Summaries

A medium and her husband stage a kidnapping in order for her to pretend to solve the crime and achieve fame.

Myra and Billy Savage are a married couple living in London. Myra works as a medium, who holds weekly meetings, séances, for a regular group of customers, while Billy supports her in these ventures, as he does not otherwise work, due to his asthma. "Arthur" is her spirit guide, who was their stillborn son. Myra is the dominant in the couple, Billy, the weak-minded follower. Myra, with Billy's support, devises a scheme to raise her public prominence as a medium: kidnap Amanda Clayton, the young daughter of a wealthy couple, and using her psychic powers provide information to the Claytons and the police of Amanda and the requested ransom money's whereabouts. Myra and Billy view this scheme as a victimless crime, if a crime at all, as they don't plan on harming Amanda, and they are returning the requested ransom. To carry out the scheme successfully, they will have to: kidnap Amanda; convince Amanda that her temporary captivity is not out of the ordinary, while having her not be able to identify them; insert Myra into the case of Amanda's kidnapping, her information which will be the key to finding Amanda and the money; and return Amanda and the money without having either traced back to them. Beyond these logistics, Myra and Billy themselves will factor into how the plan works. Myra may have either conscious or subconscious thoughts on what she wants to do, in her belief that she truly does have the power.—Huggo

Myra, a self-styled psychic in London, concocts a scheme to gain celebrity. She convinces Billy, her weak-willed husband, to kidnap the young daughter of wealthy parents. She and Billy will demand money, and then she will go to the parents with extra-sensory messages that will help the police find the child and the ransom. The plan unfolds beautifully, except that after her first visit to the parents, the police want to check her out. He's scared. As her delusions worsen, Bill realizes Myra may not want the child found alive. Behind it all is also the death at birth, years before, of their only child, whom they've named "Arthur", and who is Myra's contact with the beyond.—<[email protected]>

Details

Keywords
  • kidnapping
  • literature on screen
  • crime literature on screen
  • 20th century literature on screen
  • australian literature on screen
Genres
  • Crime
  • Drama
Release date Jul 6, 1964
Countries of origin United Kingdom
Language English
Filming locations Staines Stadium, Hythe End, Staines, Surrey, England, UK
Production companies Allied Film Makers (AFM) Beaver Films

Box office

Budget $143000

Tech specs

Runtime 2h 1m
Color Black and White
Sound mix Mono
Aspect ratio 1.66 : 1

Synopsis

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