Freddie Francis directed The Psychopath, a 1966 horror/thriller. The stars are Patrick Wymark, Margaret Johnson, Alexander Knox, and Judy Huxtable.
Inspector Holloway (Wymark) investigates murders by what appears to be a serial killer, who leaves a lookalike of the victim in the form of a doll next to each body. Four men are killed, none in the same way. These men play in a string quartet but actually knew one another in the war.
The dolls are traced to Mrs. Von Sturm (Johnson) who lives with her son in a house that has dolls everywhere. She considers them human, and talks to them. The men killed were in fact part of a committee that discredited Mrs. Von Sturm's husband during the war, so she seems a likely suspect. However, Mrs. Von Sturm, though she seems bonkers, is confined to a wheelchair. Holloway's interest turns to the fiancée of Louise (Huxtable), who is the daughter of one of the men (Knox) who was murdered.
This is pretty good - some people reviewing on this site saw the film as children, and I can see where it would have left a major impression on them. It is a derivative story, very strange, and Francis has a good atmosphere going, if the pace at times is a little slow. If you like this kind of film, you will like seeing this one.
Inspector Holloway (Wymark) investigates murders by what appears to be a serial killer, who leaves a lookalike of the victim in the form of a doll next to each body. Four men are killed, none in the same way. These men play in a string quartet but actually knew one another in the war.
The dolls are traced to Mrs. Von Sturm (Johnson) who lives with her son in a house that has dolls everywhere. She considers them human, and talks to them. The men killed were in fact part of a committee that discredited Mrs. Von Sturm's husband during the war, so she seems a likely suspect. However, Mrs. Von Sturm, though she seems bonkers, is confined to a wheelchair. Holloway's interest turns to the fiancée of Louise (Huxtable), who is the daughter of one of the men (Knox) who was murdered.
This is pretty good - some people reviewing on this site saw the film as children, and I can see where it would have left a major impression on them. It is a derivative story, very strange, and Francis has a good atmosphere going, if the pace at times is a little slow. If you like this kind of film, you will like seeing this one.