Maniac

"Stalks his wife... his daughter... their lover!"

1963 1h 26m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 46

CrimeMysteryHorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.

“Stalks his wife... his daughter... their lover!”

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Cast

Kerwin Mathews
Paul Farrell
Nadia Gray
Eve Beynat
Donald Houston
Georges
Liliane Brousse
Annette Beynat
George Pastell
Inspector Etienne
Arnold Diamond
Janiello
Norman Bird
Salon
Justine Lord
Grace

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Carreras
Writers: Jimmy Sangster
Languages: English, French
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

86 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

63 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Michael Carreras, shot by Wilkie Cooper. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Stanley Black. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tom Simpson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kerwin Mathews and Nadia Gray and Donald Houston carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Carreras directs. Wilkie Cooper behind the camera. Stanley Black scores. Tom Simpson cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
263 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Michael Carreras, shot by Wilkie Cooper. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Stanley Black. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Tom Simpson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Kerwin Mathews and Nadia Gray and Donald Houston carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Stalks his wife... his daughter... their lover!".
10IMDB entry: tt0056219 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 46 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Wilkie Cooper
Original score: Stanley Black
Editing: Tom Simpson
Production design: Bernard Robinson
Makeup / hair: Basil Newall
Runtime: 86 min · 1h 26m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Maniac (1963)

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Michael Carreras

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-11-14
★ 6/10
I only recall Kerwin Matthews from his role as "Sinbad" back in 1958. He was an handsome enough man but hardly versatile as an actor. That's a shame because this could have been a much better intrigue had that role been better cast. As it is, he is "Jeff", a drifter who falls for "Annette" (Liliane Brousse) in a small French village. Her stepmother "Eve" (Nadia Grey) takes a bit of a shine to him, and uses her wiles to trick this rather gullible man into helping her organise the escape of her husband from the local asylum where he was imprisoned after committing a rather gruesome murder. Unbeknown to poor old "Jeff" though, that's not the real agenda for the manipulative "Eve" and the arrival of "Henri" (Donald Houston) raises the danger levels for "Annette"... Can he, and local policeman "Etienne" (George Pastell), thwart the lethal plan before it's too late? Sadly, Matthews is not the only dud in this lacklustre group of actors. Houston exudes not the slightest degree of menace and neither woman have that Jeanne Moreau touch that might have lent, particularly to the character that is "Eve". It's only ninety minutes, but it did drag rather - and the ending is a bit disappointing too. It's watchable, but don't expect to be blown away.

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