Movie Review: Maniac (1963) directed by Michael Carreras (aka “The Maniac”)
Four years ago, French schoolgirl Annette Beynat (Liliane Brousse) was raped by a neighbor. That man was caught in the act by her father Georges, who decided not to turn him over to the police, but instead use an acetylene torch to murder him in a manner so horrific it even made the American newspapers. Deemed insane by the court, Georges has languished in an asylum ever since.
In the present day, American artist Jeff Farrell (Kerwin Matthews) comes to Camargue, a rural area of Southern France noted for its horse ranches. He quarrels with his current lover, a spoiled rich woman, and since she owns the car, is now stranded in the small village where Annette and her stepmother Eve (Nadia Gray) operate Georges’ inn. Jeff immediately finds Annette (now 19) attractive and flirts with her. She in turn seems to be somewhat attracted to the exotic Yank and open to romantic feelings for the first time since the incident.
Eve also sees something in Jeff, and with her greater experience and more direct approach, wins him away from Annette, so the two older people are soon having an affair. Problem! While Eve is no longer in love with Georges, she still feels loyalty to him, visiting him every week in the asylum, and unable to get a divorce because Catholic. She has a plan, though. Georges, she says, is actually much better now and could live in the outside world if it weren’t that revealing he’s no longer insane would simply get him transferred to regular prison. If he’s sprung from the asylum, Georges has promised to go overseas, send for Annette, and leave Eve free to move on with her life.
Jeff, romantic that he is, is okay with this plan, though Annette is uncomfortable with it. Especially the illegal parts. Eve and Jeff decide to go through with it anyway, meeting the escapee (Donald Houston behind a thick mustache and dark glasses) and driving him to the docks where a ship is waiting.
The next morning, Inspector Etienne (George Pastell) is questioning the residents of the inn, who claim to know nothing of Georges’ escape. Before he leaves, the police officer drops a bit of a bombshell. Two men are missing from the asylum. Quickly, the simple plan unravels in a series of twists.
This film is another of Hammer Studios’ early crime thrillers before they pivoted to horror. We never see what Georges does with the torch, nor is it described beyond that it made the American papers, it was that horrific. But the opening is all the lurid stuff we get for a long while. The movie takes its own sweet time developing the romantic relationships before the halfway point when the escape happens. Finally, it’s rollercoaster time!
The acting is generally okay, though the French accents sometimes are less than intelligible (can’t speak to their authenticity. Jeff gets stiffer as the movie moves into the thriller section of the plotline.
The landscapes are pleasant, especially the abandoned quarry at the climax. Might have looked even better in color.
Content note: Off-camera murder, we see corpses after except for the first one for obvious reasons. Some lesser violence. A little blood. Off-camera rape, consensual extramarital sex. Female toplessness from the back. Adults smoke and drink alcohol, not always wisely. It’s implied the local boys see Annette as “soiled goods.”
Worth seeing once just to enjoy all the twists. Recommended for patient viewers who are okay with a slow buildup that’s more romance than suspense.
