Peeping Tom

Fear and the Nervous System.

Peeping Tom is directed by Michael Powell and written by Leo Marks. It stars Carl Boehm, Moira Shearer, Anna Massey, Maxine Audley and Brenda Bruce. Music is by Brian Easdale and cinematography by Otto Heller.

A famous (infamous) film for a number of reasons, not least that the fall out from its release effectively finished the career of the great Michael Powell. Interestingly now, still some 50 plus years later, there are still people discovering the film for the first time and not being sure what they have just watched; much like many critics back in 1960 ...

I can recall being genuinely scared when I first saw this film in the early 1970s. Young women are being found murdered. What makes their crimes especially heinous is the look of sheer terror found on their faces - and that is what is further perplexing the pursing Scotland Yard detective "Gregg" (Jack Watson). Meantime, actress "Vivian" (Moira Shearer) is filming her new movie and on the set is the camera-obsessed "Mark" (Karlheinz Böhm) who rents out the bottom part of his sprawling house to a group of youngsters. Usually keeping himself to himself, he is befriended by "Helen" (Anna Massey)...