Night Watch (1973) User Reviews

A potboiler with a trick ending to stain the record

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 7/10 · 21 June 2005]

The film is disarranged with standard Gothic paraphernalia: a spooky abandoned house, ghosts (perhaps real, perhaps imagined), peals of rolling thunder, prominently displayed kitchen knives…

Liz is nonetheless in familiar territory, playing yet another rich, unoccupied, unwanted wife… She's not a shrew this time, though, she's a cool, cunning lady who pretends to be unhinged, cooking up an elaborate display of madness… She sees or thinks she sees—a murder in the deserted house across the courtyard—by which she hopes to entrap her straying husband and her faithless best friend… There are clues throughout, but we aren't fully alerted to her masquerade until the end…

Taylor's part is not a flattering one: she plays a woman who has been rejected by two husbands… Her character's acting emphasizes Liz's recent penchant for doing a lot of acting herself… Her show of neurosis, in fact, is too mannered to be consistently convincing… She's best when, at the beginning, she's the serene upper-class wife and again, at the end, when she lashes out directly at her antagonists… In the last reel, when we're upon her and can see the calm deliberation beneath the affected hysterics, she's especially appealing

He only comes out at night

[dbdumonteil · 7/10 · 14 June 2020]

Based on a play by the brilliant Lucile Fletcher ("sorry wrong number" ,who gave Barbara Stanwyck one of her best roles, "80 dollars to Stanford" ...) , this is a good thriller with many red herrings. The heroine is seeing things (in the night ,horrified, she sees a dead body ) ,and as she has a tormented past ,she might sink ,slowly but inexorably ,into complete madness.Or is it a set up? Her husband is considerate,but there is another woman in the house ,and she may be his lover : do they want to have her sent to a sanatorium? One of talented Laurence Harvey's last part :he was to die prematurely of cancer shortly after.Billie Whitelaw is ideally cast as a disturbing woman (see "the omen") which might (or might not) be dangerous.

An underrated thriller.

The Girl Who Cried Wolf

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 18 March 2018]

Elizabeth Taylor reunites with her Butterfield 8 co-star Laurence Harvey in Night Watch one of her only if not the only venture for her in the horror genre. It also has a bit of Hitchcockian tension in it as well.

In this film Taylor and Harvey are a married couple who have settled down in a very posh part of London. Harvey is her second husband, the first died in an automobile crash with his young mistress.

Soon after moving where they are Taylor spots strange goings on like dead bodies at the place next door. But every time the police in the person of Inspector Bill Dean is called there's no evidence of anything. A lot like Doris Day in Midnight Lace.

Both her husband and best friend Billie Whitelaw try to support Taylor, but it's no avail, she just gets worse and more hysterical and the police are just getting more and more fed up.

The film has certain parallels to Midnight Lace and also to Gaslight. But don't think you've guessed an ending even with those clues.

As so many aging Hollywood actresses of the 60s and 70s went into these kinds of films, some did more than others. Apparently Taylor was only satisfied to dip an ankle into this pool.

Apparently Harvey was desperately ill with the cancer that killed him and he does look gaunt. There is a revealing rear shot in a shower and I'm betting that is not Harvey's bare backside. He does look gaunt. He had an operation that took a lot of intestine out of him and production was stopped mid way according to the Citadel Film series book on the Films of Elizabeth Taylor.

The next door neighbor Robert Lang has a role in all of this. If you think you know what will happen in Night Watch, believe me you don't.

a little Psycho, a little Gaslight. a little What Lies Beneath. a little Old Dark House, a little Rear Window

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 25 September 2017]

...and Elizabeth Taylor freaking out!

Night Watch from 1973 is based on a Broadway play that starred Joan Hackett. Taylor is Ellen Wheeler, married to her busy husband John (Laurence Harvey). They currently have Ellen's best friend Sarah (Billie Whitelaw) visiting. Sarah is having a clandestine affair and sneaks out to meet him.

One night, during a storm, Ellen swears she saw a murder victim in the old house across the way. Raising her suspicions is the fact that the man (Robert Lang) who lives in the guest house is digging what looks like a grave. The next day, trees have been planted on it. Ellen's past comes into play here, as she keeps remembering an incident from years ago.

The police, however, can't find anything; Ellen then sees another murder victim and lives in a state of hysteria, paranoid and suspicious of everyone and everything. Her husband has a psychiatrist friend (Tony Britton) speak with her, and it's decided it is best if she goes away for a little rest.

This is a fun movie, where it seems there is always a horrible storm raging. It contains elements of some other films, as mentioned above. Taylor, who at this point was making a lot of schlock, does a fine job as the unstable Ellen.

I did know how this ended ahead of time, having seen part of it ages and ages ago, so I didn't have the twist-ending thrill others have had. Nevertheless, it was very entertaining.

One of Taylor's better films from this period - in the hands of better director, it could have been much stronger, since the story and cast are strong. As it is, it's worth watching.

Superior thriller with a wholly effective surprise ending.

[chad478 · 16 June 2001]

Based on a Lucille Fletcher play, this suspense-drama stars Elizabeth Taylor as a beautiful woman who is certain she has witnessed a murder, but has great difficulty convincing her husband and others. Sound like familiar material? Perhaps to a certain extent, but Taylor's brilliant performance, plus some genuine suspense, and a surprise ending that will knock you right out of your seat make this a superior thriller.

good suspense from taylor & harvey

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 25 January 2022]

Liz taylor plays ellen wheeler, six years after her last big hit, the comedians. As others have pointed out, night watch feels like a hitchcock film, but was really directed by brian hutton. Hutton had just directed liz in x,y, and zee the year before this, but it's not a well known film. Co-stars laurence harvey as the husband john; harvey only made one film after this, passing away from cancer at 45. In the story, ellen is bored, and suffers from insomnia. And sees strange things going on at the house next door, during a thunder storm. When they call the cops, they find nothing in the old house next door. But that's not the end of the story. Good suspense. Some fun twists and turns. Based on the play by lucille fletcher. Fletcher had also written sorry, wrong number, a blockbuster starring barbara stanwyck. That one also started out as a play, performed on the radio.

NIGHT WATCH (Brian G. Hutton, 1973) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 6 October 2011]

Back in the 1980s, the local TV channel had a now long-defunct custom of showing several movies throughout the week; since my film-buff father worked on Saturday nights, he used to record on VHS any movie shown during that time-slot which he had missed out on during its local theatrical run and watch it on Sunday afternoon; one of those films I distinctly recall receiving this 'treatment' is NIGHT WATCH.

Director Brian G. Hutton is better-known for directing action pictures like WHERE EAGLES DARE (1968) and KELLY'S HEROES (1970) and he might not seem ideally suited to an "old dark house"-type of chiller; the probable sequence of events is that Richard Burton (star of EAGLES) had recommended him to his wife Elizabeth Taylor for X, Y AND ZEE (1971) and she later asked for his services again on NIGHT WATCH. Sadly, he only made two more films after this - THE FIRST DEADLY SIN (1980) and HIGH ROAD TO CHINA (1982) - before retiring to become a plumber!

Although the "let's-drive-an-heiress-mad" plot line had recently been done to death in Britain by Hammer Films following the success of their TASTE OF FEAR (1961), here we have a similar tale that harks back to an even closer degree to GASLIGHT (1940 and 1944) but, thankfully, cleverly adds an effective twist at the finale. Even so, it speaks of the dispiriting lack of direction in British cinema at the time that, with the opening-up of censorship, film-makers responded by merely updating creaky old properties (that were outdated even 30 years earlier) with the newly-sanctioned gore and nudity than letting their creative juices flow more freely! Actually, NIGHT WATCH (obviously unrelated to any of the films with which it happens to share its profusely-used title) is based on a Lucille Fletcher play from 1972 but, as already intimated earlier, the standard genre thread to which it adhered had long since been established; incidentally, Fletcher is best-known for penning SORRY, WRONG NUMBER (1948; yet another stage property on similar lines) and for having been married to legendary film composer Bernard Herrmann between 1939-48!

Taylor is a mentally disturbed woman (haunted by images of the car-crash death of her former philandering husband and his mistress - played, via intermittent silent appearances, by Linda Hayden) married to stockbroker Laurence Harvey, who is himself two-timing Taylor with her own best friend Billie Whitelaw. Insomniac Taylor starts seeing mutilated bodies propped up in a chair by the window of the neighboring dilapidated house and she keeps pestering the local Police about her 'visions' which, needless to say, produce no result when actually investigated - and, initially, a lonesome widowed gardener who used to inhabit Taylor's mansion gets to become the prime suspect of the potential foul play!

The affair between Harvey and Whitelaw (quite subtly depicted in spite of a fleetingly bare-assed Harvey!) makes them the obvious red-herrings with the man's unexplained comings-and-goings and the woman constantly mixing odd-looking drinks to calm the wife's shattered nerves. Indeed, the ingenious twist takes one by surprise when it comes and, I for one, did not recall that this was how things would play out from my sole viewing all those years ago. It should be said here that Harvey had previously co-starred with Taylor in her Oscar-winning BUTTERFIELD 8 (1960); besides, all three leads would follow this atypical appearance in a horror film with even stranger ones: Taylor in THE DRIVER'S SEAT (1974), Harvey in WELCOME TO ARROW BEACH (1974; like the film under review, also "A Brut Production") and Whitelaw in THE OMEN (1976; her most famous role as the diabolical nanny).

Although the film uses the admirable pictorial talents of cinematographer Billy Williams (of WOMEN IN LOVE fame), the shoddy VHS quality of the copy I acquired nullifies much of the effect - particularly in the garbled first few minutes and the frustratingly murky climax (where one is often uncertain of just what is going on)! Even so, when these obscure but nevertheless worthwhile pictures are neglected by both DVD-producing companies and TV-channel programmers, one is grateful for getting the film any which way he can! Incidentally, NIGHT WATCH is also available to view in its entirety on "You Tube" in both English and Italian languages!

Make it 7.5!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 6 November 2015]

The stage origins of this piece are all too obvious, especially in the hands of Brian G. Hutton's relentlessly TV style direction with its monotonous close-ups piled on top of monotonous close-ups. And as if there wasn't enough talk in the film already, the producers hired Evan Jones to flesh it out with "additional dialogue". For some reason, the original British release print is a merciful seven minutes shorter than that released in the U.S.A. The acting, depending as it does upon plot twists and what-she-didn't-know-was, could be described at best as no more than serviceable. Liz Taylor, who is now showing her age, despite all the too-obvious care in costuming, photography, make-up and hair styling, gets the lion's share of technical attention. Billie Whitelaw has to make do with seconds. And as for Laurence Harvey, he looks positively haggard. The best performance in the movie actually comes from Bill Dean, perfectly cast in a straightforward role as the imposed-upon police inspector. Fortunately, the art direction focused on the creepy old house next door is indeed eerily atmospheric – and this is abetted by superb photography and a really creepy music score which gives the film just the right unsettling atmosphere. Indeed, for a moment or two, we are treading suspensefully on Psycho ground, and happily, the climax does make amends for a lot of the tedium that has gone before.

Why isn't this on DVD or VHS yet?

[how25-1 · 8/10 · 31 July 2004]

As one might expect, the film is a bit dated but nonetheless compelling. When I first saw Night Watch I was completely mesmerized by Liz Taylor's performance. The "murder scenes" that she observed from her window at night were used masterfully by the director. I believe that the director of "What Lies Beneath" must surely have paid homage to this classic because several scenes are strikingly similar. The tension builds slowly as does the mystery until you're shown the knife rack in the kitchen with the one missing knife. About that time you're beginning to wish you'd opted for the Disney film. The film's last 10 minutes of frenzy are etched forever in my mind and come to the forefront whenever I try to recall truly terrifying moments in cinema. I do hope that future generations will be able to experience this film even though it hasn't had the notoriety so many other films have enjoyed.

excellent final scene

[spacejaz · 6/10 · 21 March 2006]

I was 13 when this movie was made and living in Australia it was probably about 2 years after its release that we got to see it. SO I was about 15 or 16 and had seen plenty of thriller movies before this one. I loved it so much I went back and saw it another 3 times. Seeing Liz Taylor in a completely vicious role at the end of the movie did it for me. Clever plot, good acting, very graphic in the double murder scene and haunting images throughout the movie. I just found it available on Amazon and bought it for "old time sake". I'm now 46. Will be interesting to see if it has stood the test of time as far as thrill factor goes. I'm just so glad I found it after all these years. Let you know after I have re- watched it.

Elizabeth in another "am I crazy or not?" sort of role...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 28 August 2006]

I saw NIGHT WATCH on Broadway with Joan Hackett and recall being fascinated by the murder mystery and the number of suspects in a story about a woman claiming to see a murder from her window. It's the stuff mysteries are made of.

Then, a couple of years later I saw the film and didn't realize I was watching the same story. It seemed familiar but there were a lot of changes. The most obvious change was the wife, played now by ELIZABETH TAYLOR, still gorgeous in the role Hackett played originally. Now Taylor was the unwanted wife and somehow that didn't ring as true.

Then there was LAURENCE HARVEY co-starring and the whole story expanded to have Taylor in luxurious townhouse surroundings. The clutter of suspects had been reduced to just a few others, so that the guessing game was not quite as difficult.

And yet, having forgotten most of the play, I was still surprised at the ending--and that, in itself, is probably reason enough to watch the film. It does hook you into the mystery and does come up with a surprise ending.

And let's face it. It's among the better films Taylor was making at this point in her career.

What Ever Happened to Diva La Liz?

[Coventry · 8/10 · 18 February 2019]

I admit I'm normally not a big Elizabeth Taylor fan, but this movie made me realize it's perhaps solely due to the fact she hasn't starred in many films in my favorite genre of horror! The character of Ellen Wheeler, which she depicts in "Night Watch", easily could have been played by either Joan Crawford or Bette Davis (if they had been, say, 15-20 years younger) and I am a devoted admirer of those two ladies. Taylor is truly excellent and convincing, but she can also rely on a very intelligent screenplay (adapted from a stage play) and an intensely unsettling atmosphere generated by directed Brian G. Hutton. If the premise of "Night Watch" sounds overly familiar or even derivative, it's probably because we have all seen the set-up numerous times before. Mind you, however, the film holds a few surprises in store that you most certainly have not seen before!

Even though she got remarried with the handsome financial expert John, and always has her best friend Sarah around the house for support, wealthy but ageing diva Ellen Wheeler is still recovering from a mental breakdown caused by her ex-husband. He died in a road accident, in the company of his much younger and ravishing mistress, and this still causes nightmarish illusions and sleepless nights to Ellen. During one of these long nights, she thinks she witness a brutal slaying in the abandoned house across the street. The police don't find any evidence of a crime and, naturally, nobody believes her due to her mental condition and her repeatedly hysterical requests to Inspector Walker to search for a body that presumably doesn't exist. Thus far the synopsis that every horror/thriller fanatic knows by heart, and we usually also have a pretty good idea where it goes from here. And partially it does, but I guarantee you that the denouement of "Night Watch" will differ from what you expect!

"Night Watch" is a vastly underrated film, especially because the red herrings and plot twists are very simple and straightforward, and yet so incredibly effective! I also must praise Brian G. Hutton, as well as his entire cast and crew, for managing to keep the story compelling and entertaining despite the clichéd framework. Films like this risk to become tedious very quick, but Hutton somehow upholds the mystery and the cast members restrain from putting down their characters as open books. You know you're watching a good suspense/mystery thriller when the complete lack of action isn't really bothering throughout 80-85 minutes. The Grand-Guignol climax is still more than welcome and, for once, you should NOT kick yourself or feel dumb for not being able to guess the end-twist.

PS: La Liz was quite good-looking at the age of 46, but can you honestly blame any husband for cheating with the unearthly beautiful Linda Hayden?

Did they or didn't they?

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 1 October 2018]

I'll let you watch and find out what I mean by the title line. Why is it that when actresses get past 40 (in this case Elizabeth Taylor) they are cast in horror films? Is the male dominated film industry secretly afraid that when women hit menopause they will become unstable and violent? But I digress. In this case, Taylor plays a woman, Ellen, who had a nervous breakdown when her first husband was killed in a car accident with his lover and she had to identify the body. But now she's married again (Laurence Harvey). She claims to have seen a murder occur in the house next door, but a search by the police finds nothing. There is a freshly dug flower bed near the old house, and the police dig that up and find nothing but daisies. So the police are growing tired of Ellen calling them about every little thing that happens. And then on the night that Ellen is to leave town the story takes a startling turn.

If you are used to American films where endings are wrapped up neatly and everything is explained, prepare to be disappointed. You never quite know if justice was served or not. The film could have been shorter, and Liz is still hot here at age 41, but she still camps it up just a bit too much for my taste. Laurence Harvey is much better here than he was when he was opposite Liz in Butterfield Eight in which the whole cast camped it up - the dialog didn't help - but poor Mr. Harvey would not get more chances to use his improved craft. He died the same year this was released, at only age 45, from stomach cancer.

I'd give this one a 7 if it had been shortened a bit and Taylor's performance had been a bit less over the top.

Elizabeth Taylor's only horror film

[preppy-3 · 5/10 · 28 March 2014]

Ellen Wheeler (Elizabeth Taylor) is stuck in a loveless marriage with John Wheeler (Laurence Harvey). There's also a deserted mansion right next door to her. One dark and stormy night she sees a dead body in that house. She's terrified and calls the police. They come but find nothing. Her husband and best friend Sarah (Billie Whitelaw) try to convince her she was seeing things but she's positive it was there. Soon she can't sleep or eat and is slowly going mad.

This starts out pretty bad. The dialogue is terrible and the basic setup is VERY obvious. However it slowly gets better. It is slow-moving but it has a spooky atmosphere, the script improves as the film goes on and Taylor, Harvey and Whitelaw give out great performances. Any faults the film has are forgiven by the ending which has TWO twists and an incredibly bloody murder (this would not get a PG today). Worth seeing for the acting alone. Also this is Liz's only horror film and Harvey's second to last movie. Mild but worth catching at least once.

A Very Good Thriller!

[nightlavender · 12 January 2003]

I love this movie starring La Liz(looking more beautiful & glamorous than ever,the handsome Laurence Harvey and Billie Whitelaw.All good actors,good writing in a suspenseful thriller.It all takes place at the big Wheeler house.Liz playing an insomniac who thinks she witnesses a murder across the way at the old abandoned house next door.Or did she?Is it just her nerves working on her?Is she going crazy and needs to see a shrink like her husband and best friend seem to think?It's a good scary movie for a Saturday night.Pop lots of popcorn and curl up under a heavy blanket & enjoy!The costumes are gorgeous,the music good and the sets and atmosphere are really wonderful.Based on the play.I also love the song at the end!Highly recommended.

Has more up its sleeve than red herrings

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 27 September 2009]

Elizabeth Taylor stars in this screen-adaptation of Lucille Fletcher's play, which initially presents little more than a roll-call for thriller clichés...but the picture turns out to be a dandy one. A married woman in England, haunted by a ghoulish memory from her past, suffers from insomnia and loneliness; her husband is always working, her best girlfriend runs around with married men, and she's left alone in a big house with a backyard that faces the rear of a deserted mansion. During a thunderstorm one night, our heroine sees a dead body in one of the neighboring windows (the viewer doesn't, at least not quite, which is a crafty touch courtesy director Brian G. Hutton). Vehicle for La Liz might have stood a stronger production, as the overall results are muddy-looking and cheap. Still, we never lose interest in the main character, as Taylor acquits herself well in these shuddery circumstances. The setup seem overly-familiar to movie-buffs, though it features an effective twist near the climax which I didn't see coming. **1/2 from ****

"A Dead Body I Can Deal With; A Dead Husband Is Too Much!"

[davidcarniglia · 6/10 · 2 October 2018]

A slick ending saves Night Watch from the slow-paced psychological melodrama it's settled into. Elizabeth Taylor is convincingly neurotic as Lawrence Harvey's wife Ellen. The fact that she's actually in control of John's (Harvey) and his lover Sarah's (Billie Whitelaw) relationship makes her transformation from victim to predator chilling as well as surprising.

Almost all of the movie takes place in John and Ellen's house, with Sarah as a guest. If it weren't for the occasional goings-on at the neighboring dilapidated house, and plenty of flashbacks of Ellen's ex-husband's fatal car wreck, there wouldn't be much else to comment on other than the wallpaper.

It's a brilliant scheme to convince everyone, including the police, that you're an hysterical nut who sees dead bodies next door. Then, when you want to kill someone over there, you're off the hook; as no one will listen to your 'confession'. The problem for the viewer of Night Watch is that nothing much else happens anyway. It's an ending looking for a story.

Setting this in the old house would've been much more interesting. Instead of making it a backdrop for the supposed plot to drive Ellen nuts, maybe there's something in Ellen's past that connects her to it. Then she starts to unravel as she spends time there...the same ending would still work. And the old house has unlimited opportunities for horror scenes. Make Appleby a creepy caretaker to add interest.

The Wheeler house is just too nice for weird stuff to happen. Appleby isn't really used effectively. Neither is Tony; as a psychiatrist, he could bring out some of Ellen's demons, but he merely sets up a 'vacation' for her, which doesn't occur.

There's the makings of a good psychological horror movie here, but Night Watch doesn't draw it together well enough to keep the viewer entertained.

Better than it looks

[rjp-40901 · 6/10 · 21 March 2021]

Early 70's Brit suspense, the plot seems to be one we've all seen before, but there are enough twists and turns to make it interesting. Elizabeth still delivers the goods at this later stage of her active career.

overwrought mystery

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 28 February 2021]

In England, Ellen Wheeler (Elizabeth Taylor) wakes up in a stormy night. From her home, she sees a murdered man in the empty mansion next door. Her husband John can't tell but she convinces him to call the police. They don't find anything. Inspector Walker leads the case. Ellen is frantic, haunted by a past incident. Her friend Sarah Cooke is keeping close. Everybody is uncertain.

This is adapted from a play. It has elements of Rear Window and Gaslight. The overwrought acting from Taylor is a bit too much. The movie is also hinting too hard. The material needs a lighter touch. The nightmarish recalls are also a bit wonky. Nevertheless, it has a good central mystery in an old fashion way. I like the idea of the twist but I'm not sure if it makes actual sense. There has to be a better way to wrap everything up.

A Terrific, Suspenseful thriller with one hell of a twist ending!!

[geminidreamatl24 · 10/10 · 8 January 2007]

I have been wanting to see this movie for a very long time since I've been reading so many wonderful reviews and how great the twist was and the fact, this is Elizabeth Taylor's only "horror" film, being a big horror fan myself, I HAD to see it and im glad I did. 33yr old movie and not one movie in Hollywood has ever matched the twist like this one had. Truly one of the most original twist since the sixth sense. Top Nauch acting from Liz who gives again, another tour de force not seen since "Who's afraid of Virigina Wolf?". PLOT: Liz plays Ellen Wheeler, the wife of a rich investment broker in London england who is not happy with her life then one stormy night when she cant sleep, she claims she see's a murder in the house across the garden from hers. she becomes hysterical and her husband (Lawrence Harvey) calls the police and they investigate but find nothing. Then more strange things happen and Liz becomes more and more over the edge and hysterical until her husband and best friend (Billie Whitelaw) decide to put her away. but are hubby Lawrence and friend Billie having an affair and trying to scare liz to death or did a murder really happen? I've seen a lot of murder mystery/thrillers as does my mom shes a huge Agatha Christie fan and always guesses the murderer/ending but neither her nor I guessed this one. one of the most original endings ever made. I wish movies today could still make such a suspenseful impact the way thrillers did back in the day. terrific scenes of the storm, great atmosphere, never gets dull or lets up. a must for anyone who loves great mystery thrillers. I hope it comes on DVD one day with an audio commentary by Liz. defiantly one of Liz's better films in the latter part of her career.

Sickbay Watch

[ags123 · 7/10 · 8 December 2017]

An atmospheric thriller that's a bit short on thrills, "Night Watch" is nonetheless entertaining. Ninety-nine minutes of watching 41-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, still looking good and decked out in Valentino, is reason enough. The successful Broadway play by Lucille Fletcher (ex Mrs. Bernard Herrmann) suffers in its translation to the screen. Like Fletcher's most famous writing credit, "Sorry, Wrong Number," the female protagonist is way too shrill. Poor Laurence Harvey, close to death and generously reunited with his good friend and "Butterfield 8" co-star Taylor, tries hard as the deceitful husband. The ending will satisfy the long, tedious buildup. A fun movie to watch as a distraction when you're home with a cold, but certainly not among Taylor's best.

Oh Dah-leeng....

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 4/10 · 4 January 2022]

This film is Elizabeth Taylor's only foray into horror (not counting Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf). She stars as a half-mad housewife suffering from over-acting-itis and nightmares about her late husband's drunk-driving death.

Insomnia during a heavy thunderstorm causes her to shoot up from bed and go to the window, where she claims she witnesses a murder at the haunted house next door. Her husband, played by Inanimate Carbon Rod Laurence Harvey, is skeptical but he dials 9-1-1 anyway.

Taylor spends the next hour emoting her way around their house, speaking in a fake poncey accent, periodically getting fed some tranquilizers by family friend Billie Whitelaw. It all builds to a huge confrontation among all three, at the climax of which Taylor completely loses all trace of the fake poncey accent and falls back into her more familiar cadence: "YOU... don't... LOVE.. me; you... NEVER DID.. and I HATE... you," type of thing. Razzie material all the way.

It's the kind murder mystery that probably made for a fun night at the theatre on London's West End. As filmed, it's a tediously over-acted affair by Taylor that isn't redeemed by the revoltingly graphic climax.

But I salvaged the evening by making a drinking game out of it: take a belt every time someone says, ''dahleeng." You'll be completely plastered before you're 10 minutes into the movie.

La taylor at her best

[Bardotsalvador · 10/10 · 26 March 2011]

I saw this movie very long time ago in my little town of Banes in the east coast of Cuba, it was the first time i have see liz Taylor in a movie I was very young at the time in those days of the early seventies in Cuba all American movies were prohibited this one was the beginning of a new era for us at the time the review of the movie was very bad but i think it was because it was the first time since the 50s an American movie was show in Cuba the reason why the begin with a movie with liz taylor i don't know is well know that fidel castro was crazy for Brigitte Bardot, anyway i love this movie it was great i saw about 8 times and Elizabeth Taylor beauty was amazing now with her death which for me is very sad and surrealistic i was sure she will never die i want to remember this great movie

A little soap, a little melodrama mix with mild suspense

[sunznc · 6/10 · 18 October 2014]

Many Elizabeth Taylor films seem to border on melodramatic shlock. Some of them are overly dramatic. She does lend a special vulnerability, a little fragility, just enough to draw you in even though she knows what you are really watching probably isn't worth the trouble.

This particular film would be good if you were home with a cold, or home and didn't want to go out in the rain, or maybe woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep. Ironically, everything I mentioned she seems to be suffering from in the film. Or is she? She seems to be going mad, seeing things that aren't there. And wouldn't you know it? Her husband is using his wife's instability against her. Or is she really unstable?

There is indeed a clever little plot twist at the end of the film but it all seems rather dated and tired. Like one long version of McMillan and Wife or Barnaby Jones. We've seen different versions of this story before with different actors and actress'. It isn't anything new or brilliant but it isn't horrible either. You won't be telling your friends about this at dinner or over drinks though.

Worst acting by Taylor!

[CaptnCnck · 5/10 · 2 January 2024]

This one was a tough slog. Elizabeth Taylor's acting is unbelievably bad, and I can't see how so many users think she turned in a good performance. It is absolutely cringe inducing. The twist ending makes up for a lot, and Taylor's performance at the end is better, but suffering through that hammy acting for the majority of the movie was a painful exercise. Billie Whitelaw was much better, I thought.

I gave five stars because of the ending. Without that as the saving grace, it would have been only three or four stars at most for me.

Whether it's worth watching is hard to say. I almost gave up, and had to watch in instalments, but the "twist" ending was sufficiently interesting/redeeming to compensate somewhat.

For fans of campy bad acting, this one is a gold mine. You will definitely get your money's worth.