Fascinating trivia (and any goofs) connected with the film
- Early choices for the role of Mark included
Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Harvey.
- Shortly after it's opening at the Plaza, and after reading the
scathing reviews of the critics, producers Nat Cohen & Stuart
Levy pulled the film from it's projected British distribution and
sold the negative to an obscure black marketeer of films.
- The cameras in Mark Lewis' room include director
Michael Powell's first film camera, a hand operated Eyemo,
made by Bell and Howell that he won in a competition.
However, the hand-held camera given to young Mark by his father that is shown in close-up in Mark's room, is a Cine-Kodak Magazine 16.
- Milly ("It'll be a quid") has problematical stockings.
As Mark approaches her she has a seam on the left leg only.
As she climbs the stairs she has a seam on each leg.
When she's brought out on the stretcher she has no stockings on, but
she is still wearing her shoes.
Is there a suggestion that Mark interfered in any way?
- Talking of Milly, how does Mark keep her in focus and in frame
if he's filming her as he approaches her with his camera hidden
under his coat?
- At one point there's a shadow of not only the boom mike but also
a few of the operators visible as "we" approach Milly.
- When Helen is reading the paper to Mrs S. with the report of the death of
Vivian (Moira), Helen reads out that "She was appearing in Arthur Baden's
new film 'The Walls are Closing in' starring Pauline Shields ..." - Who was
"Pauline Shields"? The fainting actress played by Shirley Anne Field was
called Diane Ashley. A mistake? Or was there another actress that we never
see who was actually the star of the film?
- When young Mark (Columba) is watching the canoodling couple next
door, he is being filmed on the home movie camera by his father (played
by Micky). So who takes the reverse angle shot from the other side of
the wall?
- Those taps in Mark's darkroom are very noisy. Given that a tap dripping
onto the same sink will make the same sound every drip, there must
be about 20 dripping taps in there.
- When Mark is talking to Helen he makes a big thing about not being
allowed to have keys when he was young so the door to the inner room
isn't locked, in fact they go through a curtain to get in. Later, Mrs
Stephens can get in without any trouble.
So why do the police have to break down the door at the end?
[In fact we see Mark lock the door as he pulls Helen into the room and he must have keys for the front door.]
Brian tells us:
- I noticed this when watching the film last night. When the trunk with the body is opened, the woman scans the body from left to right (from our perspective), and as soon as she gets to the right, she stares and screams. However, when we finally see the body inside, the head is on the left side. Wouldn't the woman scream upon seeing the face, not the legs?
