The Collector is is a 1965 thriller about a creepy shy quiet butterfly collecting guy who decides that he needs to add something new to his collection, Samantha Eggar.
Directed by William Wyler, this film is a creepy study of obsession. A very young Terence Stamp (General Zod himself) is Freddie Clegg, a lonely young man who collects butterflies and lacks any sort of social skills to deal with other people. Clegg wins some money and he buys himself an isolated house out in the country. He then decides to end his loneliness by abducting a young woman that he has been stalking, an art student named Miranda Grey (Samantha Eggar). He locks her in his basement and tells her that he loves her and if she gets to know him everything will be alright. He tells her if she stays with him for a month, he will let her go. But Clegg just doesn’t understand that what he’s doing is wrong.
Based on the novel by John Fowles, director William Wyler (Ben-Hur, The Letter, Roman Holiday) turned down directing The Sound of Music to make this film. He said “I just can’t bear to make a picture about all those nice Nazis” Both the film and the novel have actually chillingly inspired several real life serial killers. The film was nominated for three Oscars (Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay) and won both best actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival.
