The Nightcomers (1971)

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

Henry James (characters) and
Michael Hastings

Release Date:

July 1972 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Two Children. Two Adults. One Unspeakable Crime.

Plot:

Prequel to the Henry James classic "Turn of the Screw" about the events leading up to the deaths of Peter Quint and Ms...

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Death | Children | Orphan | Gardener

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Marlon Brando	...	Peter Quint
Stephanie Beacham	...	Miss Jessel
Thora Hird	...	Mrs. Grose
Harry Andrews	...	Master of the House
Verna Harvey	...	Flora
Christopher Ellis	...	Miles
Anna Palk	...	New Governess

Directed by
Michael Winner

Writing credits
Henry James		(characters)
Michael Hastings

Produced by
Michael Winner	....	producer
Jay Kanter	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Elliott Kastner	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Alan Ladd Jr.	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Jerry Fielding

Cinematography by
Robert Paynter

Film Editing by
Michael Winner		(as Arnold Crust Jr.)

Art Direction by
Herbert Westbrook

Makeup Department
Stephanie Kaye	....	hair stylist
Richard Mills	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Clifton Brandon	....	production manager
James Crawford	....	production manager (as James M. Crawford)

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

Art Department
Bill Dennison	....	assistant art director (as Bill Benninson)
Syd Nightingale	....	construction manager (as Sid Nightingale)
Ray Traynor	....	property master
Barry Wilkinson	....	stand-by props

Sound Department
Russ Hill	....	dialogue editor
Christopher Kent	....	sound recordist (as Chris Kent)
Terry Rawlings	....	dubbing editor (as Terence Rawlings)
Hugh Strain	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Anthony Troke	....	assistant camera (as Tony Troke)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ray Beck	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Frederick Wilson	....	supervising editor (as Freddie Wilson)

Music Department
Jerry Fielding	....	conductor

Other crew
Pamela Carlton	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Elliott Kastner-Jay Kanter-Alan Ladd Jnr Productions
• Scimitar Productions

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy (1971) (UK) (theatrical)
• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1973) (France) (theatrical)
• Charter Entertainment (1986) (UK) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1986) (UK) (VHS)
• BMG Video (1997) (UK) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Charter Entertainment  VHS artwork and design
• Intrada  score album released by (limited edition)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Australia:R | Norway:16 | Netherlands:18 (orginal rating)

Filming Locations:

Cambridgeshire, England, UK

Company:

Elliott Kastner-Jay Kanter-Alan Ladd Jnr Productions

Trivia:

Michael Winner originally offered the role of Miss Jessel to Vanessa Redgrave but she was filming in Italy and had to decline. Jennie Linden also refused the role.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Brando (2007) (TV)

Brando's waterloo

Made just before "The Godfather" saved his career and changed his life, "The Nightcommers" shows just what a desperate state Brando's career was in. This deeply terrible film is awful in a lot of fairly interesting ways, however, and a curious movie hound will want to endure it's wretched 96 minutes.

It should be noted that this prequil violates both James's "The Turn Of The Screw" and "The Innocents" the great film of that novel. It comes off like many cheap brit or Italian horror films, with a clumsy and offensive sex scene thrown in. Michael Winner's reputation as a terrible director was well earned. Scene after awful scene is handled clumsily and the ending is really terrible.

Oddly, the film foreshadows both "Last Tango" and "The Missouri Breaks" where Brando once again used his Irish accent. If you, like me, respect the still controversial "Last Tango" as a classic, the movie will be even more painful. Brando, handsome but already gaining girth, was forced by Bertoluchi to drop twenty pounds, we can see why.

The whole point of The Novel is that we cannot be sure WHAT happened at Bly, and this film provides a most unwelcome explanation.