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
Sibylla Kay	...	Whore

Directed by
Alastair Reid

Writing credits
Joy Cowley		(novel "Nest in a Falling Tree")
Roald Dahl		(writer)

Produced by
Alan D. Courtney	....	producer
William O. Harbach	....	executive producer
Norman S. Powell	....	producer

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann

Cinematography by
Alex Thomson

Casting by
Mary Selway

Art Direction by
Anthony Pratt

Costume Design by
Gabriella Falk

Makeup Department
Joan Carpenter	....	hair stylist
Ernest Gasser	....	makeup artist

Production Management
John Oldknow	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Dryhurst	....	assistant director

Art Department
Tim Hutchinson	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Terry Wells	....	stand-by property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Chris Greenham	....	sound editor
Gerry Humphreys	....	sound recordist
Brian Marshall	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Dave Clarke	....	gaffer
Mike Fox	....	camera operator
Denis Bremner	....	best boy (uncredited)

Music Department
Rosemary Green	....	musician: solo viola d'amore
Bernard Herrmann	....	conductor
Tommy Reilly	....	musician: solo harmonica

Other crew
Valerie Eaton-Griffiths	....	assistant: Miss Neal
Bernard Hanson	....	location manager
Jennifer Phillips	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios
• Tacitus Productions
• Youngstreet

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1974) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MGM-EMI (1971) (UK) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Lee Lighting  lighting

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

Not a very well made movie.

The movie has some messy storytelling and most of the elements in the movie don't really work out.

This movie certainly isn't a terribly interesting to watch. It's a bit of a psychological thriller but it isn't scary, tense or compelling enough to call it a good one. It has a good concept but the end result is pretty disappointing.

Main reason why the movie is a bit of a failed one is because of the weak storytelling. Most of the elements in the movie feel very muddled, especially the ending and at times it takes ages before something really interesting to happen in the movie. It isn't exactly a dull movie though, it's more like an uninteresting one, even though the story itself really isn't a bad one.

The characters are portrayed nicely in the story but to be frank, they were to boring and distant to feel for. Patricia Neal, who also had a stroke in real life, prior to this movie, is a good leading lady and also good was Nicholas Clay in his very first movie appearance. He does provide the movie with some good moments but it all simply is not enough to make the movie interesting and recommendable enough.

From a movie with Patricia Neal, Roald Dahl and Bernard Herrmann involved, some more fireworks was to be expected.

4/10