Something to Hide

Peter Finch as an unhappily married man, brow-beaten by his coarse and vulgar wife (Shelley Winters, in a bit) as well as on the job by his supervisor at the Town Council on the Isle of Wight. A fight between the couple on Christmas night ends with a wine bottle shattering; the next thing we know, the shrewish spouse is "away" and may not be returning. Meanwhile, the husband has picked up a belligerent, pregnant and unmarried teenager whom he allows to stay at his house (but not for long because the neighbors might gossip!). Writer-director Alastair Reid, adapting Nicholas Monsarrat's 1963 novel, pitches this melodramatic material too high; it's grating and off-putting instead of interesting, despite yet another solid job of acting by Finch. British production went unreleased in the States until 1976, where it usually played under the title "Shattered". *1/2 from ****

If the first ten minutes of Something to Hide seem cheesy and over the top, you should know that it only goes downhill from there. I stuck through the end because Peter Finch is a good actor, and I'll give anything with Shelley Winters a try. However, I should have stuck with my initial impression. I should have watched an old favorite of Shelley's and remembered Peter Finch in movies where he showed his acting talents. This is not one of them.

The movie starts with Peter and Shelly screaming at each other. There are a very unhappily married couple having another fight. Shelley pushes him too far, and it implies that Peter loses control... The next section features Peter functioning in the house without Shelly, but sometimes he hears her voice and believes her to still be in the house. It is pretty obvious what has happened, but the movie doesn't come right out and say it. Meanwhile, he picks up a pregnant hitchhiker and allows her to stay in his home. Their relationship is ambiguous and quite pointless. Save your time and watch something else tonight.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to adult content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

This film always played around Christmastime. I watched it late one night, and it has haunted me ever since. It is a must see. Watch it 3 or 4 times to really absorb what the characters are experiencing. Powerful performances make this thriller haunting. One must pay special and careful attention throughout the entire film. It contains surprises, very interesting characters, and a truly haunting story line. It is a perfect film to watch on a cold afternoon with a cup of tea or hot chocolate. The stormy British weather adds so well to the stormy plot. Even the supporting characters in this film are intriguing. The contrast is excellent. The juxtaposition of Winters and Finch is unnerving. You will not forget this one. Everyone seems together when they mention their being haunted for years.

I really like this movie but am distressed that the US video SHATTERED runs 86 minutes while the film should run 99 min. The video box claims 100 min, so something is clearly off with the Media release. I have no idea what is missing from the US version but there are scenes that cut off abruptly and the ending also seems tampered with. Peter Finch gives a mighty performance as a man who is hanging by a thread. His involvement with a young pregnant girl seals his fate as he gets sucked in over his head and then makes a very poor decision about how to dispose of unwanted refuse. If anyone has seen a version other than the US video release I would love to hear some details.

This low-watt British thriller has never got a decent release either on DVD or VHS, despite strong performances from three great character actors.

Peter Finch is, of course, best known for playing a crazed news anchor-man "Howard Beal" in "Network", a role for which he won a post-humous Academy Award. But his other famous role was as a beleaguered husband in "The Pumpkin Eater", a role very similar to the one he plays here. Shelley Winters plays his nagging, shrewish wife. She is good as always, but doesn't have nearly enough screen time. The real surprise though is Linda Hayden, famous for playing sexy, evil (and oft-naked) vixens in movies like "Blood on Satan's Claw". Unfortunately, her best movie, "House on Straw Hill" was actually banned in Britain back in the day and, as a result, has been barely released outside it. And her earlier collaboration with director Alistair Reid, "Baby Love", is also problematic since she debuted in this rather sexy role at the tender age of 15.

Finch plays a decent, well-meaning husband whose life is entirely destroyed by his own horribly bad decisions and two different female harpies--his wife Shelly winters and Linda Hayden, a very pregnant hitchhiker he picks up. Instead of playing her usual sexy and evil, Hayden is just plain evil here, and never has a pregnant woman seemed so menacing. I won't give away the plot, but Finch's character soon has at least one body on his hands as his life spins into blackly comic, vortex nightmare.

I saw the crappy, cut VHS version of this (the only one currently available), but even so it is a quite entertaining movie. It certainly deserves better.