Faces in the Dark (1960)

Directed by David Eady; produced by Jon Penington

Hard-driving industrialist Richard Hammond (John Gregson) is blinded in a factory accident, and must learn to manage life with the help of his wife, Christiane (Mai Zetterling), who had been thinking of divorcing him, and his partner, David Merton (Michael Denison), whom he had been treating as little better than an errand-boy. The struggle is difficult for the independently-minded victim, but it grows worse as he begins to suspect he may be losing his mind.

Sometimes, entertaining and imaginative movies can result from such low-budget thrillers as Faces in the Dark. The movie so entitled is not, however, an example of that. As is often the case, this movie starts out well. Hammond is far from sympathetic, but Gregson’s performance manages to put the audience in his corner. The other performances are good or adequate. Nanette Newman has a small role as a maid, and John Ireland has a rare sympathetic role as Gregson’s ne’er-do-well brother, who is nonetheless fond of his sibling.

While much in such a film may be contributed by the acting, what a thriller - by nature a combination of mystery and psychological drama - depends upon is the story. The story here lets the movie down. Its complexity demands from the writers not just attention to detail but to logic. When a character or characters practice deception, the viewer has a right to ask not only if the motive fits, but if the plot (ie. the character’s scheme to deceive) makes sense.

In Faces in the Dark,  it does not. As an example, one may point to the expense of the plan launched and ask if it was feasible in a situation in which the character undertaking it is short of money; indeed, that may be a reason why he is doing what he is doing. The expansiveness of the plan, not just the expensiveness, must be questioned, as well. The story has the feel of a clever situation devised first, with thought then unsuccessfully devoted to determining how to reach it. There are too many questions, not unanswered, but the answers to which are unsatisfactory.

I don’t believe Faces in the Dark was attempting a Hitchcockian tale or atmosphere; the direction would not have been close to good enough. But it perhaps had been trying, albeit unconsciously, for an Agatha Christie-type thriller, as in her books that did not feature one of her regular detectives. No easier to achieve than a Hitchcock copy, the movie failed in this respect, too. Its outcome is a feeling of dissatisfaction, and wasted opportunity - and wasted time.