Night Watch (1973 film)

Last updated

Night Watch
Night Watch FilmPoster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Brian G. Hutton
Screenplay by
Based onNight Watch
1972 play
by Lucille Fletcher
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Billy Williams
Edited by John Jympson
Music by John Cameron
Production
companies
Distributed by Avco Embassy Pictures
Release dates
  • 10 August 1973 (1973-08-10)(United States)
  • 6 September 1973 (1973-09-06)(United Kingdom)
Running time
99 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

Night Watch is a 1973 mystery thriller film directed by Brian G. Hutton from a screenplay by Tony Williamson, based on the 1972 play of the same name by Lucille Fletcher. [1] The film reunited Elizabeth Taylor with co-star Laurence Harvey from their 1960 collaboration BUtterfield 8 . [2] It was the last time the pair acted together on screen. [3] Some of the story elements recall the plot outline of the 1944 film Gaslight . [4]

Contents

Plot

One night, during a raging thunderstorm, Ellen Wheeler frantically tells her husband, John, that from the living-room window, she has seen a man with a slit throat in a chair by the window in the large, old, deserted house across the way. John calls the police, but a search of the old house finds no evidence of a murder.

The next morning, Ellen notices a freshly planted bed of Laburnum in the garden next to the old house that was not there before. She calls the investigating detective, Inspector Walker, and suggests that the body of the murder victim she witnessed may be buried there. Inspector Walker then questions the reclusive neighbour, Mr. Appleby, who confirms that he planted the trees the night before during the storm, but refuses to let the police search the garden or dig up the trees.

Ellen is recovering from a nervous breakdown that occurred after her unfaithful first husband, Carl, was killed a few years earlier in an auto accident with his young paramour, while suffering from recurring nightmares of the accident. After learning that Ellen has called Inspector Walker multiple times about the investigation, John suggests that she see his psychiatrist friend, Tony. Indignant, Ellen continues to maintain that she saw a murder in the deserted house, but there is no proof and John remains skeptical.

Ellen's visiting friend Sarah Cooke is equally skeptical and tries humoring Ellen by suggesting that she sees what she thinks she sees because of her recent breakdown. That night, when both Ellen and Sarah see a light moving behind the old house's shutters, they call the police, who discover Mr. Appleby wandering around with a flashlight and arrest him for trespassing. A second search of the house and excavation of the garden reveal nothing, and Inspector Walker privately tells John that the case is officially closed.

That evening, Ellen claims to John and Sarah that she saw another body in the old house, that of a woman. Ellen is then sedated by John and Sarah, who believe that Ellen may be losing her mind. The next day, Ellen agrees to see Tony and, during their conversation, recounts Carl's fatal car accident. Tony advises her to check into a clinic in Switzerland for a few weeks, to which Ellen agrees.

The following evening, as Ellen prepares to leave for the airport, John asks her to sign several financial documents, including one that grants him power of attorney over their financial holdings; she complies. However, she notices in the documents that John had recently acquired a company that owns the deserted house. Ellen angrily accuses John and Sarah of having an affair and plotting to torment her in order to have her committed, showing him the key to the old house. When John denies Ellen's accusations, she runs to the old house and lets herself inside using the key, as both John and Sarah chase after her. Ellen lures the two to the second-floor room where she claimed to have seen the bodies. There, she slashes John's throat and viciously stabs Sarah to death, before positioning them in exactly the same manner that she claimed to have seen the two bodies.

It is revealed that Ellen had feigned insanity by claiming to have witnessed two murders in the old house as part of an elaborate scheme to murder both John and Sarah for their affair, and to so weary the police with her repeated frantic phone calls in order to dissuade them from investigating the house and finding the bodies of John and Sarah. Mr. Appleby, whose father owned John and Ellen's house before they purchased it, makes a surprise visit, startling Ellen and congratulating her on pulling off her scheme. He assures her that he does not intend to report the murders, as Inspector Walker would not believe him. Ellen asks Mr. Appleby to look after her house and the garden until she returns. Mr. Appleby happily agrees as Ellen bids him goodbye and departs.

Cast

Production

Night Watch was based on the play of the same name by Lucille Fletcher, starring Joan Hackett. [5] The play opened in February 1972. The New York Times called it "a most excellent thriller... a first class example of its genre". [6]

Film rights to the play were bought prior to the play reaching Broadway by producer Martin Poll. He set up the film at Brut Productions, a newly formed film division of the Fabergé Company, run by George Barrie. It was one of the first films from that company. [7] Poll said, "It's really a lot more now than a suspense story. It deals with the relationship between people torn by their emotions, their betrayals and jealousies." [8]

It was decided to relocate the story to England. The film was shot at Elstree Studios in London. Brut financed the film entirely, with Taylor taking a smaller salary in exchange for a larger percentage. Director Brian G. Hutton had just made X Y & Zee (1972) with Taylor. [8] Harvey's casting was announced in April 1972. [9] Barrie would later finance Harvey's last film, Welcome to Arrow Beach (1974).

Filming was interrupted several times. It shut down for a week when Hutton contracted bronchitis, and then later for six more weeks so Harvey could have an operation on his stomach. Harvey said at the time that the operation was due to appendicitis, but it was in fact stomach cancer, which would subsequently kill him. [10] Filming wrapped in September 1972.

Although Barrie and John Cameron composed the musical score of the film, and Cameron was credited for it, the background music for a significant part of the film is Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 and Schubert's Unfinished Symphony.

In February 1973, Avco Embassy agreed to distribute the film along with another Brut Production, A Touch of Class . [11]

Critical reception

Time Out called it a "tired, old-fashioned thriller"; [12] whereas The New York Times wrote, "Elizabeth Taylor, and about time, has got herself a good picture and a whodunit at that"; [13] and Variety opined, "Lucille Fletcher's Night Watch isn't the first average stage play to be turned into a better than average film. Astute direction and an improved cast more than help". [14]

Notes

  1. ↑ Additional dialogue

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurence Harvey</span> Lithuanian-British actor (1928–1973)

Laurence Harvey was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in the United Kingdom after World War II. In a career that spanned a quarter of a century, Harvey appeared in stage, film and television productions primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Burstyn</span> American actress

Ellen Burstyn is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Leighton</span> British actress (1922–1976)

Margaret Leighton, CBE was an English actress, active on stage and television, and in film. Her film appearances included in Anthony Asquith's The Winslow Boy, Alfred Hitchcock's Under Capricorn, Powell and Pressburger's The Elusive Pimpernel, George More O'Ferrall's The Holly and the Ivy, Martin Ritt's The Sound and the Fury, John Guillermin's Waltz of the Toreadors, Franklin J. Schaffner's The Best Man, Tony Richardson's The Loved One, John Ford's 7 Women, and Joseph Losey's The Go-Between and Galileo. For The Go-Between, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billie Whitelaw</span> English actress (1932–2014)

Billie Honor Whitelaw was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was also known for her portrayal of Mrs. Baylock, the demonic nanny in the 1976 horror film The Omen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Wayne</span> American actor (1914–1995)

David Wayne was an American stage and screen actor with a career spanning over 50 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domino Harvey</span> Bounty hunter (1969–2005)

Domino Harvey was a bounty hunter in the United States. She came from a well-to-do background, being the daughter of noted actor Laurence Harvey and fashion model Paulene Stone. Harvey's fame was increased posthumously by the 2005 release of the film Domino, which was loosely based on her life, in which Harvey was portrayed by Keira Knightley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Francis</span> American actress (1930–2011)

Anne Francis was an American actress known for her ground-breaking roles in the science-fiction film Forbidden Planet (1956) and the television action-drama series Honey West (1965–1966). Forbidden Planet marked a first in color, big-budget, science-fiction-themed motion pictures. Nine years later, Francis challenged female stereotypes in Honey West, in which she played a perky blonde private investigator who was as quick with body slams as witty one-liners. She earned a Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award nomination for her performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Sierra</span> American actor (1937–2021)

Gregory Joseph Sierra was an American actor known for his roles as Detective Sergeant Chano Amengual on Barney Miller, Julio Fuentes, the Puerto Rican neighbor of Fred G. Sanford on Sanford and Son, and as Marruja in The Castaway Cowboy (1974).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Kemp</span> English actor (1935–2019)

Edmund Jeremy James Walker, known professionally as Jeremy Kemp, was an English actor. He was known for his significant roles in the miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, the film The Blue Max, and the TV series Z-Cars.

George Barrie was the owner and CEO of Fabergé Inc. from 1964 to 1984. He was nominated for two Oscars for Best Original Song and created the cologne Brut. Though not one of the first to use celebrities to advertise, he was one of those that made it commonplace.

Fabergé is a brand name that was inspired by the House of Fabergé jewellery firm, which had been founded in 1842 in Russia. The name was used for various personal care products that were manufactured under the direction of Samuel Rubin, and then by George Barrie. The Fabergé company was sold by Barrie in 1984, and was subsequently acquired by Unilever in 1989.

<i>Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story</i> 1987 film by Charles Jarrott

Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story is a 1987 television biographical drama starring Farrah Fawcett. The film chronicles the life of Barbara Hutton, a wealthy but troubled American socialite. Released as both a television film and a miniseries, the film won a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film. Fawcett earned her fifth Golden Globe Award nomination, for Best Actress in a Miniseries of Television Film. Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story was based on C. David Heymann's Poor Little Rich Girl: The Life and Legend of Barbara Hutton.

<i>Charlie Chan in Paris</i> 1935 film by Lewis Seiler

Charlie Chan in Paris is the seventh film produced by Fox with Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. Long thought lost, it is available on DVD as part of Twentieth Century Fox Home Video's Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 1. Hamilton MacFadden directed some early scenes before Lewis Seiler took over. It is the first entry in the series to feature actor Keye Luke, who would become a mainstay in his role as Chan's "Number One Son" Lee.

<i>Non-Stop New York</i> 1937 film by Robert Stevenson

Non-Stop New York is a 1937 British science fiction crime film directed by Robert Stevenson and starring John Loder, Anna Lee and Francis L. Sullivan. It is based on the 1936 novel Sky Steward by Ken Attiwill. A woman who can clear an innocent man of the charge of murder is pursued by gangsters onto a luxurious transatlantic flying boat.

<i>Whiffs</i> 1975 film by Ted Post

Whiffs is a 1975 comedy film directed by Ted Post and starring Elliott Gould, Eddie Albert, Harry Guardino, Godfrey Cambridge, and Jennifer O'Neill. It was produced by Brut Productions and released theatrically in the U.S. by 20th Century Fox.

<i>The Flesh and Blood Show</i> 1972 film by Pete Walker

The Flesh and Blood Show is a 1972 British horror slasher film directed and produced by Pete Walker, and starring Ray Brooks, Jenny Hanley, and Luan Peters. It follows a group of actors being stalked and murdered by an unseen assailant while rehearsing a play at a derelict seaside theatre.

<i>The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing</i> (film) 1973 film

The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing is a 1973 American Western film adaptation of Marilyn Durham's novel of the same name directed by Richard C. Sarafian, written by Eleanor Perry and William W. Norton, and starring Burt Reynolds and Sarah Miles.

Brut Productions was a film production company that was an offshoot of Fabergé cosmetics under George Barrie.

ITV Sunday Night Theatre, originally titled ITV Saturday Night Theatre and often shortened to simply Sunday Night Theatre or Saturday Night Theatre, is a British television anthology series screened on ITV, whose episodes were contributed by various companies in the ITV network.

<i>The House That Vanished</i> 1973 British film

The House That Vanished is a 1973 British-Spanish exploitation horror film directed by José Ramón Larraz, written by Derek Ford, and starring Andrea Allan, Karl Lanchbury, and Judy Matheson. Its plot follows a young fashion model who witnesses a murder in an abandoned house in the woods, but is unable to relocate it after reporting the crime to police.

References

  1. ↑ "Night Watch (1973)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016.
  2. ↑ Deming, Mark. "Butterfield 8 (1960) – Daniel Mann". AllMovie .
  3. ↑ "Laurence Harvey | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie.
  4. ↑ Rasmussen, Linda. "Night Watch (1973) – Brian G. Hutton". AllMovie.
  5. ↑ Funke, Lewis (21 November 1971). "If You Love a Mystery: If You Love a Mystery". The New York Times .
  6. ↑ Barnes, Clive (29 February 1972). "Stage: 'Night Watch,' Stylish Thriller". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ "Brut, Faberge Unit, Plans 5 Films and 4 TV Programs". The New York Times. 8 March 1972. p. 32.
  8. 1 2 Wood, Thomas (9 July 1972). "Faberge Tools Up for Sweet Smell of Screen Success". Los Angeles Times .
  9. ↑ Weiler, A. H. (23 April 1972). "John Ford Rides Again". The New York Times .
  10. ↑ Sinai, Anne (2003). Reach for the Top: The Turbulent Life of Laurence Harvey. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. pp. 346–347. ISBN   978-0810859142.
  11. ↑ "Avco Embassy to Distribute Brut's First Two Films". Los Angeles Times. 3 February 1973.
  12. ↑ "Night Watch". Time Out .
  13. ↑ Thompson, Howard (10 August 1973). "Screen: Suspenseful 'Night Watch'". The New York Times.
  14. ↑ "Night Watch". Variety . 1 January 1973.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.