Before he directed the Bond adventures ‘Dr. No’, ‘From Russia with Love’, ‘Thunderball’ and the unsettling ‘Wait Until Dark’, Terence Young debuted with this haunting tale. Paul Mangin (a wonderfully deranged Eric Portman) is an artist obsessed with the notion that he is the reincarnation of a figure from a beloved painting. Moreover, he is convinced that his current girlfriend Veronic (Barbara Mullen) is that character’s lover. When Veronica ends the relationship, Paul vows revenge. Young’s film is genuine original, whose strangeness is matched by the film’s stunning art direction.
