'HYSTERIA'......HAMMER-IZED HITCHCOCK.....

Hysteria (1965)  We first encountered this quirky little thriller when we first took on the position of movie buyer for a fledgling video store. (Like most new owners of such stores in the early 1980's the owners knew little or nothing about movies, purchasing their inventories from sheer guesswork.... hence the need for yours truly, the BQ...)

     Three things caught our eye.......first, a Hammer film! From that bustling British horror movie production company whose movies we grew up on....(like Christopher Lee's Dracula and Peter Cushing's Dr. Frankenstein. ) 

           Secondly, this was one of those  occasional efforts where Hammer stepped out its booga-booga comfort zone......no creatures, vampires, zombies, or mummies anywhere in sight.  Simply a swift, modest black and white suspense thriller in a modern contemporary setting. 

            Third, to our pleasant surprise, the movie offered a rare leading role for the stalwart, ruggedly handsome American character actor Robert Webber.  Webber, who always possessed the looks and sound of a leading man, spent decades playing second billed parts, usually villains, straight-laced corporate types or military officers. 

             In "Hysteria" he's 'Chris Smith, a recovering amnesia victim whose unknown, anonymous benefactor has installed him in a beautifully appointed high rise apartment......uh.....to help him recover his memory in fine style. 

             If that premise already sounds far fetched to begin with......well, you're not wrong.

             The script comes courtesy of that tireless, Hammer screenwriting machine, Jimmy Sangster, who pumped out over 75 movie and TV scripts in a career that lasted from 1956 to 2000. (As someone who's labored on plays and screenplays ourselves, this guy's always been one of our heroes......and a role model for sheer proficiency and output. No writer's block for Jimmy, that's for sure......)

             But back to our plot.......even ensconced in his new luxury digs, our boy Chris struggles to piece together his fractured memory. Something screwy is afoot, though. What's up with those sounds of a furiously squabbling couple coming from the empty apartment next door?

             And who's that mysterious, elusive woman (Lelia Goldoni) popping in from time to time......the one previously thought to be a murder victim?

             At this point, we'll shut up about anything that happens next, except to say that Jimmy Sangster does reveal all at the end, with multiple twists piling up on top of one another.........

             Ridiculous? Hard to swallow?  A strain on your ability to suspend disbelief?  

             All of the above.......but that doesn't make the movie any less fun. And it's always a pleasure to see Robert Webber get the chance he never got in Hollywood......to carry a movie all by himself.  He does just fine, using his usual mixture of strong authority mixed in with just the right sprinkle of self depreciating humor. 

               Not bad at all, we say......and for all Hammer completists, a definite must see. 3 stars (***).