SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

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.

Patricia Neal is a blind married woman, who's a victim of hysterical blindness, a term for blindness that is caused by psychological reasons, instead of anything really wrong with the eyes. It seems she was traumatized by something and refused to see things the way they really were. By way of how she relates to sister Samantha Eggar and husband Curt Jurgens, we enter her world. I read one review of this movie that called it turgid. I was never sure what turgid meant. And. sometimes the dictionary only tells you a synonym type of definition, with not enough of an explanation. But if turgid means to tell a story with exaggeration instead of subtlety. Then, I would agree to an extent, but I think this type of film, the story itself, the mood and setting, and its way of telling the story all go well together, up to a point. Things certainly get worse, before they get better. But I liked Ms. Neal's performance (as usual) and I particularly liked the ending, instead of getting a startling and shocking climax which the film feels like it's heading for. It may not be much on the whole, but I would watch this over and the family dynamic and dysfunction only adds to its appeal as a curiosity piece for the Patricia Neal fans.

I don't remember when I first saw this film – possibly around 1973 or 4 when probably shown late on a Friday night – I'm sure it was shown more than once – after that it disappeared from our screens and, to the best of my knowledge, has never been shown on UK television since – this rarity value ensured its legendary status, at least in my own mind if not the annals of film history. Patricia Neal plays Alison Crawford, a woman who has convinced herself she's blind – a blindness not only psychosomatic but also metaphorical as she no doubt wishes she was blind to her husband Eric's (Curt Jurgens) adulterous ambitions towards her younger sister Robin (Samantha Eggar) who is engaged to Paul (Ian Bannen). The story revolves around the psychological power play between Jurgens and Bannen and the relationships between these four main characters. Part of the drama is meant to occur in France – but when a taxi is summoned a Vauxhall Cresta PA in right hand drive on British number plates turns up. Better viewing then for car enthusiasts than seekers of realism. Of the actors and the acting, Patricia Neal never slipped below best form, and she makes a striking appearance here looking like a corpse in Ray-Bans. Samantha Eggar is nowhere near as good as she is in the following year's Return From The Ashes, but still not bad in an unsympathetic and shallow role. Ian Bannen is marvellous – witness him in The Hill (also 1964) and The Offence (1972) – you always know he's going to come off second best, but he does a grand job of getting there. Curt Jurgens is in pre comedy-high-ranking Nazi officer mode that he would perfect in time for Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974) The background music can be intrusive at times: almost as if a small string section had been sat down in front of a tape recorder, had the film rolled for them and told to play whatever seemed appropriate. At one point they all stop playing, as though they realize something serious or dramatic is about to happen. It reminds me a bit of that silly plink plonk background music in Desperate Housewives that you only notice when it stops – the difference is DH is meant to be funny whereas '59 is meant to be serious – or is it? This film has now been released on region 1 disc in America, but if your DVD player won't play region 1 discs I can supply a superb quality region free disc – but without any artwork. Contact me by Email at marqymarqy@talktalk.net or text on 07949 792498.

This film came on Turner Classic Movies recently, with the host mentioning that it was the film's debut on that channel, and the first film Patricia Neal made after winning the Oscar for Hud.The story concerns a privileged upper-class blind woman named Alison (Neal), her husband Eric (Jurgens) and her younger sister, Robin (Eggar). At first all seems perfectly OK, given the circumstances, but bits of conversation are dropped here and there, darting looks are thrown here and there, and soon we realize that there is something lurking beneath the veneer of a privileged life. Alison, in the final stages of her second pregnancy, suffered a fall in her home that rendered her blind, though as she states early on, it's not that her corneas don't function, it's that her brain won't permit her to see images (paraphrasing here). Apparently this happened in 1959, hence the "'59" in the title: The story then takes place in 1964, five years after this fact, over a time period that seems to be about a month, or maybe two, when Robin re-arrives back into the lives of Eric and Alison after what appears to be a 5-year absence.The black-and-white cinematography adds much to this film, such that I believe if it were in color, it would not be as effective. The language, dialogue and subject matter covered was ahead of its time, at least by U.S. standards, but stylistically, this matches a number of thrillers and socially-conscious dramas that came out of England in the early- to mid-1960s (e.g., Victim, Pumpkin Eater, etc.).The first part of the film, set in London, sets up the story beautifully, and it isn't long before we start to realize that something's "up" - the carefully-worded dialogue, with certain key words and phrases omitted, or the glances of the blind Alison behind her sunglasses, to the beat of her words...you see that all that glitters is not gold, so to speak.The second part of the film takes place at the characters' country house, located near a coastline; It is here that the set-up for what could be a riveting tale, as depicted in the first part of the film, loses steam and slows to a crawl, such that the conclusion is neither climactic nor satisfying; this is a shame, because it could have been done much better. Besides that, I do agree with the comments made by a previous observer, including that the grandmother doesn't seem quite grandmotherly (and actually, I'm sort of confused as to why this character is even in the picture).Nonetheless, the acting is superb by all the leads, and particularly by Neal, who carries the film, in my opinion. Pay attention to every movement she makes, whether it's with her eyes, her head or her hands; listen intently to every syllable she utters, for it is through her character that we understand the real story of what has happened, or is happening, to these three people.The movie is based on a book by the same name by Francoise des Ligneris, which is available online.