MADE for a mere £10,000 in 1961, Night Of The Eagle is now considered something of a minor classic of its time. A study of small-town witchcraft directed by journeyman Sydney Hayers and starring future Jason King, Peter Wyngarde, it remains a thoughtful and considered tale of superstition versus rationality.
Wyngarde is Norman Taylor, a professor at Hemprell Medical College who discovers that this wife Tansy (Janet Blair) has been practicing a little witchcraft behind his back. As a natural born sceptic and rationalist, he is outraged and insists she destroy all of her African charms and supernatural artefacts.
Tansey insists, though, that Taylor's colleagues at the college, most notably Flora Carr (Margaret Johnson), are practicing their own magic against him and it is only her protection that has been keeping him from ruin.
Before long a personal scandal involving a young student at the college sees Taylor’s professional life and his marriage unravel spectacularly. Is his run of bad luck just that or is there something more sinister afoot?
Hayers leaves plenty of questions unanswered but there’s a vibe of unease at play here that makes it a genuinely tense journey for all concerned.
The cult credentials of this simple yarn of sorcery in the corridors of small-scale academia are impressive. Hayers, a man whose talents would see him helm all manner of cult-friendly TV product from The New Avengers to Airwolf, directs with impressive economy in stark black and white.
Wyngarde is sublime as the self-satisfied cynic who’s forced to adapt his thinking on the paranormal. His career, while mostly dedicated to the stage, included many memorable TV spy-series appearances and scene-stealing roles in all sorts of films, from The Innocents to Alexander The Great.
Usually his performances were so wonderfully far over the top you could barely see him disappearing off into the distance but here his turn as a sexist scholar is arguably a career best. Handsome and haughty, his on-screen chemistry with Blair crackles bitterly throughout.
The screenplay, based on the novel Conjure Wife by Fritz Lieber Jr, is the work of Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont and George Baxt, all of whom have seriously impressive cult CVs – Beaumont was a regular Twilight Zone scripter as was Matheson whose vast list of film credits include everything from Fall Of the House Of Usher to The Incredible Shrinking Man.
The result is a superior supernatural thriller that's undeniably low key but which slowly ramps up the tension as it goes. By the time the stone eagle that looms over the college comes into play you may just find yourself a believer.
In America the film was rebranded Burn Witch Burn and ridiculous “de-witching” ceremonies were held in cinema foyers to boost publicity. The UK release title suits the cold, slightly detached and ever so stiff upper lip British thrills of the movie so much better, though.
Thoughtful and spooky the way only old cheaply made but beautifully crafted black-and-white movies can be, Night Of The Eagle is a minor monochrome masterpiece.
