The Hand of Night (1966)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Frederic Goode

Writer:

Bruce Stewart (writer)

Release Date:

September 1966 (UK)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

A handsome tourist travelling through the desert comes at night upon a lavish Moorish castle wherein he is entertained by a mysterious wealthy woman...

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

William Sylvester	...	Paul Carver
Diane Clare	...	Chantal
Aliza Gur	...	Marisa
Edward Underdown	...	Gunther
Terence de Marney	...	Omar
William Dexter	...	Leclerc
Sylvia Marriott	...	Mrs. Petty
Avril Sadler	...	Mrs. Carver
Angela Lovell	...	Air Hostess
Maria Hallowi	...	Nurse

Also Known As:

Beast of Morocco (USA)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X

Filming Locations:

Morocco

Company:

Associated British-Pathé

aka "Beast of Morocco" in US

"The Hand of Night" (British title) would appear more to be a mood piece than a horror film.William Sylvester(from "Devil Doll" in 1963 and "2001" in 1968)is the lone American star,as a man tortured by the tragic deaths of his wife and family in a car crash and whose seeming death wish finds him bedazzled by the denizens of the dark in modern Morocco.The vampire Marissa is played by Alizia Gur,a former Miss Israel in 1960,who was one of the 2 fighting gypsy girls in 1963's "From Russia with Love"(the girl in blue was Martine Beswicke.)Miss Gur's career petered out in the early 1970's while blonde heroine Diane Clare apparently threw in the towel even earlier.Clare had at least 2 genre films prior to this,"Witchcraft" in 1964 and "The Plague of the Zombies" in 1965.Edward Underdown was a veteran of "Thunderball" in 1965 and,like Clare,was a guest star on "The Avengers" TV series.Perhaps the best performance comes from Terence de Marney,a veteran British actor who had appeared with both Lugosi(in 1935's "The Mystery of the Marie Celeste")and Karloff(in 1965's "Die,Monster,Die!").He plays the vampire servant Omar,whose demise at sunrise is the standout sequence,in my opinion.Speaking of opinions,they seem to be nonexistent for this obscure British film,which I last saw on television in the late 70's but is available on video(NOT DVD) which is how I reconnected with it after 30 years.As I said earlier,it's more of a mood piece with a great deal of wandering around to pad out the running time.I would still recommend it for those lucky enough to find it.