Twisted Nerve (1968)

Director:

Roy Boulting

Writers:

Leo Marks (screenplay) and
Roy Boulting (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

December 1968 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Cleaver. Cleaver. Chop. Chop. First the mom and then the pop. Then we'll get the pretty girl. We'll get her right between the curl.

Plot:

Martin is a troubled young man. With a mother who insists on treating him like a child, a stepfather who can't wait to see the back of him...

Plot Keywords:

Controversy | Whistling Killer | Financier | Boarding House | Broken Mirror

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Hayley Mills	...	Susan Harper
Hywel Bennett	...	Martin Durnley
Billie Whitelaw	...	Joan Harper
Phyllis Calvert	...	Enid Durnley
Frank Finlay	...	Henry Durnley
Barry Foster	...	Gerry Henderson
Salmaan Peerzada	...	Shashie Kadir (as Salmaan Peer)
Christian Roberts	...	Philip Harvey
Gretchen Franklin	...	'Clarkie'
Thorley Walters	...	Sir John Forrester
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Timothy Bateson	...	Mr. Groom
Clifford Cox	...	Insp. Goddard
Richard Davies	...	'Taffy' Evans
Basil Dignam	...	Doctor
Mollie Maureen	...	Lady Patient
Russell Napier	...	Prof. Fuller
Robin Parkinson	...	Shop Manager
Brian Peck	...	Det. Sgt. Rogers
Timothy West	...	Supt. Dakin
Michael Cadman	...	Mac (uncredited)
Larry Guardino	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Marianne Stone	...	Store Detective (uncredited)
Russell Waters	...	Hospital Attendant (uncredited)

Directed by
Roy Boulting

Writing credits
Leo Marks		(screenplay) and
Roy Boulting		(screenplay)
Roger Marshall		(story)
Roger Marshall		(idea) and
Jeremy Scott		(idea)

Produced by
John Boulting	....	executive producer
George W. George	....	producer
Frank Granat	....	producer

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann

Cinematography by
Harry Waxman

Film Editing by
Martin Charles

Casting by
Thelma Graves

Art Direction by
Albert Witherick

Makeup Department
Joan Carpenter	....	hair stylist
George Partleton	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jack Rix	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Douglas Hermes	....	assistant director

Sound Department
David Bowen	....	sound
Jack Davies	....	sound
Nolan Roberts	....	dubbing
Stanley Smith	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Gerry Anstiss	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Hazel Graeme	....	wardrobe designer: Hayley Mills
Bridget Sellers	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Barbara Cohen	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Howard Blake	....	musician: synthesizer
Richard Blake	....	music arranger: Georgie theme whistled version
Bernard Herrmann	....	composer: Georgie theme whistled version
Bernard Herrmann	....	conductor

Other crew
Arthur Cleaver	....	production accountant
Morton Lewis	....	titles
Jack Rix	....	production administrator
Phyllis Russell	....	production secretary
Philip Shipway	....	production administrator

Production Companies

• Charter Film Productions

Distributors

• British Lion Film Corporation (1968) (UK) (theatrical)
• National General Pictures (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
• Optimum Releasing (2007) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1990) (UK) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Technicolor  colour

Runtime:

Australia:113 min | Germany:104 min | Germany:104 min (cut version) | USA:118 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Australia:M | USA:M (original rating) | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Charter Film Productions

Trivia:

Much of the interior house footage was shot on location at the Mills family home in Twickenham.

Quotes:

Narrator: Ladies and gentlemen, because of the controversy already aroused, the producers of this film wish to re-emphasize what is already stated in the film, that there is no established scientific connection between Mongolism and psychotic or criminal behavior.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Not worth the wait

I have to agree with other critics of this film because after finally getting the chance to see it, I have realised it does not deliver on any level. The story opens with a disturbed man named Martin being caught stealing a toy from a department store. Following a later argument with his parents, he leaves home and sets up a clever deception built around an attractive girl named Susan (who he encountered while stealing the toy), conning her into thinking he's retarded and moving into her family's small guest house, while at the same time conning his parents into thinking he has taken a trip to Paris. Martin's behaviour is for the most part indecipherable, but one thing's for sure, it's all going to end in tears.

The reason, I think, behind the film's failing, is it's pivotal explanation for why Martin is behaving abnormally, which is spurious in the extreme. Based around a medical condition, the film goes to great lengths to show learned doctors discussing just such a topic and how it might affect a sufferer. The trouble is that the script writers did not seem to know what "disturbed" traits to actually give the the character of Martin, so he simply acts erratically, inconsistently and ultimately homicidally just to make the plot exciting.

The feeble reasoning behind his behaviour really dates the film, and I can only assume there must have been some research being done at around the time the film was made (1968) that inspired such ideas.

At any rate, the film was not well received at the time because of it, and it only appears worse when viewed today. So too does some really appalling racism directed towards an Indian doctor in the film, which is highly embarrassing to watch. The acting on the whole is pretty good, although Hywel Bennett does not instill the character of Martin with any particular depth, and Hayley Mills looks very pretty as Susan and fulfils the role very well although she isn't given very much to do. Much more interesting is Billie Whitelaw as Susan's mother, who makes a real impact with her appearance.

Sadly the film itself can't claim to grab the attention. Despite a small sprinkling of blood and murder, things never get really tense or gripping. The overall impression is spoiled by the sheer datedness of the thing, but more importantly, it seems as though the whole thing was written around the expectation that the spectacular psychological revelations would carry it, but as they don't work, the film as a whole doesn't work either. As it stands, it's just another film about a disturbed man causing trouble, and it doesn't really do that very well.