Peeping Tom (1960 film)

Peeping Tom
Peeping Tom
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Powell
Written by	Leo Marks
Produced by	Michael Powell
Starring	Carl Boehm; Moira Shearer; Anna Massey; Maxine Audley
Cinematography	Otto Heller
Edited by	Noreen Ackland
Music by	Brian Easdale
Production; company	Michael Powell (Theatre)
Distributed by	Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors
Release date	7 April 1960;
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£133,394
Box office	$149,495

Peeping Tom is a 1960 British psychological horror-thriller film^[4] directed by Michael Powell, written by Leo Marks, and starring Carl Boehm, Anna Massey, and Moira Shearer. The film revolves around a serial killer who murders women while using a portable film camera to record their dying expressions of terror, putting his footage together into a snuff film used for his own self pleasure. Its title derives from the expression "peeping Tom", which describes a voyeur.

The film's controversial subject matter and its extremely harsh reception by critics had a severely negative impact on Powell's career as a director in the United Kingdom.^[5] However, it attracted a cult following, and in later years, it has been re-evaluated and is now widely considered a masterpiece,^[6]^[7] and a progenitor of the contemporary slasher film.^[5] The British Film Institute named it the 78th greatest British film of all time,^[8] and in 2017 a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for Time Out magazine saw it ranked the 27th best British film ever.^[9]

The music score was written by Brian Easdale and performed by Australian pianist Gordon Watson.

^ "Peeping Tom (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 16 September 1994. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
^ Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 360
^ "Peeping Tom". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
^ Gritten, David (27 August 2010). "Michael Powell's 'Peeping Tom': the film that killed a career". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
^ ^a ^b "The 30 Most Influential Slasher Movies of All Time". Vulture. Retrieved 2 September 2023. The backlash for this British psychological horror film was so strong upon release that director Michael Powell never made another British film again.
^ Forshaw 2012, p. 56.
^ Crouse 2003, p. 167.
^ Eckel 2014, p. 167.
^ Calhoun, Dave; Huddleston, Tom; Jenkins, David; Adams, Derek; Andrew, Geoff; Davies, Adam Lee; Fairclough, Paul; Hammond, Wally (17 February 2007). "The 100 best British films". Time Out London. Time Out Group. Retrieved 24 October 2017.

[1] "Peeping Tom (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 16 September 1994. Retrieved 29 October 2022.

[money-2] Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 360

[NUM-3] "Peeping Tom". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 26 January 2024.

[gritten-4] Gritten, David (27 August 2010). "Michael Powell's 'Peeping Tom': the film that killed a career". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 July 2018.

[Golden-5] "The 30 Most Influential Slasher Movies of All Time". Vulture. Retrieved 2 September 2023. The backlash for this British psychological horror film was so strong upon release that director Michael Powell never made another British film again.

[FOOTNOTEForshaw2012[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidztKYxtiAsq8CpgPT56_56]-6] Forshaw 2012, p. 56.

[FOOTNOTECrouse2003[httpsarchiveorgdetails100bestmoviesyou0000croupage167_167]-7] Crouse 2003, p. 167.

[FOOTNOTEEckel2014167-8] Eckel 2014, p. 167.

[9] Calhoun, Dave; Huddleston, Tom; Jenkins, David; Adams, Derek; Andrew, Geoff; Davies, Adam Lee; Fairclough, Paul; Hammond, Wally (17 February 2007). "The 100 best British films". Time Out London. Time Out Group. Retrieved 24 October 2017.

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