Rule Britannia Blogathon: Moore is "Haunted"

Roger Moore is The Man Who Haunted Himself

 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be plagued by your doppelganger, a mysterious double that not only intrudes upon your life, but tries to take it over? That's the premise of The Man Who Haunted Himself, an offbeat thriller starring Roger Moore, which was originally released in 1970 by EMI Films.  Moore plays Harold Pelham, a London-based executive who has an accident while heading home from work. The circumstances of the accident are somewhat strange, as Pelham's personality seems to change during the drive. He starts speeding, ultimately running his car off the road. While Pelham's being treated for his injuries at the hospital, a monitor briefly shows two heartbeats side by side, before the readings return to normal.

Following his release from the hospital and return to work, Pelham is approached by friends and colleagues who claim to have seen him in places he hasn't been, and had conversations and interactions with him which he doesn't remember. Tensions are running high in both his professional and personal lives, as his company is involved in discussions regarding a high-profile merger, and his relationship with his wife has become strained and distant. Meanwhile, an attractive woman Pelham barely knows claims he's been having an affair with her. Is he going mad, or is someone impersonating him?

 

He meets with Dr. Harris, a psychiatrist who believes that the mysterious double is Pelham himself, and he's trying to break out of his dull and conventional lifestyle. After spending a few days at the psychiatrist's clinic, Pelham discovers that his double has been living his life while he's been away. The "other" Pelham has worked behind the scenes to finalize the merger at his company, and has also been spending time with his wife, re-energizing their relationship. He confronts his "double" at his home, culminating in a car chase down the same road where the story began; which version of Pelham will ultimately survive?

 

The Man Who Haunted Himself is an eerie, unsettling thriller which features an outstanding performance by Roger Moore as Pelham. He effectively conveys the character's increasing sense of distress and paranoia. Moore spoke in interviews throughout the years about the fact that Pelham was one of his favorite roles, since he got to stretch his acting muscles a bit, playing the two different sides of the character. There's also a fine supporting cast, full of familiar faces, featuring the wonderful Freddie Jones in a memorable turn as Dr. Harris, as well as strong work from Hildegarde Neil, Thorley Walters, Anton Rodgers and Olga Georges-Picot.

 

The film is based on "The Strange Case of Mr. Pelham," by British writer Anthony Armstrong. The story had previously been filmed by BBC Television in 1948 and 1955, and was adapted in the US for Alfred Hitchcock Presents as "The Case of Mr. Pelham," starring Tom Ewell, an episode which was helmed by Hitchcock. Production of The Man Who Haunted Himself was spearheaded by producer-director Bryan Forbes, who was head of EMI Films at the time. The movie was directed by Basil Dearden, who was also behind the camera for Sapphire, Khartoum and The Assassination Bureau. Dearden co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Relph and an uncredited Forbes. Sadly, Dearden was killed in a car accident in 1971, which occurred on the same road prominently featured in the movie.

 

While the film wasn't a huge success on its original release, it has picked up something of a cult following over the years, and has been released on both DVD and Blu-ray. I first saw it in my younger years when it aired as a Sunday afternoon movie in the New York area on Channel 9. I was captivated by its eccentric tone, the unusual visual style, courtesy of director Dearden and cinematographer Tony Spratling, and the excellent performances by Moore and Freddie Jones. If you only know Moore from his turns as The Saint or James Bond, or his roles in series like Maverick and The Persuaders, I urge you to check out The Man Who Haunted Himself. Here's a trailer for the Blu-ray release of the film from Imprint Films: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rCgP8hPXZI. This post is part of the Rule Britannia Blogathon, hosted by Terence over at A Shroud of Thoughts: I'm very happy to be part of the fun! For more info, and to check out the other posts: follow this link: https://mercurie.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-11th-annual-rule-britannia-blogathon.html.

These "Embers" Glow For A Worthy Cause

It's no surprise that musicians are often some of the first ones to step up and offer their assistance in the wake of tragedies which affect people's lives. One of the most recent examples of this is Artists for Maui – Embers of Aloha: A Maui Wildfire Benefit Project, an album which was spearheaded by Lisa Mychols and Eddie Finley. The devastating wildfires that raged in Maui last year caused significant property damage, destroying homes and businesses, leaving many residents homeless. Longtime radio host and local resident Michael McCartney, whose own home was damaged by the fires, started a GoFundMe effort to aid island residents affected by these horrible events, and he kept people informed with updates about the fires and their aftermath.

McCartney's efforts inspired Mychols and Finley to create Artists for Maui– Embers of Aloha: A Maui Wildfire Benefit Project, a 43-song digital compilation which is now available for digital download on Bandcamp. The album features a terrific roster of artists whose names will be very familiar to power pop fans, including Eytan Mirsky, Kyle Vincent, Seth Swirsky and David Myhr. The songs and sounds on the album span the spectrum of pop, rock and power pop, including all out rockers such as Danny Wilkerson's "Bye Bye" to Johnathan Pushkar's lovely acoustic tune "Isabella," and Cliff Hillis' tongue in cheek paean to "Evel Knievel."

 

The wonderful artwork and graphics for the album were designed by the talented Nadja Dee, who also aided Mychols and Finley in gathering the artists who generously donated their music to the project. The trio also worked with several record labels, including JEM Records, JAM Records, and Big Stir Records, in order to make the album a reality. Artists for Maui – Embers of Aloha: A Maui Wildfire Benefit Project is truly a gift for power pop fans, and all proceeds from the sales of this fantastic record will go directly to aid victims of the Maui wildfires. Follow this link to check out the songs and order a digital download of the album: https://thetimemachine2.bandcamp.com/album/embers-of-aloha-a-maui-wildfire-benefit-project, and here's a link to a video about the project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CwW83wlDEI.

Retro TV: Irwin Allen's Land of the Giants

Before he was the producer of disaster epics like The Poseidon Adventure, Irwin Allen was the pre-eminent purveyor of prime-time TV sci-fi in the mid to late 1960s, with several shows running throughout the latter half of the decade. Recently, I've been celebrating Allen's work here at Eclectic Avenue, and this week, I'm shining the spotlight on an episode of Land of the Giants. The series was Allen's fourth and final out of this world adventure series of the 1960s. Land of the Giants ran for two seasons, from 1968-70. The show featured the adventures of the crew and passengers of the Spindrift, a sub-orbital craft which passed through a strange spatial disturbance on its way to London. The space warp transports them to a world where they're mini-sized, and everything else is well....gigantic. The cast included Gary Conway, Don Matheson, Deanna Lund, Don Marshall, Stefan Arngrim, Kurt Kaznar and Heather Young.

 

Each week our heroes would try to evade capture by the giants, while trying to repair their damaged ship and return home. In the first season entry "On A Clear Night You Can See Earth," the captain of the Spindrift, Steve Burton, is captured by a scientist named Murtrah, who's trying to create a special set of glasses that will allow him to see our miniature heroes in the dark. In the series, the giants are aware of the existence of Earth and its superior technology, and rewards are posted for the capture of the "little people."  Murtrah is a particularly mean-spirited and sadistic individual, and he's also jealous of a fellow scientist who he believes is trying to steal his work. 

Steve plays on Murtrah's insecurities, while the rest of the Spindrift crew try to rescue him. "On A Clear Night You Can See Earth" is an action-packed and exciting episode. It's somewhat unique in the canon of Irwin Allen's series, which were generally family-oriented entertainment. The denouement features our heroes rigging an explosive device to kill Murtrah and destroy his lab. They take this drastic step in order to prevent him from completing the creation of his device, so that it can't be used to reveal the Earth crew's location to the giant authorities. Rarely on any of Allen's series, including Lost In Space, Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea, and The Time Tunnel, did the heroes kill someone in cold blood, even if that person or alien being was an outright villain.

Murtrah is played by Michael Ansara, who specialized in playing villains in a plethora of television series and films from the 1960s through the 1990s. He guest starred in all of Irwin Allen's series, and had a featured role in the 1961 big-screen version of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, a film in which he appeared with his then wife Barbara Eden. Ansara is also well known for his portrayal of the Klingon Kang on Star Trek: The Original Series and Deep Space Nine, as well as his role as "Killer" Kane on the 1980s series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. 

 

"On A Clear Night You Can See Earth" was directed by Sobey Martin, who was frequently behind the camera for episodes of Allen's shows. The episode was written by Sheldon Stark and Anthony Wilson. The memorable theme music for Land of the Giants was composed by none other than John Williams of Star Wars and Superman fame, who also wrote the themes for Lost In Space and The Time Tunnel. Land of the Giants, like the rest of Allen's series and movies is entertaining, well-produced and a lot of fun. Here's a trailer for the Season One DVD release of the series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oint3j4HlA.