Seance on a Wet Afternoon

Myra Savage, a working class housewife in 1960s Britain, presents herself as a gifted medium and runs séances from her living room, aided by her ailing, quieter husband Billy. She longs for legitimacy and the trust of paying clients, and her performance is careful and precise, balancing spectacle with a sense of real pain. The pair treat fakery as a business, staging moments that imply genuine contact with the beyond while keeping the act firmly supervised by Billy. As she pursues bigger attention, she undertakes a dangerous plan meant to prove her abilities and attract police interest, dragging her husband deeper into the scheme. The tension comes from the uneasy partnership between Myra and Billy and the thin line between belief and deception in their domestic world.

Released in 1964, Seance on a Wet Afternoon was directed by Bryan Forbes and based on a story by Mark McShane, with Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough headlining a claustrophobic drama that fuses domestic realism with eerie ritual and a quiet menace.

Box office details for Seance on a Wet Afternoon are not widely documented, but the film is recognized for its stark mood and disciplined storytelling that helped it stand out in 1960s British cinema and appeal to audiences of the era.

Kim Stanley's chilling performance as Myra and the movie's quiet, unsettling atmosphere have earned it a lasting reputation among fans of classic thrillers. The film is often cited for its influence on later psychological dramas that blend family life with crime, and it sparked discussions about women's agency in mid century cinema.

Critics praised the film for its restrained tone and the tension built from domestic normalcy intersecting with a dangerous scheme. Themes center on credibility, power within marriage, and the murky line between belief and manipulation, a lens on mid century society and gender.