Twisted Nerve
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Roy Boulting
Hayley Mills
Hywel Bennett
Billie Whitelaw
Phyllis Calvert
Frank Finlay
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
During moments of emotional stress, 21-year-old Martin Durnley assumes the identity of Georgie Clifford, a helpless 6-year-old boy. One day, when Martin steals a toy duck from a London store, he is helped by Susan Harper, a student who pays for the toy and persuades the store manager not to press charges. His overprotective mother, Enid, defends Martin against Henry, his distrustful stepfather, who is angered over the boy's failure to finish college or get a job. After telling his mother that he was going to take the duck to his institutionalized mongoloid brother, Martin has an argument with his stepfather and is thrown out of the house. He announces that he is going abroad, but instead goes to Susan's suburban home. Calling himself Georgie Clifford, Martin quickly ingratiates himself with her mother, Joan, who runs a boardinghouse, and is invited to stay. A few nights later, he returns to his home and brutally murders his stepfather with a pair of scissors. Martin's presence in the Harper home eventually results in Susan's breaking up with her boyfriend and Mrs. Harper ending her affair with Gerry Henderson, one of the boarders. Susan's curiosity is aroused by Martin's strange behavior, and after discovering his real name, she calls on his mother to learn more about him. Meanwhile, Mrs. Harper attempts to seduce Martin, but succeeds only in arousing his homicidal tendencies, and he bludgeons her to death. Upon returning home, Susan is cornered in her room by Martin, but Gerry Henderson, having found Mrs. Harper's body, has alerted the police, and they arrive in time to rescue Susan and capture Martin.
Director
Roy Boulting
Cast
Hayley Mills
Hywel Bennett
Billie Whitelaw
Phyllis Calvert
Frank Finlay
Barry Foster
Salmaan Peer
Thorley Walters
Christian Roberts
Timothy West
Gretchen Franklin
Clifford Cox
Robin Parkinson
Richard Davies
Brian Peck
Russell Napier
Russell Waters
Michael Cadman
Maryland
Hazel Bainbridge
Timothy Bateson
Basil Dignam
Crew
Gerry Anstiss
John Boulting
Roy Boulting
Boulting Brothers
David Bowen
Martin Charles
Jack W. Davies
George W. George
Frank Granat
Douglas Hermes
Bernard Herrmann
Morton M. Lewis
Leo Marks
Roger Marshall
Roger Marshall
Jack Rix
Jeremy Scott
Stanley Smith
Harry Waxman
Albert Witherick
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Ladies and gentlemen, because of the controversy already aroused, the producers of this film wish to re-emphasize what is already stated in the film, that there is no established scientific connection between Mongolism and psychotic or criminal behavior.- Narrator
Trivia
Notes
Filmed on location in London. Opened in London in December 1968.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Winter February 1969
Released in United States Winter February 1969
