The Man Who Haunted Himself

"Stalked by fear and terror… night and day!"

1970 1h 28m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 77

ThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Executive Harold Pelham suffers a serious accident after which he faces the shadow of death. When, against all odds, he miraculously recovers, he discovers that his life does not belong to him anymore.

“Stalked by fear and terror… night and day!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Roger Moore
Harold Pelham
Anton Rodgers
Tony Alexander
Olga Georges-Picot
Julia Anderson
Freddie Jones
Dr. Harris
Hugh Mackenzie
James Pelham
Kevork Malikyan
Luigi
Thorley Walters
Frank Bellamy
Ruth Trouncer
Miss Bird

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Basil Dearden
Writers: Basil Dearden, Michael Relph
Languages: English
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

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

56 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Basil Dearden, shot by Tony Spratling. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael J. Lewis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Roger Moore and Anton Rodgers and Olga Georges-Picot carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Stalked by fear and terror… night and day!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Basil Dearden directs. Tony Spratling behind the camera. Michael J. Lewis scores. Teddy Darvas cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
356 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Basil Dearden, shot by Tony Spratling. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Michael J. Lewis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Teddy Darvas shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Roger Moore and Anton Rodgers and Olga Georges-Picot carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Stalked by fear and terror… night and day!".
9IMDB entry: tt0066053 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 77 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tony Spratling
Original score: Michael J. Lewis
Editing: Teddy Darvas
Makeup / hair: George Blackler
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Status: Released
Budget: $525,497
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970)

Also by

Basil Dearden

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2013-11-06
★ 8/10
The Pelham Paranoia. With its 1970s chic cheese and swagger and Roger Moore's excellent performance, The Man Who Haunted Himself has a considerable cult fan base. Directed by British legend Basil Dearden, plot finds Moore as Harold Pelham, who after being involved in a serious car accident, comes around from the trauma to find that his life is being turned upside down. It seems that somebody is impersonating him, people he knows swear he was in places he hasn't been, that he has been making decisions at work that he knows nothing about, and that he has a sexy mistress that threatens to destroy his marriage. Is he going mad? A victim of a collective practical joke? Or is there really something more sinister going on? Don't be a slave to convention! So yeah! A cult gem waiting to be rediscovered is The Man Who Haunted Himself, it has a plot that positively bristles with intrigue. As the doppleganger motif is tightly wound by Dearden, who smartly sticks to understated scene constructions as opposed to supernatural excess, there's a realistic and human feel to the story. The makers are not going for jolt shocks, but taking a considered approach that has the pertinent mystery elements lurking in the background, waiting for their chance to reveal themselves for the utterly thrilling finale. A finale that is bold and special, obvious but not, and definitely tinged with cunning ambiguity. With Moore drawing on talent from his acting pool that many thought he didn't have (two different characterisations smartly realised here), and Dearden pulling the technical strings (love those off-kilter angles and multi mirrored images), this is a film that has surprises in store all across the board. 8/10

Production companies