Signpost to Murder

Alex Forrester (Stuart Whitman) was declared insane and has been housed at Milhampton Asylum outside of London since he was convicted of killing his wife by slitting her throat five years ago, although he has no remembrance of the actual act, both admitting that he loved his wife and blacked-out after finding her with a slashed throat. Although not from Milhampton, Alex knows much of what goes on in town as there are unobstructed vantage points of the town from the asylum grounds. His psychiatrist, Dr. Mark Fleming (Edward Mulhare) who also considers himself his friend, believes that Alex is cured and is planning on recommending to the Asylum's Board that he be released. However, Dr. Fleming's request is denied by the Board for various reasons. Dr. Fleming happens to mention to Alex if a patient escaped for 14 days or more they would be legally entitled to a new trial. Believing himself sane, Alex then knocks Dr. Fleming out, places him in his bunk and escapes the mental asylum. He decides to take refuge at the isolated house of Molly (Joanne Woodward) and Evan Thomas, a diamond dealer - a converted flour mill with an operative working water wheel - as he has always been fascinated with it and knows that Evan would be currently out of town in Amsterdam like he regularly is. He breaks a window and makes entry. As such, he has to take Molly hostage by holding a knife to her throat and punches her. Knowing her husband hunts, he confiscates his shotgun. Although initially fearing Alex, Molly slowly begins to have empathy and other feelings for him in her general loneliness. They kiss. Later, he sees a dead man with a cut throat on the water wheel. He begins to question his sanity again. We see a search party discover him in the creek. As she too begins to believe that he is not only not insane but a kind man, both her perception of him and his own perception of himself may change when they learn that someone in town has been killed since he escaped, which Alex, in losing grip on reality, truly believes he could have committed. They believe it is her husband and ask her to identify his body. Alex lets her leave. The housemaid comments on her stoic demeanor. They post a policeman outside her house. She places Alex's shirt out in order to turn him in. He then realizes Molly betrayed him. Alex is allowed to tell his side of the story to the officials. She then confesses, seeming to implicate Mark, Alex's doctor, in a murder conspiracy. Alex then goes upstairs to "change clothes" but she commits suicide by jumping from an upstairs window. It turns out Mark murdered her husband, Evan, the night before, in a plan to frame Alex for his murder.