Review: The Full Treatment

AKA “Stop Me Before I Kill!” A car accident and concussion leave racing driver Ronald Lewis emotionally and mentally disturbed and seemingly develops the urge to strangle his wife (Diane Cilento, who very briefly gives us Hammer Films’ first nude scene). Claude Dauphin is the shrink they meet in the French Riviera who becomes involved in their lives.

 

Although not very well-known, this 1960 Hammer film is by far one of their most ambitious and interesting films. In my view, it’s also one of their best. Director Val Guest (“Hell is a City”, “The Day the Earth Caught Fire”) and co-writer/author Ronald Scott Thorn (“Doctor in Distress”) give us a bit of Hitchcock here in this unusual psychological drama with a “Hands of Orlac” twist. Ronald Lewis was apparently not a terribly nice man and certainly a very troubled one. An actor with a limited range he was probably born for this role, of a man who seemingly has violent impulses that he is unable to comprehend or control. In fact the casting of Lewis and Diane Cilento (who supposedly endured a violent marriage to Sean Connery, whom she was dating during filming) makes this a fascinating but unsettling film. You find yourself gravely afraid for Cilento’s character but also you sorta feel for Lewis because you can tell this is all legitimately beyond his control. It’s really complex and the two stars handle it very well. They’re both really good, but Claude Dauphin steals this as the friendly psychiatrist, a role that definitely seems Hitchcockian to me. The B&W cinematography Gilbert Taylor (“The Omen”) is excellent as well.

 

Although quite unpleasant, this twisty Hammer psychodrama/mystery is extremely well-done on all fronts and worth seeking out.

 

Rating: B

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