Rent Night of the Eagle (1962)
3.5 of 5 from 74 ratings
1h 24min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Made for a very low budget in the early 1960's, Night of the Eagle is based on the novel Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber, both perfectly capture the overriding paranoia of the era. Professor Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) seemingly has it all - a great job, the envy of his colleagues, the perfect wife and a healthy skepticism when it comes to all things supernatural. However, over the course of a weekend, Taylor discovers that his wife Tansy (Janet Blair) is a witch and that she has been practicing witchcraft ever since their honeymoon - apparently in an effort to protect him from jealous colleagues and assist his rise within the department. Despite her anguished protestations and warnings, he insists on destroying all the magic paraphernalia in the house and tries to carry on as normal, turning a blind eye to the possibility that his wife and her black magic could in some way have been behind his success. That is until the very next day when things in his life start going badly wrong... Taut, atmospheric and terrifying, this film remains a much-loved classic in the vein of such subtle British chillers as The Haunting and The Innocents. - Actors:
- Peter Wyngarde, Janet Blair, Margaret Johnston, Anthony Nicholls, Colin Gordon, Kathleen Byron, Reginald Beckwith, Jessica Dunning, Norman Bird, Judith Stott, Bill Mitchell
- Directors:
- Sidney Hayers
- Producers:
- Albert Fennell
- Studio:
- Optimum
- Genres:
- Classics, Horror
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Reviews (1) of Night of the Eagle
Supernatural Thriller. - Night of the Eagle review by Steve
Energetic occult thriller which overcomes its familiar set up to deliver an adrenaline rush which never lets up. Peter Wyngarde plays an erudite psychology professor on campus at a British university who has a rigid belief in rationality. But after he gets his credulous wife (Janet Blair) to burn her voodoo paraphernalia, his world starts to fall apart.
This is the third version of the novel The Conjurer Wife, and the premise of the scientific mind in conflict with the supernatural has been explored many times; including the similarly titled Night of the Demon. This isn't quite as good, but there is an intelligent script and Sidney Hayers' kinetic direction- plus a rousing score- make it an exhilarating spellbinder.
Wyngarde was a late substitute for Peter Cushing. Which was an advantage as the replacement brought a muscular vitality. Hard to imagine the lean, wan Hammer star being chased around the quad by a paranormal eagle in the rousing climax. Margaret Johnson gives a wonderfully strange performance as the conjurer wife's rival.
There's a transatlantic feel to the production, perhaps because the adaptation was by veterans of The Twilight Zone. The limited sets suggest a small budget but this gives the film a feeling of entrapment, enhanced by the web of noirish shadows. The effects and stunts are fine. There's nothing new here, but it's rarely done as well.
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