The night of a thousand eyes
Movie | |
---|---|
German title | The night of a thousand eyes |
Original title | Night watch |
Country of production | Great Britain |
original language | English |
Publishing year | 1973 |
length | 99 minutes |
Rod | |
Director | Brian G. Hutton |
script | Tony Williamson , based on a play by Lucille Fletcher |
production |
George W. George , Martin Poll , Barnard Straus , Roger Moore |
music | John Cameron |
camera | Billy Williams |
cut | John Jympson |
occupation | |
|
The Night of a Thousand Eyes is a British fiction film ( psychological thriller ) directed by Brian G. Hutton from 1973. The film is an adaptation of the 1972 play Night Watch by Lucille Fletcher and was produced by Brut Productions. The Night of a Thousand Eyes is largely based on the dramaturgy of films such as The House of Lady Alquist or Lullaby for a Corpse , in which the main female character is a victim and is supposed to be ripped off by people she trusts.
action
The place of action is London , time the present. Ellen Wheeler is a rich but shy widow. She is plagued by terrible nightmares about Carl, her first husband. He was killed in a car accident that occurred while cheating on another woman. Ellen fears that John, her current husband, is cheating on her too, with her best friend Sarah. When she looks out the window one night, she watches a murder being committed in a house across the street. Since Ellen has a psychiatric history, John doesn't believe her. When he finally calls the police, they find no evidence of a crime. Ellen tries to numb her emotional pain and the visions that haunt her with alcohol and tablets, which her husband or good friend Appleby often give her. Ellen fears that John and Appleby are in cahoots and are trying to drive them insane to get hold of their fortune.
In the film's surprising and bloody showdown, however, it turns out that Ellen is by no means a victim, but on the contrary a cold and calculating murderer who brutally kills her unfaithful husband.
Production and reception
The script for The Night of a Thousand Eyes comes from Lucille Fletcher, whose best-known work was the template for the thriller You are still alive 105 minutes (1948, with Barbara Stanwyck ). Director Brian Hutton had previously directed the successful war film Agents Die Lonely (1968) with Elizabeth Taylor's husband Richard Burton and the triangular drama X, Y and Zee (1972) with Taylor . The members of the torsion bar included cameraman Billy Williams, who won several awards for his later work (including Gandhi , 1982). The shooting for the Technicolor and 35mm film took place in London.
The film premiered on August 9, 1973 in New York City. It was released in cinemas in the Federal Republic of Germany on November 9, 1973.
criticism
"Psycho thriller mixed with horror elements, flat and hardly exciting."
Web links
- The Night Watch in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Night Watch at Turner Classic Movies (English)
- Nightwatch (play) Internet Broadway Database
- Night Watch (play) New York Times
Individual evidence
- ↑ The night of a thousand eyes. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .