The Man Who Haunted Himself

1970

1h 28m

IMDb RATING

6.1/10

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3 Videos

25 Images

Thriller

Drama

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.

Directors

Basil Dearden

Writers

Basil Dearden(screenplay by)

Michael Relph(screenplay by)

Anthony Armstrong(novel by)

Stars

Roger Moore

Anton Rodgers

Olga Georges-Picot

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Videos3

Photos25

Top cast

Harold Pelham

Tony Alexander

Julia Anderson

Dr. Harris

James Pelham

Luigi

Frank Bellamy

Miss Bird

Eve Pelham

Sir Charles Freeman

Barton

Mason

Jameson

Morrison

Research Scientist

Sir Arthur Richardson

John Carson

Ashton

John Dawson

Barber

Directors

Basil Dearden

Writers

Basil Dearden(screenplay by)

Michael Relph(screenplay by)

Anthony Armstrong(novel by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews1

Review

Featured review

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

John Chard06 Nov, 2013