The Night Digger (1971)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Alastair Reid

Writers:

Joy Cowley (novel)
Roald Dahl (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A lonely woman in a decaying mansion... A young stranger on a big, black bike.

Plot:

Effective psychological love story with a macabre twist not found in the original Joy Cowley novel....

Plot Keywords:

Handyman | Male Rear Nudity | Female Nudity | England | Murder

Cast

Patricia Neal	...	Maura Prince
Pamela Brown	...	Mother
Nicholas Clay	...	Billy
Jean Anderson	...	Mrs. McMurtrey
Graham Crowden	...	Mr. Bolton
Yootha Joyce	...	Mrs. Palafox
Peter Sallis	...	Rev. Palafox
Brigit Forsyth	...	District Nurse
Sebastian Breaks	...	Dr. Robinson
Diana Patrick	...	Mary Wingate
Jenny McCracken	...	Farmwife
Bruce Myles	...	Bank Clerk
Zoe Alexander	...	Stroke Patient
Christopher Reynalds	...	Young Billy
Elaine Ives-Cameron	...	Gypsy

Also Known As:

The Road Builder

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Twickenham Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Excellent psychological thriller

The Road Builder is sadly not very well known, and that's a shame because this psychological thriller is a real gem and would certainly benefit from being more widely seen. The film is based on a book by Joy Cowley, although there were apparently some changes made to the story (I don't know what since I've not read the book). One of the more surprising things about this film is the fact that the screenplay was written by popular children's author Roald Dahl, although clearly he did also have a taste for the macabre if Tales of the Unexpected as well as his children's book 'The Witches' are anything to go by. The film is a strange love story at heart and we focus on a house inhabited by an old spinster and her middle aged daughter Maura. Their lives are changed one day when a young stranger on a motorbike turns up and they agree to let him stay. The young man becomes a popular figure in the house rather quickly, especially with Maura. However, there's something strange about him as evidenced by his sudden bursts of depression, apparently owing to the tragic death of his parents.

Most of the plot takes place in a grandiose mansion and it makes for a really good location for the movie - it's very isolated and is nice to look at. The atmosphere is very good throughout and this excellently compliments the plot which is thoroughly dark and largely unpleasant. The plot doesn't move particularly quickly, but it's always interesting thanks to the way that the characters are built up progressively and director Alastair Reid focuses on their relationship with one another. The acting is very good and the film stars Roald Dahl's then wife Patricia Neal in the lead role. She gets on well with the other two main players, Pamela Brown and Nicholas Clay and these actors help to ensure that the film works well. There's not a great deal of shocking moments, but the way that the unpleasant happenings are handled works very well as it's nasty yet completely believable. It all boils down to a very good ending and The Road Builder is certainly a film with a 'sting in the tail'. Overall, I really hope this gets a decent release soon because it's a great thriller and well worth seeing!