The Man Who Haunted Himself

With its 1970s chic cheese and swagger and Roger Moore's excellent performance, The Man Who Haunted Himself has a considerable cult fan base. Directed by British legend Basil Dearden, plot finds Moore as Harold Pelham, who after being involved in a serious car accident, comes around from the trauma to find that his life is being turned upside down. It seems that somebody is impersonating him, people he knows swear he was in places he hasn't been, that he has been making decisions at work that he knows nothing about, and that he has a sexy mistress that threatens to destroy his marriage. Is he going mad? A victim of a collective practical joke? Or is there really something more sinister going on?

Don't be a slave to convention!

So yeah! A cult gem waiting to be rediscovered is The Man Who Haunted Himself, it has a plot that positively bristles with intrigue. As the doppleganger motif is tightly wound by Dearden, who smartly sticks to understated scene constructions as opposed to supernatural excess, there's a realistic and human feel to the story. The makers are not going for jolt shocks, but taking a considered approach that has the pertinent mystery elements lurking in the background, waiting for their chance to reveal themselves for the utterly thrilling finale. A finale that is bold and special, obvious but not, and definitely tinged with cunning ambiguity.

With Moore drawing on talent from his acting pool that many thought he didn't have (two different characterisations smartly realised here), and Dearden pulling the technical strings (love those off-kilter angles and multi mirrored images), this is a film that has surprises in store all across the board. 8/10

A fascinating story - a man haunted by his doppelganger - and Roger Moore's excellent performance(s) make this film worth seeing, even though it overelaborates its point somewhat (the situation becomes clear to us long before Moore figures it out). Still, what we have here is an example of how a good movie can be produced on a relatively low budget, as long as it has a strong script and dependable actors. (***)

Despite the extremely improbable premise, this 1970 film boasts one of Roger Moore's most accomplished performances.

The plot, which centres around a staid businessman who "dies" for a few seconds on the operating table following a car crash, recovers and eventually finds out that a doppelganger is intruding in his life, is bizarre, but it is executed with such conviction and believability that the audience is entertained from start to finish.

The suspense builds feverishly, as the doppelganger's intrusive actions increase to an alarming level, whilst Moore's performance is one of eye-popping, progressive hysteria. He steals all the scenes he is in, with the supporting cast being merely bystanders (with the possible exception of the ever-dependable Freddie Jones an an eccentric psychiatrist).

The feeling of helplessness is excellently conveyed and well-maintained right up until the end. The film's resolution is stark and hard-hitting and because it is one we might not have anticipated, the film's credibility is maintained despite the obvious far-fetched nature of the story. However, two car accidents at pivotal moments in the film is a little bit hard-to-stomach and accept!!

Obviously under-rated as a film spectacle by critics, this little gem of a thriller plays with your emotions and keeps you guessing all the way through. I doubt whether Roger Moore has performed a role better than this since.

Harold Pelham gets in a freaky car accident, but survives.After that he believes there's a duplicate of himself messing up his life.The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970) is directed by Basil Dearden.This was actually his last movie and he died in a car accident near the spot Pelham is supposed to have crashed his car in the beginning of the film.Roger Moore proves here he really is a great actor.All those James Bond films may not give the biggest challenge as an actor, but here he really has to act.His wife Eve is played brilliantly by Hildegard Neil.Olga Georges-Picot is fantastic as the doppelgänger's lover Julie Anderson.Freddie Jones is terrific as Dr. Harris- Psychiatrist.Also great job by people like Gerald Sim (Morrison) and John Carson (Ashton).This is a really fascinating film.It has been called underrated, and that is very true.There's that psychedelic feeling going there.Like when Pelham is escaping his duplicate and he breaks the mirror and we see many Pelhams laughing there.The music is one element that helps create the atmosphere.And it is really a joy to see two Roger Moores in the same room.

Some twenty or so years have passed since I originally saw this film, which, at the time I found to be very though-provoking, so it was with a mixture of interest and skepticism that I ordered it from Lovefilm. Happily, I was not disappointed. This is, without doubt, Moore's finest acting role and he delights with his use of facial expression; to me it shows that there is a lot more to his acting skills than the rather one-dimensional parts he spent most of his career playing e.g. The Saint, Brett Sinclair and Bond. Of course, this is dated, as it was filmed in 1970, however most people - myself included - have a fond affection for this period. Good support from some stalwart actors, including Anton Rogers and Hildegard Neil make this a satisfying experience. In my opinion, this story would merit a re-make by a director such as Christopher Nolan.

NB One of the spookiest things about this film is that the director - Basil Dearden - was tragically killed in a car accident shortly after it was completed, in the exact stretch of road used in the film. This only serves to add to the mystery of this film but may put any superstitious directors off attempting a re-make. My recommendation is to watch this late at night with the lights off... Enjoy!