In his first film role after his international TV success as The Saint, (and prior to his Bond roles) Roger Moore took the role of a character who first saw the light of day on an episode of the TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
In this psychological drama, Moore plays a conservative city businessman who is involved in a car accident, his life only being saved by surgery. However, when he gets out of the hospital, he finds that his life has changed more than he can quite believe. Somewhere, he appears to have a double. A man with his exact likeness is getting involved in shady business deals and living a hedonistic life, especially with an attractive young woman Olga Georges-Piscot, a woman who the conservative Moore had met only once and casually.
As Moore begins to investigate the situation, he discovers that while he was on the operating table he died for a couple of minutes and in that state of limbo, his vigorous, libidinous doppelganger escaped from his body and is now taking over his life.
For director Basil Dearden, this was his last film. Ironically, he was killed soon after in a car accident. Says Variety : “Whatever Moore is on screen, he is never stuffy…” and “Typically brief but standout cameo comes from Freddie Jones as a psychiatrist (who) manages effectively to steal the few scenes he has.”
production details
UK / 94 minutes / 1970
Director: Basil Dearden
Writers: Michael Relph, Basil Dearden, based on the story by Anthony Armstrong
cast
Roger Moore as Harold Pelham
Hildegard Neil as Eve Pelham
Anton Rodgers as Tony Alexander
Thorley Walters as Frank Bellamy
Alastair Mackenzie as Michael Pelham
Olga Georges-Picot as Julia Anderson
Freddie Jones as Dr. Harris
Hugh Mackenzie as James Pelham
Kevork Malikyan as Luigi
Ruth Trouncer as Miss Bird
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