Psyche 59

1964

Action / Drama / Mystery / Romance

6
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 40%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 40% · 50 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.0/10 10 679 679

infidelity sibling relationship horse psychological stress temporary blindness

Plot summary

An industrialist's wife tries to remember the shocking sight that made her blind.

Director

Alexander Singer Photo
Alexander Singer

Top cast

Aileen Lewis Photo
Aileen Lewis as Lady in Teashop
Ian Bannen Photo
Ian Bannen as Paul
Samantha Eggar Photo
Samantha Eggar as Robin
Patricia Neal Photo
Patricia Neal as Allison Crawford
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
776.1 MB
1268*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 34 min
Seeds ...
1.48 GB
1888*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 34 min
Seeds 2

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by MOscarbradley 5 / 10

Too strange to dismiss out of hand

As had so often been the case in the past the best thing about Alexander Singer's "Psyche '59" is Walter Lassally's luminous cinematography. This British drama revolves around Patricia Neal, blinded in an accident but aware that her blindness is psychosomatic and not physical. She's married to Curd Jurgens and has a flightly younger sister, (Samantha Eggar), who comes to stay. There's a fourth character played by Ian Bannen who wanders in and out of their lives.The movie wasn't a success despite its excellent cast and has virtually disappeared. Singer came to the film fresh from his cult classic "A Cold Wind in August" and perhaps more was expected of him than he delivered. It doesn't really work as a thriller; plot-wise it's something of a one-trick pony and outside of its cast of four there is no-one to latch on to and consequently few red herrings. It might have worked as a tale of sisterly rivalry if it wasn't so banal and what almost amounts to a subplot involving Bannen's character almost proves more interesting.It's not really a bad film, (though the ending is gob-smackingly awful), just a very strange one and it's easy to see why it flopped. It's the kind of film that might appeal to the so-called intelligensia looking for meanings that aren't really there. See it by all means; just don't expect too much.
Reviewed by hitchcockthelegend 6 / 10

Freudian Frolics.

Psyche 59 is directed by Alexander Singer and adapted to screenplay by Julian Zimet from the novel written by Francoise des Ligneris. It stars Patricia Neal, Curd Jurgens, Samantha Eggar, Ian Bannen and Beatrix Lehmann. Music is by Kenneth V. Jones and cinematography by Walter Lassally.Blind Alison Crawford (Neal) lives with her husband Eric (Jurgens) and finds the equilibrium of life upset when her young sister Robin (Eggar) comes to stay. It seems there are secrets to will out, both with Robin and the matter of how Alison came to be blind.A strange, almost hypnotic type of movie, Psyche 59 aims to be a Freudian thriller but just misses the mark of being great. The set up is intriguing, the twists risqué and the photography suitably moody. Neal gives a fine performance as the afflicted Alison, both physically and emotionally, Eggar is super sultry and raises the temperatures considerably, while both Bannen and Jurgens are fine considering the former is under written and the latter gets a character arc that's a bit of a stretch. Unfortunately the pay off is hopelessly weak, the whole build up holds the attention, you sense we are heading for great dramatic denouement, but sadly that's not the case and it leaves a disappointing taste in the mouth. 6/10
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