Night Must Fall (1964)

Set in Wales, a psychologically disturbed young man (Albert Finney) gets a housemaid (Sheila Hancock) pregnant. Her employer (Mona Washbourne), who's in a wheelchair, demands to see him but unexpectedly becomes attached to him and invites him to live in the house. Based on the play by Emlyn Williams (previously filmed in 1937) and directed by Karel Reisz. Having successfully collaborated on the "kitchen sink" drama SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING, Reisz and Finney co-produced this movie with Reisz directing and Finney starring. A thriller seems like an unusual follow up to such a critically acclaimed film but it doesn't appear they were interested in making a conventional thriller as the film differs from the play and original film considerably. In addition to being more violent and sexually explicit, the film's protagonist isn't as smooth as he is in the original. Here, he's clearly a psychopath and indeed, the first we see of him has him decapitating a woman before dumping her body in the lake. Finney obviously relished the part and he brings considerable underpinnings as well as a sense of menace to the role. In the end, I don't think it's as successful as the 1937 film but I liked how it catered the movie to a contemporary audience without betraying the source material. The striking B&W lensing is by the great Freddie Francis. With Susan Hampshire and Michael Medwin.