Director: Basil Dearden
Screenplay: Basil Dearden and Michael Relph
Starring: Roger Moore, Hildegard Neil, Alastair MacKenzie, Hugh MacKenzie, Kevork Malikyan, Thorley Walters, Anton Rodgers, Olga Georges-Picot, Freddie Jones, John Welsh, Edward Chapman, Laurence Hardy, Charles Lloyd Pack, Gerald Sim, Ruth Trouncer
Country: United Kingdom
Running Time: 94 min
Year: 1970
BBFC Certificate: PG
Roger Moore once remarked that The Man Who Haunted Himself was one of the few times he was allowed to actually act. Throughout his career he played heroes who were all, in his words, more straight-forward roles: Simon Templar in The Saint, Lord Brett Sinclair in The Persuaders and, of course, a seven-film run as 007, James Bond, from 1973’s Live and Let Die to 1985’s A View to a Kill. It’s true that The Man Who Haunted Himself really does give Moore a chance to showcase his acting ability in a dual role as part of a truly remarkable film, and one of my personal favourites starring the actor.
The Man Who Haunted Himself is based on a 1940 short story by Anthony Armstrong, called The Strange Case of Mr. Pelham, which became a novel in 1957. The film follows Harold Pelham (Moore) who is one of three directors of a marine technology company. Pelham drives home, in a sequence which features some great footage of London landmarks playing over the opening credits, only to lose control of the vehicle on the M4 motorway, which was yet to be completed. Pelham seems to have a strange turn, his face turning sinister, taking off his seatbelt and speeding and imagining he’s driving a sports car. He then crashes into the barricade for the section of motorway which was unfinished and comes to a halt after losing control and going into a spin. It’s a striking, audience-grabbing way to open the film.
Pelham is then taken into an operating theatre for emergency surgery, where two heartbeats are discovered. If that isn’t enough, after awakening Pelham discovers a load of odd occurrences and people acting strangely towards him, thinking he’s been to places he can’t recall. Pelham eventually suspects a double may be masquerading as him. That’s the basic premise and the groundwork for a terrific psychological thriller that plays like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone; mysterious, at times creepy and building to a cracking finale.
The supporting cast are on fine form, particularly Hildegarde Neil as Pelham’s wife, Eve. Freddie Jones gives an over the top performance as a psychiatrist who appears in several startling sequences featuring a spinning camera and lots of paranoia.
But this is Moore’s film and he’s fantastic from start to finish, playing two sides of the same character well in a Jekyll and Hyde style story. He proves his dramatic acting chops and range in a role that’s a wide departure from some of the heroic characters he’s best known for, showing a real sinister side and vulnerability, at times during the same scene.
There’s some marvellous on-location footage showcasing various parts of London, not least that opening sequence on the unfinished M4. Michael J. Lewis’s score is also great, with a hummable theme, a terrific piece for the end sequence and at times quite poignant, sad and melancholy.
There’s also a nice unexpected foreshadowing as a discussion takes place about someone leaking information from the marine technology firm where Moore’s Pelham is director. Pelham says that “espionage isn’t all James Bond and Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. Moore would star as 007 just three years later in Live and Let Die, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Man Who Haunted Himself is a corking Twilight Zone-esque psychological thriller which showcases a different side of Roger Moore, who is given a chance to show his acting ability. It has a brilliant opening, is full of mystery and suspense and builds to a memorable, psychedelic and technically brilliant climax.
Film: 
The Man Who Haunted Himself is available now on a limited edition, region-free Blu-ray in Australia by ViaVision. It is number 318 in ViaVision’s Imprint series and comes packaged in a slipcase with gorgeous artwork. Picture and sound are both excellent, the picture in particular looks wonderful; rich detail, natural grain and colours and barely a blemish.
Special Features:
1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
Audio Commentary by actor Roger Moore and uncredited writer / producer Bryan Forbes, moderated by journalist Jonathan Sothcott (2002)
Audio Commentary by authors Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons (2024)
The Man Who Became A Friend – biographer / talent agent Gareth Owen on Sir Roger Moore (2024)
The Men Who Were Haunted – interview featurette with actor Freddie Jones and production crew (2024)
Roger Moore, A Matter of Class – documentary
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Case of Mr. Pelham – a 1955 episode of the series based on the original novel The Strange Case of Mr. Pelham (Standard Definition)
Isolated Score audio track
Theatrical Trailer
Photo Gallery
Insert reproduction of the original pressbook
The Man Who Haunted Himself has previously been released in the UK on an out-of-print dual format disc by (the sadly no longer with us) Network Distribution. The ViaVision disc ports over the the trailer and the 2002 audio commentary by Roger Moore and uncredited writer/producer Bryan Forbes, and adds much more.
The first commentary from 2002 features Roger Moore and uncredited writer / producer Bryan Forbes and is moderated by journalist Jonathan Sothcott. There are some great anecdotes about how the film came about and memories of the shoot (for example, the anesthetist in the opening surgical sequence was in the same acting class as Moore at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art [RADA]). They also look back on the release of the film and why it wasn’t a success, Moore’s out of film business ventures, and recollections of filming some of the scenes and of some of the other actors and crew. They also look at that line about James Bond which I mentioned in the review, and talk a little about that iconic 007 role for Moore. There are some moments of silence but much of the time is packed full of warm memories and anecdotes.
The standout extra is the second commentary, this time with authors and film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons. Rigby and Lyons have appeared together on a number of commentaries, which are always well worth a listen and packed with information. They talk about some of the symbolism in the movie (that opening shot of Moore’s Pelham exiting onto a city street through a lift, which feels like a cage that is trapping him), point out the locations featured in the opening sequence and the sense of nostalgia that seeing these provides, as well as pointing out that the swimming pool featured early on was also in Michael Reeves’s The Sorcerers. Rigby and Lyons brilliantly compare the original source material story to the film – it’s 15 minutes before anything from the story appears. There’s plenty to take away about the plot, the actors, the crew, other films released at the time and plenty more, including their favourite lines in the film and the beautiful score and the composer behind it.
The Man Who Became a Friend is a brilliant 16-minute interview with Moore’s biographer and talent agent Gareth Owen. He shares what led to Moore taking on the role, and how the M4 was not finished when that sequence was filmed. Owen also shares tragic anecdotes about the film’s director Basil Dearden. Dearden worked with Moore again on The Persuaders, and, during shooting for that show, he died in a crash on the now opened M4 in 1971, not far from where the opening sequence of The Man Who Haunted Himself was filmed. Owen talks about how proud Moore was of the film and shares many more reflections on the movie.
The Men Who Were Haunted is a 32-minute featurette of interviews with actor Freddie Jones, who played the psychiatrist, and production crew members: camera operator James Devis, first assistant editor Roger Guertin, second assistant director Dickie Bamber, assistant art director Michael Pickwoad and John Comfort. The warm feeling they all have for the late great Moore shines through and there are some nice recollections of London at the time, the shooting locations and filming some of the sequences. There are also some poignant memories about the death of Basil Dearden.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Case of Mr. Pelham is a 1955 episode of the TV series, which was adapted from the short story that The Man Who Haunted Himself was based on. The TV series was a huge success and helped in building the mythos of Hitchcock, who directed 18 of its episodes. The 25-minute episode The Case of Mr. Pelham stars Tom Ewell. It opens, as usual for the TV series, with Hitchcock introducing the episode before the story plays out. It’s a far more stagey version than the film, with Ewell telling the story of his doppelganger as a flashback. It’s entertaining but not a patch on the film. It’s presented in standard definition and is a welcome addition to the package.
Roger Moore: A Matter of Class is a wonderful 50-minute documentary from 1995 which looks back at the actor’s career and includes plenty of clips from his films as well as a wide range of interviews with Moore and other stars including Michael Caine. We hear a lot about Moore’s childhood, which is fascinating, including how he wasn’t good at sport at school, his memories of the Second World War, and how his first foray into film started due to his ability for sketching. We then learn about how he went to dramatic arts academy RADA to train before he was spotted as an extra in a crowd scene, which kickstarted his acting career. Moore’s recollections are priceless, as are the memories of Caine, who shares how similar their lives were despite Moore being very well spoken and Caine having a Cockney accent. There are plenty of memories from Moore who looks back on his career, bouncing between TV and film, the USA and UK, before securing his breakout roles in The Saint, The Persuaders with Tony Curtis and as James Bond. He shares these recollections and much more in his very honest manner. A very worthy inclusion.
The stills gallery contains around 200 images including posters, behind the scenes, portraits and production stills. It plays as a single piece rather than having an option to view each image individually.
The three-minute trailer focuses on Roger Moore, referring to him rather than the character in the text on the screen but gives a decent flavour of the film.
The isolated score is brilliant – it’s a fantastic suite of music by Michael J. Lewis and to have it as an isolated track is a welcome bonus.
The physical pressbook reproduction is similar to what Network did on numerous film releases. It’s well printed on high quality paper and its 16 pages contain the plot synopsis, the cast and crew, biographies, ready to print articles about Moore, posters and stills, details of tie-in schemes and other promotional tie-ins. An excellent addition.
In closing, ViaVision’s limited edition Blu-ray release of The Man Who Haunted Himself is very, very good. The film itself is an excellent psychological thriller with a first class performance from Roger Moore. It is given a great audio/visual presentation, bolstered by a wealth of archival and new and insightful extras, including two fabulous commentaries, some new interviews, a neat 1995 documentary on Roger Moore and an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents which is based on the same story as the film.
Disc/package: