Peeping Tom opened shortly before Psycho in the UK and promptly wrecked its director's career. Michael Powell was the much-lauded co-director of The Tales Of Hoffmann, A Matter Of Live And Death and The Red Shoes, but here he was directing a sleazy film about a photographer who murders women and captures their expressions on film. Had he lost his mind? It may involve a psychopathic killer, but Powells film couldnt be more different from Psycho. Its a cold, clinical picture, that never skimps on the portrayal of Londons seamier side. The first scene shows the main character picking up and then murdering a prostitute, which is very different from Psychos controversial shots of Janet Leigh in her underwear. Grim and unrelenting, this is by no means a fun picture, but it appears to have influenced Hitchcocks later career. Returning to London in 1972 to shoot Frenzy, Hitch not only cast Anna Massey, Peeping Toms lead actress, but when it came to staging the first murder, Hitch showed it in full close-up, just like Powell.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
