***SPOILERS*** Not exactly what you would have thought it being a film about mercy killing or euthanasia the film "I Thank a Fool" is about the foolhardy attempt of British prosecutor Stephen Dane'a, Peter Finch, attempt to cure his severely mentally unbalanced wife-due to a car accident-Liane, Diane Cilento, and get a doctor who's been disbarred who has no authority to have her committed. Dane finds that doctor in Christine Allerson, Susan Hayward,who he prosecuted in a mercy killing case, of her boyfriend, that put her behind bars for some 18 months! Out of work and desperately needing a job to support herself Christine jumps at the offer by Dane not realizing what's really waiting for her.
It turns out that Liane's condition is related to her father Captain "Cappy" Farriss,Cyril Cusack,who was killed in the car crash that she survived and has held herself responsible, even though "Cappy" was behind the wheel, for his death ever since. With Christine helpless to have Liane get the proper medical help, by being committed, that she so desperately needs all she can do is watch her slowly go off the deep end and eventually towards self-destruction! That until Liane's dead father "The Captain" shows up unexpectedly and fully alive looking for a hand out, or cash, from her husband who it turns out he's been blackmailing, about his secret life on the wild side, for the last five years!
****SPOILERS***With Mr. Dane refusing to play along with Captain Ferris shake-down attempt his wife Liane who's been spooked not just by her father coming back from the dead but him living in sin, back in Ireland, at his broken down house with hookers for company really loses it and attempts to jump off a cliff the very one her mom, also in a car accident, ended up killing herself. Liane soon ends up being committed for her own protection in a failed attempted suicide attempt. Being put under Christina's care Liane is soon found dead from an overdose of sleeping pills that Christina is accused of giving her! As the truth comes out at her trial it was her drunken father Captain Ferris deadly concoction thinking, in his alcoholic state of mind, that the more pills that she takes the better it would be for her that did Liane in.! Exposed as his daughter's killer, even though he didn't mean to do it, Captain Ferris tries to escape from the courtroom and being too drunk too see clearly slips and falls to his death, off a cliff some 50 feet below, before the police could catch up and arrest him.
It turns out that Liane's condition is related to her father Captain "Cappy" Farriss,Cyril Cusack,who was killed in the car crash that she survived and has held herself responsible, even though "Cappy" was behind the wheel, for his death ever since. With Christine helpless to have Liane get the proper medical help, by being committed, that she so desperately needs all she can do is watch her slowly go off the deep end and eventually towards self-destruction! That until Liane's dead father "The Captain" shows up unexpectedly and fully alive looking for a hand out, or cash, from her husband who it turns out he's been blackmailing, about his secret life on the wild side, for the last five years!
****SPOILERS***With Mr. Dane refusing to play along with Captain Ferris shake-down attempt his wife Liane who's been spooked not just by her father coming back from the dead but him living in sin, back in Ireland, at his broken down house with hookers for company really loses it and attempts to jump off a cliff the very one her mom, also in a car accident, ended up killing herself. Liane soon ends up being committed for her own protection in a failed attempted suicide attempt. Being put under Christina's care Liane is soon found dead from an overdose of sleeping pills that Christina is accused of giving her! As the truth comes out at her trial it was her drunken father Captain Ferris deadly concoction thinking, in his alcoholic state of mind, that the more pills that she takes the better it would be for her that did Liane in.! Exposed as his daughter's killer, even though he didn't mean to do it, Captain Ferris tries to escape from the courtroom and being too drunk too see clearly slips and falls to his death, off a cliff some 50 feet below, before the police could catch up and arrest him.