'Tell Mommy all about it...'
I was a little hesitant when I saw the star of the 1968 British psychological thriller Twisted Nerve was Hayley Mills. I don't think I have actually ever seen Hayley in anything, but was aware she was a child star, and was in the original version of The Parent Trap. There was promise of male nudity, but at first glance, star Hywel Bennett, another actor I had not heard of, reminded me of a young Andrew Llyod Webber, and as talented as he is, I never saw anything remotely sexy, or sexual, about Mr. Webber.
I did love however like the synopsis that I read, and I especially loved the title. Twisted Nerve is such a great word combo, conjuring up both the physical, and emotional twisting of the fibers that transmit impulses and sensations from every part of our bodies to our brains. Bennett plays Martin, a socially awkward and sexually stunted man child whose alter ego, Georgie takes over for much of the film.
Bennett is great, and perfectly creepy as Georgie, especially as his obsession with Susan (Mills) grows. All of the supporting cast are great, but Bennett and Mills really hold your attention. Bennett oddly gets more sexy, the more consumed and disturbed his characters become. .
There are two brief rear nude scenes, both of the male lead, not the female. Strange for any film, let alone a 1968 drama. The nudity seems intentional though, used to contrast Martin and Georgie. Every time we may thing Georgie is just a disturbed little boy, we are reminded his is actually an older, more mature cold blooded killer
1 comment:
Mills and Bennett also starred in a movie called The Family Way, about teenage romance. I never saw the film, but remembered Bennett’s good looks for several years. I finally saw him in the TV version of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere and, alas, he has not aged well.
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