The Lost Moment

A remarkably effective adaptation of Henry James' The Aspern Papers, closer to the shivery ambience of The Innocents than to the oh-so-discreet charm of Daisy Miller or The Europeans. An opportunist publisher (Cummings) lodges incognito in the Venetian house of a long-dead poet's lover, hoping to find the literary treasure trove of letters hidden there, and gradually comes under the spells of the past incarnate - the 105-year-old former loved one (Moorehead) and her schizophrenic niece (Hayward). The ghostly web of shifting identities and sexual tensions is superbly spun, making one regret that Martin Gabel subsequently confined himself to an acting career.