The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Seance on a Wet Afternoon
Crime · Thriller · Drama · 1964
Working-class British housewife Myra Savage reinvents herself as a medium, holding seances in the sitting room of her home with the hidden assistance of her under-employed, asthmatic husband, Billy. In an attempt to enhance her credibility as a psychic, Myra hatches an elaborate, ill-conceived plot to kidnap a wealthy couple's young daughter so that she can then help the police "find" the missing girl.
Movie details
Seance on a Wet Afternoon
“Was it magic... Or murder they planned?”
1964 Crime · Thriller · Drama 1h 56m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
7.6 / 10
7.6K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
82 %
Tomatometer
TMDB
7.2 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
Working-class British housewife Myra Savage reinvents herself as a medium, holding seances in the sitting room of her home with the hidden assistance of her under-employed, asthmatic husband, Billy. In an attempt to enhance her credibility as a psychic, Myra hatches an elaborate, ill-conceived plot to kidnap a wealthy couple's young daughter so that she can then help the police "find" the missing girl.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Seance on a Wet Afternoon?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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An ambitious carnival man with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychologist who is even more dangerous than he is.
A Crooked Somebody
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The Whisper Man
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Following
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Nocturnal Animals
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Gone Girl
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Derailed
Drama · 2005
When two married business executives having an affair are blackmailed by a violent criminal, they are forced to turn the tables on him to save their families.
Changeling
Crime · 2008
Los Angeles, 1928. When single mother Christine Collins leaves for work, her son vanishes without a trace. Five months later, the police reunite mother and son. But when Christine suspects that the boy returned to her isn't her child, her quest for truth exposes a world of corruption.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Bryan Forbes
Written by
Bryan Forbes
Kim Stanley
Myra
Richard Attenborough
Bill
Margaret Lacey
Woman at first Seance
Marie Burke
Woman at first Seance
M
Maria Kazan
Woman at first Seance
L
Lionel Gamlin
Man at Seances
Marian Spencer
Mrs. Wintry
Court is in session
Put Seance on a Wet Afternoon on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.