Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)

Myra (Kim Stanley) and Bill (Richard Attenborough in a prosthetic nose) Savage are a married couple living in London.

Myra is a medium who holds weekly séances for a regular group of customers, while weak-willed Billy supports her in these ventures, as he otherwise cannot work because of his asthma. Myra’s spirit guide is their stillborn son, “Arthur”.

Myra devises a scheme to raise her public profile and fame as a medium: kidnap Amanda Clayton (Judith Donner), the young daughter of a wealthy couple (Mark Eden and Nanette Newman) and provide information to the Claytons and the police on the whereabouts of Amanda and the ransom money using her “psychic powers”.

Myra and Billy view this scheme as a victimless crime – if a crime at all – as they are just “borrowing” Amanda and don’t plan to harm her, and they are returning the ransom.

The tightly-wound psychological thriller was adapted from a novel by Australian crime novelist Mark McShane.

Director Bryan Forbes handles the tension with Hitchcockian verve. A visit to the house by the suspicious rozzers as the child cries out for her “nurse” is a masterclass in knuckle-whitening anxiety, as is a sequence in which the girl’s mother visits for a séance, unaware her kidnapped daughter is in the next room.

With no budget for proper location work, shots around London – including in Leicester Square and on the Underground – were grabbed guerrilla-style. At one point filming had to be halted when it turned out esteemed thespian John Gielgud happened to be in the frame.

Myra Savage
Kim Stanley
Bill Savage
Richard Attenborough
Mrs Wintry
Marian Spencer
Mr Clayton
Mark Eden
Mrs Clayton
Nanette Newman
Mr Clayton’s Secretary
Diana Lambert
Mrs Clayton’s Chauffeur
Godfrey James
Amanda Clayton
Judith Donner
Maid at Clayton’s
Hajni Biro
Women at First Seance
Margaret Lacey
Marie Burke
Maria Kazan
Man at Seances
Lionel Gamlin
Policeman Outside Clayton’s
Ronald Hines

Director
Bryan Forbes