Telekinesis: A mental force that enables this man to move objects and control events. Science cannot explain the awesome power of the mind. And nothing can explain it.
The Medusa Touch movie storyline. John Morlar (Richard Burton) is watching a British television broadcast when an anchorman states that American astronauts are trapped in orbit around the moon. Suddenly someone in Morlar’s room picks up a figurine and strikes him on the head repeatedly. His blood splatters the television screen.
French Detective-Inspector Brunel (Lino Ventura) arrives at Morlar’s apartment to begin an investigation. At first he thinks Morlar is dead, but soon he hears him breathe. At the hospital, Morlar is hooked up to life support systems, one machine in particular monitors the activity of his battered brain. Brunel discovers that Morlar has been in psychological analysis because of his history of being witness to many disasters, other people’s disasters.
Dr. Zonfeld (Lee Remick), Morlar’s analyst, explains that Morlar’s delusions had begun when he was a child. He believed that he had caused a hated nanny’s death. Morlar’s childhood delusions were reinforced at a resort when he overheard his parents discussing him with disapproval. When his parents strolled on top of a cliff, Morlar watched as the family car suddenly pushed them off the cliff to their deaths. One evening, Brunel pores over the mysteries of Morlar’s diary and through his scrapbook of disastrous events. Gradually, Brunel begins to develop an opinion of what Morlar was like and begins to wonder if he is chasing a murderer or a victim.
The Medusa Touch is a 1978 British supernatural thriller/horror film directed by Jack Gold. It stars Richard Burton, Lino Ventura, Lee Remick and Harry Andrews, with cameos by Alan Badel, Derek Jacobi, Gordon Jackson, Jeremy Brett and Michael Hordern. The screenplay was by John Briley, based on the novel The Medusa Touch by Peter Van Greenaway.
Bristol Cathedral was used as the location for the fictional London place of worship, called Minster Cathedral in the film. The Reculver Towers near Reculver in Kent were used for the scene where young John and his parents are having a picnic whilst on holiday. John wills the car to move towards his parents, which causes them and the car to fall over the cliff. Herne Bay, also Kent, was used for the scene where a young John Morlar (Adam Bridges) stays with his parents and is out on the seafront. The hotel is now residential properties.
The Medusa Touch (1978)
Directed by: Jack Gold
Starring: Richard Burton, Lino Ventura, Lee Remick, Harry Andrews, Alan Badel, Marie-Christine Barrault, Jeremy Brett, Gordon Jackson, Michael Hordern, Derek Jacobi, Robert Lang, Michael Byrne
Screenplay by: John Briley
Cinematography by: Arthur Ibbetson
Film Editing by: Anne V. Coates, Ian Crafford
Art Direction by: Peter Mullins
Music by: Michael J. Lewis
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures (United States)
Release Date: April 14, 1978 (United States)
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