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| Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey |
NIGHT WATCH (1973). Director: Brian G. Hutton.
Ellen Wheeler (Elizabeth Taylor) is a neurotic wife who has already had one nervous breakdown and is haunted by the death of her first husband in a car crash. She lives with her husband, John (Laurence Harvey of Welcome to Arrow Beach), and has a house guest in best friend, Sarah (Billie Whitelaw). During one dark and stormy night, Ellen is convinced that she has seen a bleeding corpse in the abandoned manor house across the way, but the police find nothing. John and Sarah try to convince Ellen to go off for a rest cure, but Ellen has something else in mind ...
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| Taylor with Billie Whitelaw |
Based on a play by Lucille Fletcher of
Sorry, Wrong Number fame,
Night Watch is one of those thrillers that initially seems to have a good and unexpected twist until you really start to think about it. Even Agatha Christie might have had trouble completely pulling it off, although it leads to an interesting and rather violent climax. (With only three major characters, there aren't too many directions in which this marital melodrama can go.) The ending is amusing, fun in its way, but far-fetched, and leaves quite a few plot holes when all is said and done. As for the acting, Harvey and Whitelaw come off best, and Taylor is typically uneven, the whining woman-child who would set most people's teeth on edge. The picture is second-rate in most departments, but reasonably absorbing.
Verdict: More rain, thunder and lightning than you can shake a stick at! **1/4.
Ha! So glad you covered this movie, which I love. I think La Liz captured the neurotic and whining child-woman character perfectly in this one, and her colorful caftans that fail to hide that zoftig voluptuousness and that big, big teased coif add to the camp value. I agree that the standout in the cast is the amazing Billie Whitelaw, one of the greatest character actors ever - and she was quite a looker here before she transformed into the sinister Mrs. Baylock a few years later. Also love Billie as Maurice's dotty mother in my favorite Merchant/Ivory film...
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And she had an unfortunate encounter with Hywel Bennett in TWISTED NERVE! Say what you will about La Liz, the lady did have plenty of presence (and I'm not referring to her weight, LOL)! Despite all of its flaws, NIGHT WATCH is a fun movie, isn't it, and watching Liz do her psycho-thing at the climax is very entertaining!
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