The Third Secret

This is a far from perfect film and I am glad I stuck with it, as up until late in the movie I felt a little bored. That's because the film moves very slowly and is way too talky. So, bear with the glacial pace and you'll most likely enjoy the film overall.

A psychiatrist is found dying by his housekeeper. He's babbling incoherently and based on what he says and the type of gunshot he's received, the police rule his death a suicide. However, his young daughter (Pamela Franklin) insists that he was murdered and enlists Stephen Boyd to help her investigate--though this aspect of the film was very hard to believe. Through the course of the film, Boyd tracks down the doctor's patients until he ultimately discovers the perpetrator in a nice twist. While the psychiatric aspects of the film are a bit dubious and, as I said before, it's SLOW, the film ultimately is interesting if flawed. Worth seeing but certainly NOT a film to rush to see.

A few notes. First, I noticed someone saying that Boyd was well-cast. This is true if her were playing an Irishman who is trying (in vain) to put on an American accent! The fact is to most Americans watching, they can spot his accent as a phony. Also, speaking of voices, it's sad to hear Jack Hawkins in the film as his voice is very gruff compared to his earlier films. That is because he was suffering from throat cancer. It would soon be diagnosed and his larynx would be removed. In an interesting twist, he was so appreciated as an actor (and as a person) that he continued acting and his voice was dubbed in all these post-surgery films. Hawkins voice Boyd