Voices (1973 film)

Voices
Voices
	Film poster
Directed by	Kevin Billington
Written by	George Kirgo; Robert Enders
Based on	the play by Richard Lortz
Produced by	Robert Enders
Starring	David Hemmings; Gayle Hunnicutt
Cinematography	Geoffrey Unsworth
Edited by	Peter Thornton
Music by	Richard Rodney Bennett
Production; company	Warden Productions
Distributed by	Hemdale Film Corporation
Release date	1973;
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Voices is a 1973 British psychological drama thriller film directed by Kevin Billington and starring David Hemmings and Gayle Hunnicutt.^[1] It is based on the play of the same name by Richard Lortz.^[2]^[3]

Plot

The idyllic existence of young couple Robert and Claire Williams is turned upside down when their 6-year-old son David dies accidentally by drowning while they were making love in their boat.

Through a series of flashbacks it is shown that Claire was deeply traumatized by the loss of David and after numerous suicide attempts due to her mental breakdown, she was finally hospitalized in a mental hospital. Her husband Robert had been trying to cope with the stress as well but it is apparent that the situation had become increasingly difficult for them both. After Claire gets released from the hospital, with the hope of Claire's full recovery, the couple plan a trip to the countryside where they can relax in the Georgian home, a secluded large manor which was left to Claire by her recently deceased aunt.

Their trip gets hindered due to the foggy weather. The fog is so thick that Robert avoids ramming into an oncoming car and hits a tree. When they finally reach the ancient mansion, it seems like the perfect setting for the couple to rekindle their romance but things disintegrate quickly. The situation reaches a breaking point after Claire begins hearing strange unidentifiable voices in the house.

Eventually the voices take shape and Claire comes face to face with the ghostly figure of a young girl Jessica playing with a toy ball who doesn't seem aware of the couple's presence. But she isn't the only ghost haunting the old house. Her mother and brother are also present. Claire desperately tries to convince Robert that she had indeed seen the ghosts but he refuses to do so. However, later both Claire and her husband Robert experience a series of unexplained supernatural events that leave them questioning their sanity as well as their very existence.

When the couple finally decide to leave the house and go back to their car, they find out that they are dead. Back when their car had crashed into the tree, they were actually killed meaning that ever since they've arrived at the house, they've been ghosts.

Cast

David Hemmings as Robert
Gayle Hunnicutt as Claire
Lynn Farleigh as the Mother
Eva Griffiths as Jessica, the little girl
Russell Lewis as John, the little boy
Peggy Ann Clifford as the medium
Adam Bridge as David, Robert and Claire's son

Production

The film was shot on location in Hertfordshire, England and at EMI-MGM Elstree Studios. The final scene takes place by the bridge at Tykes Water at the Aldenham Reservoir.^{[citation needed]}

Music

The film's soundtrack was composed by Richard Rodney Bennett and conducted by Marcus Dods.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "All the seams are showing in this calcified film-of-the-play, which sets a foredoomed young couple loose amidst the dust-covers of a crepitating old mansion and settles down to record ninety minutes of quaintly brittle dialogue which comes off the screen with all the snap and crackle of a bowl of soggy cereal. ... Someone has made a wan attempt to be inventive with the new medium by bleaching out the colour in the one main set and reducing the complexion of the actors to a whiter shade of putty (thereby hinting the ghostly twist of the ending). But the device merely manages to the film as unpleasant to watch as its ossified dialogue is to listen to,"^[4]

References

^ "Voices". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
^ "BFI: Film & TV Database". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
^ Firsching, Robert. "Voices: Overview". Allmovie.
^ "Voices". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 40 (468): 177. 1 January 1973 – via ProQuest.