Taglines: A phantasmagoria of fright!
Fragment of Fear movie storyline. One-time heroin addict Tim Brett (David Hemmings) has kicked the habit with the help of his rich, widowed aunt, and, having written a best-selling autobiography which has made him famous, is taking a vacation in Italy with his aunt prior to getting married to his girlfriend, Juliet Bristow (Gayle Hunnicutt).
When, abruptly, the aunt is murdered, the Italian Police are baffled and ascribe the killing to a casual thief; but Tim, returning to England, begins to pick up on strange clues which suggest a conspiracy. When his flat is broken into, he finds himself being harassed, rather than helped, by Police Officers – who turn out not to be genuine – and then followed by a mysterious gentleman who claims to represent British Intelligence. Was Tim’s aunt part of an elaborate criminal conspiracy? Are the spies who claim to need Tim’s help any more genuine than those bogus cops? Tim begins to wonder if he isn’t losing his mind.
Fragment of Fear is a 1970 British thriller film directed by Richard C. Sarafian and starring David Hemmings, Gayle Hunnicutt, Flora Robson, Arthur Lowe, Roland Culver, Adolfo Celi, Roland Culver, Daniel Massey, Mona Washbourne, Yootha Joyce and Derek Newark. It was adapted from the 1965 novel A Fragment of Fear by John Bingham.
The wild British jazz score composed by Johnny Harris was later used by Levi’s to soundtrack their European Kung Fu TV advertising campaign in the late 1990s. The original soundtrack notably features Harold McNair on solo flute. It was made at Shepperton Studios. Location shooting took place around London, Seaford in Sussex and around Pompeii and Sorrento in Italy. The film’s sets were designed by the art director Ray Simm. Costumes were by Phyllis Dalton.
About the Story
Tim Brett (David Hemmings) is visiting his rich but estranged aunt (Flora Robson) in an Italian coastal hotel catering mainly for old ladies. On a tour of Pompeii visiors find the body of his aunt – who has been strangled. An elaborate funeral follows. At the funeral Tim has a conversation with Signor Bardoni, the hotel owner, who organised the funeral. He says it is ironic that his aunt has been killed by a criminal when she had spent her life “helping criminals”. A card on a wreath at the funeral says it is from “The Stepping Stones”.
He is a former drug addict who has written a book about his experience and has been published. He has been clean for about a year. He had recently become acquainted with his aunt (Robson), a philanthropist who expresses interest in helping some of Tim’s former acquaintances. She is found murdered soon after. Tim starts a relationship with Juliet (Hunnicutt), the woman who found his aunt’s body, and they are soon engaged.
Dissatisfied with the progress that the police are making in his aunt’s murder case, he begins to ask questions of some of his aunt’s acquaintances. He then begins to receive warnings from unknown persons to stop his inquiries. On the train he meets an elderly woman (Wimbush). She hands him a note of supposed comfort, asking him to read it at home. The note turns out to be a warning about leaving matters to the police, apparently typed on his own typewriter. There’s also an ominous laugh recorded on Tim’s own tape recorder, indicating that someone had been in his apartment.
Tim is then visited by a police sergeant, Sgt. Matthews (Newark), who informs him that the woman on the train had lodged a complaint against Tim. Sgt. Matthews takes Tim’s information but after the woman is also killed, Tim finds out that there is no sergeant by that name working at the police station.
Tim is later assaulted on the streets at night by two men who leave him lying on the ground with a hypodermic needle. Tim throws the needle away down a gutter. He makes contact with a secret government agency which tells him that they are after the people who are threatening him, but all is – again – not what it seems to be. As the situation continues, Tim and Juliet’s wedding fast approaches.
Fragment of Fear (1970)
Directed by: Richard C. Sarafian
Starring: David Hemmings, Gayle Hunnicutt, Flora Robson, Arthur Lowe, Roland Culver, Adolfo Celi, Roland Culver, Daniel Massey, Mona Washbourne, Yootha Joyce, Derek Newark
Screenplay by: Paul Dehn
Production Design by:
Cinematography by: Oswald Morris
Film Editing by: Malcolm Cooke
Costume Design by: Phyllis Dalton
Art Direction by: Ray Simm
Music by: Johnny Harris
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: September 3, 1970 (UK), September 1971 (USA)
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