Director David Eady is a complete unknown to me but, on the strength of FACES IN THE DARK, it is a pity that he did not direct more films - the talent is clearly there. He is greatly assisted by superlative cinematography by Ken Hodges - eerie B&W, shadow and light, chiaroscuro interiors, foreboding forests and ponds - and a spooky score by then unknown Mikis Theodorakis, who would rise to worldwide fame two years later with the soundtrack of ZORBA THE GREEK, together with a superb screenplay by Kogan and Tully, adapted from the fantastic novel VISAGES DANS L'OMBRE by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, the pair who specialized in weird stories (like D'ENTRE LES MORTS, the basis for VERTIGO, which Hitchcock had directed two years earlier), all combine to make FACES IN THE DARK an out and out masterpiece.
Mai Zetterling, then at the height of her relation with Sammy Davis Jr., posts a superior performance, probably her best ever. Michael Denison - usually a comedian, here playing against type as a cunningly subversive business partner and calculating murderer - also shines, especially because of his quiet, ominous smiles that spell danger.
John Ireland is the sole reason I do not award 10/10 to this awesome work: he is sadly underused in a small and ultimately meaningless part.
Of course the real plaudits have to go to John Gregson as the blind rich man whose wife and partner are out to literally put him in the grave to reap all the benefits of his will and wealth. The scene where he realizes that his wife is cheating on him is as subtle as sublime.
This is film noir (among other genres) of the highest order. Strongly recommended.
Mai Zetterling, then at the height of her relation with Sammy Davis Jr., posts a superior performance, probably her best ever. Michael Denison - usually a comedian, here playing against type as a cunningly subversive business partner and calculating murderer - also shines, especially because of his quiet, ominous smiles that spell danger.
John Ireland is the sole reason I do not award 10/10 to this awesome work: he is sadly underused in a small and ultimately meaningless part.
Of course the real plaudits have to go to John Gregson as the blind rich man whose wife and partner are out to literally put him in the grave to reap all the benefits of his will and wealth. The scene where he realizes that his wife is cheating on him is as subtle as sublime.
This is film noir (among other genres) of the highest order. Strongly recommended.