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It’s over a quarter of a century since I last watched the fondly remembered 1970 film The Man Who Haunted Himself. This is where Roger Moore plays Harold Pelham, a businessman who recovers from a near fatal car crash to discover that his life is being plagued by his exact, and slightly sinister, double. Based on the novel The Strange Case of Mr Pelham by Anthony Armstrong, the film remains hugely enjoyable.

Pelham is a bowler-clad businessman, essentially very dull. Things become perplexing following the accident, and this is hinted at rather strongly with the momentary glimpse of two heartbeats on the distinctly 1970s hospital monitor. From here there’s a curious, well haunting, series of events with the sudden unseen presence of a second Mr Pelham; arranging, negotiating, playing around. It begins gradually when a buffoonish associate turns up at his house for drinks, although Pelham has no recollection of inviting him round. Similarly, he’s been playing rather well down at the snooker club. Or has he? He certainly can’t remember playing there. The film continues in this vein with Pelham convinced he has a cheeky double, and cheeky is all it is to begin with. Even following the revelation that Pelham 2 has a woman on the side it’s all rather untoward rather than threatening. And, technically, Pelham 2 isn’t married to Mrs Pelham – or is he? Whatever your moral stance, the film certainly goes nowhere near horror – the doppelganger isn’t a baddie in that sense. In fact the scariest scene in the film is when we see Roger Moore in his pajamas.

Moore’s trademark eyebrow raising is in vivid evidence during this film, used to its full potential to register Pelham’s surprise at what’s going on. He also calls the unfolding events “preposterous”, although with a beastly doppelganger doing the rounds “preposterous” might be an understatement. Perhaps a strain on his acting ability might be more apt, and Moore critics may comment that the only noticeable change to his usual acting style is the addition of a moustache. But more on that later. The acting, not the moustache.

Aware that he might be cracking up, especially following a crazed drive across pre-speed camera London in an attempt to confront his nemesis, Pelham enlists the aid of a psychiatrist, although this may not be the most sensible of moves as the psychiatrist is played by the great Freddie Jones. Jones gives one of his trademark eccentric performances, equipped with dark glasses and a suspect Scottish accent. So Jones doesn’t really help, and suggests that Pelham drop his favoured conservative suit and bowler in exchange for an outfit more in keeping with 1970. The choice of grey double breasted suit and pink shirt however proves to contribute to his downfall; after finally catching up with the pretend Pelham he is accused – rather obviously – of being the imposter. The real Mr Pelham wouldn’t dream of dressing like that…

The Man Who Haunted Himself comes just prior to The Persuaders! in the Roger Moore canon. It’s a rare example of Moore playing a character at odds with his more familiar screen persona. If the jokiness on The Persuaders! led into his tongue-in-cheek Bond, then this film is a rare stab of serious acting Roger Moore style. Despite the unintentional humour, I think he’s pretty good in the role. Moore is easy to mock, but the final scene where Pelham meets Pelham is genuinely unsettling thanks to his performance. Apart from Freddie Jones though, the supporting cast is a little underwhelming. Anton Rodgers pops up, although the only interesting thing he does is wear a very fine cravat. The ever reliable Thorley Walters is more welcome as the buffoonish associate.

The film, or at least the version I saw, has some inconsistencies. Halfway through procedures Pelham suddenly inherits a small Mediterranean manservant, which I would personally find more disturbing than encountering your own double in your home. The scene where it is revealed that Pelham 2’s business double dealing has actually resulted in things coming good for his company (Pelham 1 opposed a business merger, Pelham 2 does not) is oddly played twice. Perhaps in a bid to explain a confusing sub plot. I think we are meant to believe that ultimately Pelham 2 is the better sort, forging the better deal by being a little less, well, dull. Certainly, not to give too much away, he comes out on top…

Basil Dearden (who also worked on The Persuaders!) directs. His other notable films include The League of Gentleman and Victim from the early sixties. Later he let down his hair somewhat with The Assassination Bureau. In a horrible irony, Dearden was killed in a car crash shortly after completing The Man Who Haunted Himself. And very near to where it was shot. Spooky…

The Man Who Haunted Himself is essential late night viewing. It’s daft and cosy, and after watching you can potter on up to bed with the assurance that you are indeed yourself and not a doppelganger. Although you might want some reassurance by glancing in the mirror, registering your comfort with a minor raise of the eyebrow. Or at least have a stab at it. Harder than it looks, isn’t it?

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The Last Exorcism follows The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity along the path of mock documentary horror films. Hand held cameras, rapport between subject and camera operator, increasing fear in the subject as things slowly grow out of control – these things have become something of a genre cliché. Indeed, I was almost put off watching The Last Exorcism because I believed this type of film had nothing more left to offer. And producer Eli Roth appeared not to have done himself any favours either, this movie being touted as the out and out horror it certainly isn’t. So for a film that received such a mixed reaction last year, does The Last Exorcism have anything at all to offer? Yes it does…

Firstly the performances in this film are all first rate, making many of the negative reviews unjustified. Patrick Fabian is outstanding as Cotton Marcus, an evangelical minister who’s made a sideline in providing an exorcism service. He readily admits he’s a fake, using no more than clever conjuring skills and the reliance of his gullible victims to get by. However, he is ready to come clean and, prompted by stories that many exorcisms have ended in deaths, suggests a documentary crew capture his very last exorcist duty.

So far so good, with director Daniel Stamm slowly building pace as Marcus travels into Middle America to visit the Sweetzer family, where young Nell (Ashley Bell) is possessed with a supposed demon and doing terrible things in the farmyard. Bell delivers the other outstanding performance in the film, and it’s compassion for Nell that draws the viewer, and more importantly Marcus, in further. Not unpredictably, the film changes gear after his fake performance to rid the Sweetzer’s of their “demon”. As we are expecting, his troubles have only just begun…

Whilst it delivers nothing new for the horror genre, I found The Last Exorcism surprisingly effective. If you’ve read any other reviews it will be no surprise to hear that the ending has met almost universal disapproval. Rather than a shock or twist conclusion, it’s just a surprise in that the last ten minutes or so of the film appear to be from something different altogether, not at all in keeping with what’s happened in the last hour or so. The final minutes also invite too much comparison with the wrapping up of The Blair Witch Project that make full appreciation of The Last Exorcism hard to justify. And viewers will no doubt come away with other borrowings from more original films. I counted Rosemary’s Baby and Race With the Devil amongst then.

I’m still recommending this though, primarily for the superb Fabian and Bell. And, whilst it certainly isn’t a horror masterpiece, it is certainly an at times very creepy film.

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There is a dusty title on my shelf at home called Phantom Britain. Published in 1975, Marc Alexander’s book collects several accounts of ghost sightings and tales from across the country. There are many such collections as this, dating back no doubt through the centuries. In The English Ghost: Spectres Through Time Peter Ackroyd brings together the best of such real life ghost stories.

Ackroyd’s collection is one of the best I’ve seen of this type. His research appears very thorough and the only criticism is that too many of these eyewitness accounts of haunted houses, poltergeists, ghostly dogs and possessions date from before the 20th century. They are interesting to read, but their attention to detail and matter-of-factness make them resemble the fictional spooky tales that followed them, in particular those from the late Victorian era. Such close similarity to what most readers take as pure fancy may dull the effect of these supposedly true recollections.

This is an excerpt from The Little Girl, dating from 1880:

I had had that feeling for some minutes, when I saw at the foot of the bed a child, about seven or nine years old. The child seemed as if it were on the bed, and came gliding towards me as I lay. It was the figure of a little girl in her nightdress – a little girl with dark hair and a very white face. I tried to speak to her but could not. She came slowly on up to the top of the bed, and then I saw her face clearly. She seemed in great trouble; her hands were clasped and her eyes were turned up with a look of entreaty, an almost agonised look. Then, slowly unclasping her hands, she touched me on the shoulder. The hand felt icy cold, and while I strove to speak she was gone.

The bulk of these tales are brief and often inconsequential, and what fascinates in many is the insight into bygone times. However the best in my opinion were the more recent eye-witness accounts, such as the stories of phantom hitch-hikers and unexplained happenings on dark and deserted byways. The hauntings of Blue Bell Hill in the 60s and 70s are brilliantly creepy, as is the account of the Phantom of the A38. More contemporary phenomena like this would have make The English Ghost even more essential reading. Rather than the inspiration for ghost stories, these are the beginnings of the modern urban myth, which perhaps deserve a volume of their own.

Do you believe in ghosts?

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