Nothing But the Night

Odd and unusual but nevertheless highly imaginative British supernatural horror/thriller story, once more pairing the two legendary genre veterans Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, this time under the skillful direction of Peter Sasdy. "Nothing but the Night" somewhat plays in a league of its own, as you definitely can't compare it to the extremely popular contemporary Hammer productions. I even daresay this is quite a unique piece of Brit-horror, which is probably why it required the constitution of a brand new production company, named Charlemagne, that didn't last very long afterwards. "Nothing but the Night" may be overly convoluted and full of irregularities, but it's really not a bad film and it definitely doesn't deserve the embarrassingly low current IMDb rating of 3.2 out of 10! Adapted from a novel by John Blackburn, the screenplay offers up a very ambitious and compelling mixture of mystery, medical horror, creepy country sides and typically British police work. The film is incredibly fast paced (I can't fathom that some of my fellow reviewers call this movie boring) and the plot is literally a non-stop series of red herrings and vague clues, desperately attempting to avoid that any viewer would figure out the climax too fast. Let me tell you straight away: you won't guess the full denouement no matter how clairvoyant you are, as multiple story aspects and twists in "Nothing but the Night" are simply too absurd and implausible for normal human beings to even consider. Once again, though, this doesn't mean it's not fascinating and entertaining to look at. The film opens with an immediate attention-grabber, as we're right away treated to grisly images of three murders looking like suicide. Police Colonel Bingham (Christoper Lee) later explains to his friend Dr. Mark Ashley (Peter Cushing) that all victims were trustees of a prominent but highly secluded orphanage on a small Scottish island. When one of the orphanage's children is hospitalized after a mysterious bus accident, the young doctor Haynes wants to investigate the girl's bizarre nightmares, but the influential Van Traylen Fund trustees prevent this. The girl's flamboyant and aggressive birth mother also wants to reclaim her, but the orphanage lies isolated and well protected a small island only reachable by ferry boats. Some abrupt plot twists work very efficient, whereas other red herrings are blatantly obvious. For example, we're supposed to believe that Anna Harb – the girl's real mother – is a complete psychopath, but that would just be too easy. Peter Sasdy maintains a sinister atmosphere throughout and the Scottish isle and countryside filming locations are stupendous. There aren't many bloody moments, but there's a fair portion of suspense and a couple of shocking insinuations. Other people claim that both Lee and Cushing are underused in the film, which may perhaps be a little true, but their characters are terrific and I swear I've seen films where their names were more shamelessly exploited for even smaller roles (like "Scream and Scream Again", for instance). Not a masterpiece of Brit-horror, but a worthwhile movie in case you're looking for something creepy yet different.

Rich men are dying, with no especial connection save they are all trustees for a young girl. Colonel Christopher Lee thinks that's the connection, so he contacts Peter Cushing, because they haven't made a movie together in a month.

Diana Dors appear is this movie, looking a trifle pudgy, alas. She's the mother of the girl, fresh out of prison, ten years after committing a triple murder. Newspaper woman Georgia Brown is trying to get the trust broken, because everyone's in favor of mother love, aren't they? But why did a bus driver die, burnt to a crisp in a bus crash, when there was no fire?

It's a nicely produced movie, but it holds few surprises in its story for the modern viewer. The casting is pretty good, with Michael Gambon giving his second big-screen appearance, but the genre was getting pretty tired by this point.

This is one of the lesser talked about films starring the superb duo Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. It's pretty good film but it is a bit slow - this one could have done with a little quicker pace.

3 prison deaths that appear as suicides on the surface stirred some questions but once 3 more trustees and 30 orphan children are in a bus accident and most die then police colonel Bingham (Christopher Lee) starts seriously investigating. Sir Ashley (Peter Cushing) agrees to help investigate the mysterious happenings. It's a supernatural mystery.

6/10

Despite the interest naturally fostered by co.starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, it's the remarkable supporting cast including Fulton Mackay and a young Michael Gambon and a lot of vivid female characters (including a stylish Georgia Brown as the dogged newspaper reporter and Diana Dors in a brown wig in one of her eccentric later character roles; and Kathleen Byron, wasted as usual) that really captures the imagination

SLIGHT SPOILER COMING: There being nothing new under the sun, the final 'revelation' may be anticipated by anyone who remembers the Sherlock Holmes mystery 'The House of Fear' (1945), here given a supernatural tweak...

Three trustees of the Van Traylen fund have died suspiciously during the last nine months. A bus load of the trust orphan kids are almost killed. Police Colonel Bingham (Christopher Lee) suspects that someone wants the trust money for themselves and he recruits Dr. Ashley (Peter Cushing).

This sets up an interesting mystery. It also has yet another pairing of Lee and Cushing. It could go somewhere with these ingredients. Instead, it gets tied down by one child's story and other characters doing the investigating. It seems to meander in circles for the first act. Most of that section with Peter is unnecessary. He's better off as a random doctor given her case. Lee and Cushing are moving at a snail's pace. They should be Sherlock and Watson but they are too far behind the audience. They come off looking clueless or somewhat uncaring. They take way too long to get to the orphanage. Anna Harb is a more interesting character. At least, she's more active and more invested. Finally, there are the kids. I don't know if the child actors are any good. The movie needs them to do more. They need to get into this movie sooner, front and center. They are the children of the bus. That's a better title.