Night Tide (1961)

On leave in a shore side town, Johnny becomes interested in a young dark haired woman. They meet and he learns that she plays a mermaid in the local carnival. After strange occurrences, ... See full summary »

Director:

Curtis Harrington

Writers:

Curtis Harrington (screenplay), Curtis Harrington (short story)

Stars:

Dennis Hopper, Linda Lawson, Gavin Muir

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dennis Hopper	...	Johnny Drake
Linda Lawson	...	Mora
Gavin Muir	...	Capt. Samuel Murdock
Luana Anders	...	Ellen Sands
Marjorie Eaton	...	Madame Romanovitch
Tom Dillon	...	Merry-Go-Round Operator (Ellen's Grandfather)
H.E. West	...	Lt. Henderson
Ben Roseman	...	Bruno
Marjorie Cameron	...	Water Witch (as Cameron)

Storyline

On leave in a shore side town, Johnny becomes interested in a young dark haired woman. They meet and he learns that she plays a mermaid in the local carnival. After strange occurrences, Johnny begins to believe that she may actually be a real mermaid that habitually kills during the cycle of the full moon.

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Plot Keywords:

mermaid | carnival | two word title | shore patrol | massage | 

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Taglines:

Temptress from the sea...loving...killing!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 1965 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Girl from Beneath the Sea

Filming Locations:

Pacific Ocean Park, Santa Monica, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Phoenix Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dennis Hopper insisted on not using a double for the scuba diving sequence.

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Goofs

At the end of the scene when Mora suggests to Johnny they go diving that day because of the full moon, Johnny turns and looks at the calendar. As the camera zooms in, we see the calendar has the phases on the moon on it. The camera continues to zoom to a tight shot of the calendar, at which point you can clearly see that the moon is simply a square of paper cut out and pasted over the regular calendar. The edges of the glued on image are slightly out of alignment, a couple spots the edges are curling up, and even the dark edges drawn on to match the lines of the calendar are ragged and bled over on the edge of the paper in a couple spots.

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Quotes

Mora: Yes, I love the sea most of all. But I'm afraid of it, too.
Johnny Drake: I guess we're all a little afraid of what we love.

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Crazy Credits

'And so, all the night tide, I lie down by the side of my darling - my darling - my life and my bride, in her sepulchre there by the sea, in her tomb by the sounding sea.' Edgar Allen Poe (from 'Annabel Lee')

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Connections

Referenced in Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature (2001)

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Soundtracks

The Tell Tale Harp
Written by David Raksin

User Reviews

Stylish low-budget mood piece...

Sailor on shore-leave meets and falls for a mysterious woman who works as a carnival mermaid on the California coast. Is she a neurotic or actually a descendant of the Sirens? Moody mystery isn't quite the thriller it was advertised as. It has a straightforward narrative and very few actual surprises, but there are surreal bits, a great beatnik party on the beach, terrific black-and-white cinematography, and handsome, pre-hippie Dennis Hopper at his most grounded and friendly (and polite!). The film hopes to absorb its audience by means of atmosphere and little red herrings, not big shocks. I admired the film, but it's not to every taste. **1/2 from ****