Nothing But the Night

Every now and then you stumble on an unheard of gem..

This is one of those movies you've never heard of which has a decent story and good cast. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee star in this modern film about a mystery surrounding the children of an orphanage and a bizarre series of deaths. This is definitely worth watching if you like these Hammer stars and like occult movies. I must admit this one caught me off guard. The end could have been fleshed out a bit more but I definitely enjoyed the story and have even managed to obtain a DVD transfer for my collection.

I think this plot could be done to make a great modern horror. I found it on Youtube...

With an overall rating of just a bit over 3, I sure didn't expect much from this Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing collaboration. However, I was surprised to find this film was a lot better than I'd come to believe. Perhaps some of the reason the film has a lower score than the usual fare from these actors is that although the film has the usual supernatural angle, you don't learn about this until the end. Up until then, it just seems like a detective film about some nasty ex-con who is being sought be Scotland Yard. I could say more, but it would spoil the suspense.

Strengths of the film include a very novel script, generally good acting (though the ex-con is about as unsubtle a character as you can find), and nice location shooting. The biggest minus is that the thing just takes a long time to get going, though by the end of the film the whole thing is steaming full speed ahead.

The horror team of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee team up again in Nothing But The Night produced by Lee himself in his only venture into producing. Lee is a police inspector and Cushing a forensic pathologist who successfully dabbles in hypnotism.

Cushing will need all his skills as he teams up with Lee to solve a group of serial murders involving some truly horrific deaths at an orphanage. The mother of one of the kids there Diana Dors was a prostitute and just came back from serving a prison term for murder. She's demanding answers and doesn't want to wait for Lee and Cushing to work their case.

Of course it involves the kids at the orphanage including Dors's little girl. More I will not say.

Not as good as those old Hammer productions.

The pairing of Hammer horror stalwarts Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee doesn't always guarantee a good time -- see Night of the Big Heat (1967) for proof of that. This film - the one and only from Lee's own Charlemagne Productions - isn't the pair's best work together, but it is far from the disaster that some would have us believe.

Lee plays Colonel Bingham, who teams up with eminent pathologist Sir Mark Ashley (Cushing) to investigate the suspicious deaths of several elderly members of the Van Traylen Trust, who fund the Inver House orphanage, home to Mary Valley (Gwyneth Strong), survivor of a mysterious bus crash that claimed the lives of three of the trustees. Prime suspect is Anna Harb (Diana Dors), Mary's estranged mother, ex-prostitute and triple murderess, who is so desperate to be reunited with her daughter that she would kill again if necessary. Mary is sent to back to the orphanage in Scotland for her own safety, but Harb follows, with Bingham and Ashley not far behind; what they discover at Inver House is far more terrible than they could have imagined.

Lee and Cushing put in commendable performances, attacking their roles with gusto and gravitas; in contrast, Dors overacts with ham to spare, her eccentric turn providing the film with a sense of fun. Director Peter Sasdy (Taste The Blood Of Dracula, Hands Of The Ripper) keeps the pace snappy and the mystery intriguing, delivering a surprising Psycho-style death of a major character a third of the way through, a terrific explosion to jolt the viewer out of their seat, the grisly discovery of a mutilated seven year old, and a shocking conclusion that has more than a touch of The Wicker Man about it (beyond Lee's presence and the remote Scottish location).

Three trustees of the Van Traylen fund have died suspiciously during the last nine months. A bus load of the trust orphan kids are almost killed. Police Colonel Bingham (Christopher Lee) suspects that someone wants the trust money for themselves and he recruits Dr. Ashley (Peter Cushing).

This sets up an interesting mystery. It also has yet another pairing of Lee and Cushing. It could go somewhere with these ingredients. Instead, it gets tied down by one child's story and other characters doing the investigating. It seems to meander in circles for the first act. Most of that section with Peter is unnecessary. He's better off as a random doctor given her case. Lee and Cushing are moving at a snail's pace. They should be Sherlock and Watson but they are too far behind the audience. They come off looking clueless or somewhat uncaring. They take way too long to get to the orphanage. Anna Harb is a more interesting character. At least, she's more active and more invested. Finally, there are the kids. I don't know if the child actors are any good. The movie needs them to do more. They need to get into this movie sooner, front and center. They are the children of the bus. That's a better title.