The Man Who Haunted Himself

The Man Who Haunted Himself
Directed by	Basil Dearden
Produced by	Michael Relph
Starring	Roger Moore Hildegarde Neil
Music by	Michael J. Lewis
Cinematography	Tony Spratling
Release date(s)	1970
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£200,000

The Man Who Haunted Himself is a 1970 British psychological thriller film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Roger Moore. It was based on the novel The Strange Case of Mr Pelham by Anthony Armstrong.

Despite lukewarm reviews at the time The Man Who Haunted Himself is now considered a very under-rated film and the role is considered one of Moore's finest performances among his fans. Moore's dark portrayal in the film proved that there was much more to Moore than the light-hearted roles he is famous for playing.

Plot

Uptight City worker Harold Pelham appears possessed and has a serious accident whilst driving his Rover P5B at high speed. While on the operating table, there appear to be two heartbeats on the monitor. When he awakes, Pelham finds his life has been turned upside-down: in his job as a director of a marine technology company he learns that he now supports a merger that he once opposed, and that he apparently is having an affair. Friends, colleagues and acquaintances claim to have seen him in places where he has never been. Does Pelham have a doppelganger - or is he actually going insane?

Cast

• Roger Moore .... Harold Pelham
• Hildegarde Neil .... Eve Pelham
• Alastair Mackenzie .... Michael Pelham
• Hugh Mackenzie .... James Pelham
• Kevork Malikyan .... Luigi
• Thorley Walters .... Frank Bellamy
• Anton Rodgers .... Tony Alexander
• Olga Georges-Picot .... Julie Anderson
• Freddie Jones .... Dr. Harris - Psychiatrist
• John Welsh .... Sir Charles Freeman
• Edward Chapman .... Barton
• Laurence Hardy .... Mason
• Charles Lloyd Pack .... Jameson
• Gerald Sim .... Morrison
• Anthony Nicholls .... Sir Arthur Richardson
• John Carson.... Ashton

Trivia

• Shortly after the film's release, the film's director Basil Dearden died in a horrific car crash on the A40 near the spot where the character Harold Pelham is supposed to have crashed his car in the opening scenes of the film.^{[citation needed]}

• The story had earlier been adapted as an episode of the TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

• Roger Moore ironically references James Bond in the film, when speculating on commercial espionage. He would star in his first Bond film, Live and Let Die, three years later.
• The car that Roger Moore drives when he appears as Pelham's doppelganger is a Lamborghini Islero S, and it features prominently throughout the movie, most notably in the car chase that forms the climax of the story. The make and model of car is not named in the script, leaving viewers for the most part mystified as it was such a rare model. Lamborghini only built 100 examples of this 'S' model, and this is one of only 2 that went to the UK. The actual car from the film (chassis #6432) has been restored to perfection and is still in the UK in private ownership. The Islero is regarded by many as one of the best cars Lamborghini ever built, and indeed was the favourite of Feruccio himself. The simplicity and purity of the design exudes power and style without being overly flamboyant. An album of photos of the actual car used in the movie (as it looks today) can be found here.

Notes

After seven years of playing The Saint, Moore grew increasingly tired of the role, and was keen to branch out. He made two films immediately after the series had ended: Crossplot (1969), a lightweight 'spy caper' movie, and the more challenging The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970). Directed by Basil Dearden, it gave Moore the opportunity to demonstrate a wider versatility than the role of Simon Templar had allowed.

In 2005, Sir Roger Moore attended a screening of the film in London and delighted audiences by appearing on stage and relating stories about the production.

DVD release

The film was released on DVD format in 2005 with a PG rating. The DVD includes special features which are:

• Commentary By Roger Moore and Bryan Forbes
• Stills Gallery
• Storyboard Gallery
• Trailer
• Publicity Materials
• Booklet

References

External links

• The Man Who Haunted Himself at the Internet Movie Database
• The Man Who Haunted Himself at AllRovi