Night of the Eagle

A small university town in England is the setting of this well-crafted tale of witchcraft, voodoo, and mystery concerning the rise of a young professor in his department in Sociology. The film begins with the professor giving a lecture on the ridiculous nature of the supernatural. He says that the supernatural only exists when believers exist; otherwise without believers, there would be no supernatural. I thought this was a great way to start a film. You know that before long this young professor will be eating those words. And, indeed, he does. The film's basic premise concerns this man's wife, Tansy, helping him rise - or at least believing to help him rise - in his department amidst other forces that wish to see his downfall. There is certainly a lot going for this British, low-budget film. Great performances are delivered by the entire cast, particularly Peter Wyngarde as the man trapped between what he sees as logical and reasonable and what his wife believes is responsible for his success. Janet Blair plays his wife with great conviction and an intensity that makes what she does seem plausible. One other acting notable belongs to Margaret Johnston as a rather scary, limping colleague who has a crushing blow delivered to her when she doesn't get the department chair. She makes one scary woman! The direction is in the hands of the ever-capable Sidney Hayers, responsible for many of my favourite episodes of The Avengers(including "The Superlative Seven"). Hayers is excellent at pacing the film with tension. But the most credit for the film's success must be given to Richard Matheson who adapted the film from the celebrated novel Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber. Matheson has just enough logic mixed in with mysterious red herrings, superstitious practices, and quaint, British manners to make for a most enjoyable film. There is no doubt that for this film: the eagle has landed!

This is far and away my very favorite horror movie -- not only is it truly scary, it is extremely well-acted, has a very intelligent script, great direction, super photography. What's most unusual about it is the relationship among the Professor Taylor (the devastatingly yummy Peter Wyngarde)and his wife Tansy (Janet Blair) -- these two have amazing chemistry and along with the horror, you get a very realistic story of a married couple very much in love, who struggle with the wife's admission of being a witch.

Much of the horror here is simply implied, making it that much scarier, but what is shown is truly chilling. If you've never seen a believable performance in a horror movie, check out Wyngarde in this --his final scene should be shown in every drama school -- his fear is that palpable.

This is a really excellent black and white spooker with an engaging story and some really creepy moments. The production values are excellent, the acting is very good, and the story and script are both top-notch. Plenty of twists, even if the identity of the villain is a bit obvious, and enough tension to really keep you on the edge of your seat.

Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) is a successful young professor, married with Tansy Taylor (Janet Blair). He is a very skeptical man, while his wife believes in magic and witchcraft. One day, he finds lots of amulets and witchcraft in his house, and he decides to destroy all of them. His wife gets scared and advises him that he destroyed all the protection their home and lives had against the evil of envious and wicked persons, including some of his colleagues. Norman in principle does not have faith in her, but many strange events happen with him, and he changes his mind.

This English black & white low budget production is one of the most frightening movies I have ever watched. With a great direction, excellent cast having a superb performance and a tight screenplay, this movie may be considered a classic in the genre. Highly recommended for fans of horror movies, in Brazil it is only available on cable television, since Brazilian distributors have not released on VHS or DVD. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): 'A Filha de Satã' ('The Satan's Daughter')

Note: On 30 April 2015, I saw this movie again.

With a title like "Burn, Witch, Burn", I certainly was expecting a lot worse. However, this film is actually quite clever, suspenseful and worth seeing.

This film begins VERY strangely. The voice of Paul Frees (who provided the voice of Boris on "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle" and the Haunted Mansion at Disney) announces that there is a demonic curse embedded within the film and he is going to neutralize it with an incantation that is made up of a lot of words for the Devil! Following this, the film begins. The story concerns Professor Taylor (Peter Wyngarde)--a successful professor at a small medical college. One day by chance, he finds some voodoo-like charms hiding around his home. It seems that his wife is a practitioner of some sort of dark art. When he confronts her, she insists the magic has contributed to his career success AND is protecting them from those who wish him harm. Not surprisingly, since he's a man of science he gathers up all her mumbo-jumbo and burns it...and then his life begins falling apart. Apparently someone IS trying to do him harm and without his charms, his and his wife's lives are at stake. But who and why?!

Aside from one brief scene involving a stuffed bird that is clearly suspended by a wire, the film is very intelligently made. The story is constructed well, is genuinely menacing and is quite enjoyable. And, although the bird is done poorly, just a moment later they make a hawk APPEAR very large and menacing in a very convincing manner. Well worth seeing--nearly earning an 8.