Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) review

Near-great film from director Forbes about a psychic - who may or may not be a fraud - and her scheme to kidnap a little girl and then hold a séance and tell the parents where their child is. Kim Stanley's performance is outstanding, but the movie's real stabilizing force is Richard Attenborough, who is completely convincing as the castrated-husband - the Macbeth to Stanley's Lady Macbeth (he pulls off the feat of making you pity him more than dislike him, which is integral to appreciating the picture). This film was released one year after his commanding performance as "The Big X" in The Great Escape (1963), and proves his range and genius as a performer. If you allow yourself to be absorbed by the movie's logic, the ending will leave you stunned.