Saturday, October 19, 2013

31 Days of Halloween - Day 19 - Movie 2


Peter Wyngarde plays a skeptical university professor who gives no credence to the supernatural. He discovers that his wife (Janet Blair) has been practicing witchcraft with the belief that it is protecting him and advancing his career. He scoffs and forces her to burn all of her magical items. After that his life falls into turmoil, and he reluctantly discovers that there may be something to his wife's warnings after all.

Based on Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber, Night of the Eagle (1962) has a similar feel to Night of the Demon (1957) though night quite in that calibre. It's solidly acted with some nicely composed moody black and white cinematography, but feels just just a tad too long, and probably would have been improved by leaving the big supernatural attack scene mostly suggested rather than explicitly shown, especially considering the payoff at the end of the film. Even for it's minor flaws this is a near classic of the genre and should be seen.


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