Night Watch

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?

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.

Just bought NIGHT WATCH and watched it tonight when it arrived. I don't think I've seen it since, say, I was a teenager and it was on the late show!

But it's a Taylor film no one talks about.

I actually think it's great, in its way (but, as with every Laurence Harvey movie he does with Taylor, I always want to re-cast him with James Mason).

Anyway, yes, I think it's a smidgen underrated. And has a nice, London-y, shrouded early-'70s melancholy flavor and that neo-Victorian early-'70s thing what with the dark wood and the plush velvet-y furniture and the Tiffany lamps and the overgrown plants and deep shadows and the sprinkling of harpsichord in the score and the occasional fish-eye lens.

Great twist ending, too!

The end is important in all things, as we have learned from Ghost Dog, and this is absolutely true when speaking of Night Watch. After about twenty minutes you think you know exactly where the plot will end. It really seems that this is the director's and writer's fault, because they give away too many clues, so I almost instantly lost interest. But after the many dull scenes following the brilliant visualization of Lizzies nightmare comes the unexpected ending. And this makes the whole movie worth watching, but as I've already mentioned: it is mostly the nightmare-scene which deserves the credit.

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.