Sick Product of a Sick System

Excellent but underrated film

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

"Just relax and we'll have another look at your subconscious." A hypnotherapist, whose career has risen since he successfully put a serial killer on a bridge in a trance, allowing law enforcement to arrest him without incident, has taken on a new client he is also attracted to. This woman feels she might have criminal sensibilities and reaches out to him for help. It seems she can speak and write in German, quite possibly possessed by another. Dr. James Hamilton (Eric Fleming; Queen of Outer Space, who perished in a drowning accident at age 41) believes Ann Summers (Nancy Malone) is suffering from a dual personality disorder and is also falling in love with her. He needs to uncover what triggered this belief that she is a Baroness from 1889 who committed suicide with an Austrian Prince (who was unhappily married) because they were denied their love due to family disapproval. Cullen (Dean L Almquist) is a newspaper reporter who sneaks into Hamilton's office, listens to his recorded sessions with Ann, and writes what he hears despite the immoral invasion of privacy. When her sessions make front page news, Ann's psyche fractures and the Baroness Maria personality takes full control. Vanishing, the police suspect Hamilton might have killed her, and law enforcement tail the psychiatrist. Hamilton needs to find Ann, find the source behind what caused the disorder to begin with, and free her from Maria. He might have to use convicted murderer, George Morley (Frank Marth), because he is so easily susceptible to the power of suggestion, as a means to "kill" Maria for good.Talky, sluggishly paced, and not terribly exciting, the mis-titled "Fright" doesn't exactly illicit such a reaction. I think this film was meant to be called something else, to be honest, its being marketed as a chiller/horror is misleading to those who watch it. Fleming just isn't that charismatic, although he's pleasant and dashing as the leading man. Malone, although lovely, isn't exactly a barn-burner, either, to tell you the truth. It's the clunky direction, stiff and rather uninvolving which is too bad because the premise does sound intriguing on paper. Kind of hurt by its thrill-less performances and inability to make a potentially fascinating plot gripping, "Fright" is actually a snoozer.

This is a cheaply made "throwaway" movie from the 1950s. It has little going for it other than the kernel of an excellent tale. But, because there are a lot of plot problems, the overall effect is minimized. Too bad, as if it were remade the film could be great entertainment.The film begins with a psychiatrist coming upon the scene where a wanted murderer is threatening suicide. The cops are totally ineffective but the therapist is able to use his persuasive hypnotic skills to talk the man down. This part isn't psychological mumbo-jumbo, he just is able to use a simple hypnotic induction on an impressionable man to get him to surrender to the police.Interestingly, in the crowd at this same time is a lady who turns out to be very impressionable as well. In fact, as the psychiatrists makes suggestions to the killer, she also responds. This freaks her out and she tries to make an appointment with the psychiatrist. But, he has no room for new patients and his secretary tells the woman this.Now, at this point, insane decision #1 occurs. When the psychiatrist goes to his car, this impressionable blonde is waiting in his car for him. Any rational therapist would call the police, but instead the guy takes her on as a patient. Why? Well, because she's hot! In the course of their therapy, the psychiatrist is shocked as the lady seems to understand German and talks as if she were Viennese--but ONLY while under the influence of hypnosis! After a while, it appears that the lady might be the reincarnation of a famous baroness--one who died in a famous murder-suicide (see Wikipedia about the Mayerling affair with Crown Prince Rudolph if you want more information)! Here is the part I really did like and respect. Instead of the therapist automatically assuming that she has multiple personalities or this is a past-life regression (very popular themes in the 1980s due to the proliferation of movies and celebrities who espouse these ideas), he looks for a more rational alternative. This is actually very sound psychologically speaking and competent therapists would applaud the writer for this.It later turns out that the very impressionable lady was raised when she was young by an Austrian nanny and these ideas of Mayerling and the Baroness were spoken of by the nanny. This explained why the patient understood and spoke poor German--after all, she was quite young at the time and yet had no recollection of the nanny.However, here comes insane decisions #2 and 3. First, he dates his own patient! Nowadays, this will get your license revoked for unprofessional conduct. Second, the doctor's secretary lets an unknown and pushy guy bully his way into the office when the doctor is out. She tells him the doc isn't taking any new patients and he ignores her--going into the inner office to supposedly wait. Why didn't she call the police and why did she let him shut the door?! The guy turned out to be a reporter and he spent this time rifling through the doctor's stuff--including listening to recordings of his sessions with the impressionable hot lady! And, being a sleazebag reporter, he has the tapes transcribed and runs the story! After all, it sounded as if this lady was the reincarnation of a dead Baroness--a great story for a sleazy rag--especially since this same doctor was famous for the averted suicide weeks earlier! There is a lot more to the story than this. I won't ruin the surprise, but it is both exciting AND unprofessional AND stupid! All in all, some great ideas undone by a clumsy script. The acting isn't bad, however, but the project did little to advance the careers of anyone involved.

I totally disagree with a previous review to this film. We are presented here with an extremely low budget film with mostly up and coming young actors or unknowns. The story is interesting, the acting is erratic- but Eric Fleming is rather good in his first leading role and shows promise for the future lead in TV's Rawhide.The doctor played by Fleming investigates a rash of murders and discovers a young lady believing herself to be the reincarnation of a princess.Due to a erratic script and lack lustre direction, both leads - Nancy Malone and Eric Fleming have to provide us with the interest and for me they succeed.There is one hauntingly good sequence when Fleming is alone studying and he feels the presence of Malone behind him. If you need blood and gore to satisfy your film needs then this is not for you. On the other hand if you are interested in Fleming's early work and also a rare minor film then this is worth a look. Try to judge the film on it's merits and appreciate when it was made, then you could find it's a worthwhile look.I give it a 6 and recommend it for a true vintage film buff, especially for fans of "b" movies and Eric Fleming. Also I note that another reviewer states the film did little to advance the careers of the lead actors, this is totally incorrect. Eric Fleming of course achieved TV immortality as Gil Favor in the classic TV western series " Rawhide " and is forever remembered for the classic command, "Head em up move em out" at the end of each episode. Nancy Malone was an extremely prolific actress for many years and then moved successfully onto directing. I think that both these people did have successful careers, however Fleming's was cut short by his tragic, untimely death.

Shot in New York City locations, this film, also titled SPELL OF THE HYPNOTIST, opens with escaped murderer George Morley (Frank Marth) being trapped by police officers upon a high bridge, prompting a psychiatrist, Dr. James Hamilton (Eric Fleming) to attempt hypnotising, with the approval of the on-scene police supervisor, the killer whose vicious crimes he has been following through newspaper reports. An onlooker at the scene, Ann Summers (Nancy Malone) is apparently simultaneously also hypnotised and subsequently visits Hamilton at his office, with the doctor, attracted to the young woman, beginning treatments for her in a case that he perceives as an instance of dual personality, Ann's body ostensibly being shared with a reincarnated Austrian, Baroness Maria Vetsera, lover of Hapsburg Crown Prince Rudolph, and co-participant in the infamous sex scandal that culminated in the royal hunting lodge, Mayerling, with their mutual suicide pact in 1889. This manner of theme, that narrating a multiple personality disorder, requires a good deal of cinematic talent to be convincing, but such is not on board here, the film suffering not only from a poorly organised script and weak direction, but also from a particularly wooden Fleming, whose expressivity is nearly completely non-existent, a deadly flaw indeed in a story that is depicting his character as being in love with his patient. Malone tries hard but her lines, as with much of the screenplay's dialogue, are not credibly written, and the pacing of the piece is notably erratic with a result that a viewer will probably feel as little emotional involvement in the action as does the stoical Fleming.