Night Watch (1973)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Brian G. Hutton

Writers:

Lucille Fletcher (play)
Evan Jones (additional dialogue)

Release Date:

10 August 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Once her nightmare begins...the terror never ends!

Plot:

Ellen Wheeler, a rich widow, is recovering from a nervous breakdown. One day, while staring out the window...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Storm | Mental Illness | Blood | Husband Wife Relationship

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor	...	Ellen Wheeler
Laurence Harvey	...	John Wheeler
Billie Whitelaw	...	Sarah Cooke
Robert Lang	...	Appleby
Tony Britton	...	Tony
Bill Dean	...	Walker
Michael Danvers-Walker	...	Sgt. Norris
Rosario Serrano	...	Dolores
Pauline Jameson	...	Secretary
Linda Hayden	...	Girl in Car
Kevin Colson	...	Carl
Laon Maybanke	...	Florist

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Netherlands:18 (original version) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Brut Productions

Poor adaptation of great play

As one who is very familiar with the original play by Lucille Fletcher, I was eager to see the screen adaptation. What a huge disappointment - the screen version was very different from the wonderful play and none of the differences were improvements. In fact, they were just the opposite. Even the name changes didn't make sense - Ellen instead of Elaine, Barry instead of Larry, Sarah instead of Blanche????? And the ending which was so powerful in the play, was simply a graphic bloodbath. I encourage anyone interested in the movie to read the play instead.