Customer Reviews

Search for Bridey Murphy [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie is a very good film. I am only 22 and I don't watch a whole lot of old films like this but this one is very good. It is about some friends coming over for a simple dinner party when an unexpected guest drops by and tells them he can hypnotize people. Thinking that this is only a silly parlor trick some agree to be hypnotized. One women is regressed back into her childhood and even as far as hen she was just an infant. Amazed, they try to see how far back her memory will go and she slips back into a past life and tells her story of her life in Ireland as Bridey Murphy.

Teresa Wright plays a housewife who is hypnotized by a neigbor. He doesn't bother with the woman she is but the past life in her, Bridey Murphy who lived in 1800's Ireland. The beautiful Nancy Gates plays his wife who at times believes his interest in Bridey Murphy is more than a medical interest. The movie goes through the complete life of Bridey Murphy including how she reincarnates herself into the woman at the present day.
The movie in the beginning tells us that the past lives you've had effect what will happen in your next ones, in other words karma. I kept waiting for the movie to show us this. Though there's a good ending I was disappointed with the movie's promise.

More like 2.5

I was told about this film and it was very hard to track down in Australia. So, online I got and found a copy in the States through Amazon. It made for very interesting viewing and is for anyone who is interested in the world of hypnotism. Worth every minute of watching!

The Search for Bridey Murphy is a fascinating true story, and this alone is reason to see this film. It also has a good cast, including Teresa Wright and Louis Hayward.

Morey Bernstein became fascinated with hypnotism after seeing a woman hypnotized at a party. He did his homework and began practicing on his wife, but finding her a dull subject, he asked his neighbor's wife to volunteer. She did so willingly, but she was no dull subject. Ruth Simmons recalled her childhood easily, but soon moved past that into a former life, that of Bridey Murphy. Bridey lived in Ireland in the early 1800s and died in her 60s. She recounted her childhood, her marriage, and her death, including events after her death. But Bridey showed signs of being ill which seemed to be transferred to Ruth, and the project seemed in need of abandonment.

All of Ruth/Bridey's dialogue comes directly from recordings made during real hypnotism sessions created by the real Bernstein in his experiments. Transcripts can be found in Bernstein's book of the same name, and they're astonishing.

The reason this film is given 4 stars and not 5 is because of the ending. It drops off immediately and leaves the viewer with many questions, not just about Bridey's case but about Morey's, whether Ruth was hypnotized again, whether she got sick afterward, and whether Morey continued his hypnotism. Luckily, as this is based on a real case, there are ways to find out, but it would have been more satisfying if the movie answered these questions.

Unfortunately, this film is only currently available on VHS so it is difficult to find.

As A Hypnotherapist I found this movie great. Eventhough it was made back in the 1950's it still has A powerful message for those who understand. Thanks so much.
John H. Dalton C.Ht.

This is a 1956 movie starring Teresa Wright, one of my favorite actresses. I saw it with my mother when it was released. Based on the best selling book of the same name, it made sense to me then and I have believed in reincarnation ever since. The end talks more about hypnotism than reincarnation but if you believe in it then no explanation is necessary. If you don't believe in reincarnation then no explanation is possible.

This is pretty much what most people who have had past lives regressions have experienced, a past life that is unexplainable to non believers. There's no sense in trying to convince anyone of it. You have to experience it yourself. There's a saying, "I won't believe it unless I see it." Why not say, "I'll see it when I believe it".

Watch this movie with an open mind and you'll be fascinated with what transpires.