 1955 episode of the series based on the original novel The Strange Case of Mr. Pelham. Roger Moore, A Matter of Class( 50.10) a 1995 doc about Mr Moore. Isolated score audio track, theatrical trailer, and photo gallery.
The release comes presented in a glossy slip- with the Blu-ray case artwork on its reverse taking in a still from the film. It also comes with a glossy inlay booklet- which takes in promotional material from the film's original release, which is most fascinating to see.
It is wonderful to see this new release of The Man Who Haunted Himself- as it truly is one of the great under-appreciated thillers of the 1970s. With this Blu-Ray featuring an excellent scan, and a marvellous selection of extras. Another gold standard release from Imprint!.