Nightmare

"THREE SHOCKING MURDERS...did she DREAM them? ...or DO them?"

1964 1h 23m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 78

ThrillerHorrorMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young woman is plagued by nightmares of her asylum-patient mother. Upon returning to her family home, the nightmares become real when she sees a strange woman pacing the halls.

“THREE SHOCKING MURDERS...did she DREAM them? ...or DO them?”

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Cast

David Knight
Henry Baxter
Moira Redmond
Grace Maddox
Jennie Linden
Janet Freeman
Brenda Bruce
Mary Lewis
George A. Cooper
John
Irene Richmond
Mrs. Gibbs
Timothy Bateson
Hotel Bartender
Elizabeth Dear
Young Janet

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Freddie Francis
Writers: Jimmy Sangster
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

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

62 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Freddie Francis, shot by John Wilcox. 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 Don Banks. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

David Knight and Moira Redmond and Jennie Linden carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "THREE SHOCKING MURDERS...did she DREAM them? ...or DO them?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0058405 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Freddie Francis directs. John Wilcox behind the camera. Don Banks scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
262 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Freddie Francis, shot by John Wilcox. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Don Banks. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6David Knight and Moira Redmond and Jennie Linden carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "THREE SHOCKING MURDERS...did she DREAM them? ...or DO them?".
8IMDB entry: tt0058405 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 78 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "dreams", "nightmare", "father murder", "suicide attempt".

The technical file

Cinematography: John Wilcox
Original score: Don Banks
Production design: Bernard Robinson
Makeup / hair: Roy Ashton
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Nightmare (1964)

Also by

Freddie Francis

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-12-02
★ 7/10
"Janet" (Jennie Linden) has been having some ghastly nightmares, so is sent home from her posh "Hatcher's School for Young Ladies" ostensibly to recuperate. We learn quite quickly that she has good reason for her troubles - only a few years earlier her mother had rather lost the plot and murdered her father. Now the young woman fears that perhaps she might be suffering from a similar mental illness - and sadly things really don't fare much better for her in her new surroundings. Freddie Francis has done quite a good job with Jimmy Sangster's story - he gives the film a Hammer look and feel to it, but in a far more sophisticated way. Much more of the mystery is psychological and presented to us with subtlety (and a decent score from Don Banks) - we are drawn into the story rather more. The fact that the acting talents here are consistent rather than stellar, gives the story more of a chance to shine. The script is quite well paced, too - all in all helping to deliver quite an intriguing mystery that does keep the pot boiling well for 80 minutes.

Production companies