Night of the Eagle

source: Night of the Eagle

Nobody will mourn the truly wicked in this delicious supernatural thriller of a devoted wife (Janet Blair) who knows that something wicked this way comes as she casts spells to protect husband Peter Wyngard. Extreme envy and false accusations leads an unknown source to declare vengeance on psychology professor Wyngard, and that insights wife Blair to reach into her bag of tricks to protect him from harm. But his own disbelief gets him into trouble as he orders her to toss away her bag of protective tricks, leading to instant terror which occurs as soon as he burns the protective powders and picture she keeps in a locket. Things go from bad to worse, making Blair susceptible to the magic powers of the demonic forces out there, leading her to decide to take her own life in order to save his. It is quickly proven that true evil comes from forces you cannot see or often control as Wyngard opens his eyes to what is really going on and must take steps to stop it before both his and his wife's lives are taken from this great force from beyond hell itself. Incredible acting from the two stars makes this psychological horror film one of the best of its genre's. The source from where the evil comes from is a true surprise and the perpetrator gives a performance of such delicious eccentricity and innocence that it does indeed turn out to be a huge surprise. This is the type of film that may chill you to the bone as every step of evil taken to destroy these two occurs with such delicious cunning, resulting in a confrontation that can only be described as spine tingling. The presence of a real threat to both Wyngard and Blair occurs simultaneously, and one can truly hear their heart pounding as the film reaches a stunning conclusion. Terrific pacing, a brilliant script and a haunting atmosphere of subtle evil disguised as innocence makes this a must. Veteran voice over actor Paul Frees provides an opening that sets the tone, and the supporting players (which includes "Black Narcissus" psycho nun Kathleen Byron as well as Margaret Johnston and Colin Gordon.

I didn't see Burn Witch Burn until about ten years after it's original theater release. I was taking a literary class in college which covered books that were turned into films and the professor was using Fritz Leiber's "Conjure Wife" as part of the curriculum. The class read the story then we viewed both Weird Woman 1944, and Burn Witch Burn or Night of the Eagle as it's known in Britain.I had seen Weird Woman on television as a boy but I had only head about Burn Witch Burn. Both films have their good points but in the end Burn Witch Burn is a far superior film to Weird Woman. Indeed, Burn Witch Burn is an excellent horror film on any level. The Brits had really started producing some superior horror films in the early 1960's and this one holds its own with any of them. B-W-B's screenplay was by the the brilliant Charles Beaumont which accounts for much of it's superiority and was directed by Sidney Hayers who seemed to have a flair with these kinds of chillers. However, what really makes the film work is Peter Wyngarde's performance as professor Norman Taylor. He is spot on as a logical and intellectually superior man who discovers that his core beliefs about his life may be in total error. I have heard that both Peter Cushing and Peter Finch were considered for the role but passed on it so Wyngarde was brought in at the last moment. Well the right Peter was chosen, because I can't imagine anyone else could have given a better performance as Norman Taylor. American actress Janet Blair was chosen to portray Tansy Taylor. Her background in American movies had been in romantic comedy, but she is just fine as the witch in question. The cinematography is quite atmospheric and conveys an otherworldly sense to the story. The story in Burn Witch Burn contains much more of the supernatural element then Weird Woman did. If your a fan of horror chillers and you have not seen Burn Witch Burn , you are definitely missing out. Its a great little horror film and you'll be glad you sought it out.

This is an excellent, disturbing movie. I saw it as "Burn, Witch, Burn." My main suggestion would be to lose the Ed Wood-like voice-over that introduces it. We're all grown-ups here. Janet Blair is excellent as the faculty wife who may be going to extremes to protect her husband's career. Her husband shows off some beefcake. He's a handsome man named Wyngarde. Also superb is Margaret Johnston. She plays Cora, wife of another professor. We meet Wyngarde as he is teaching. His students are alternately bored and fascinated by his lecture on black magic. Giving nothing away, let's just say the occult indeed plays a large part in the movie itself. These are Samantha and Jeanie types -- but they mean business. Big-time. It's frightening. It's believable. This movie grabs you by the more and you can't breathe till it's over.

A real pop film, in terms of its impeccable and swift structure, and emphasis on iconic images and personalities. There are many Brian De Palma-esque moments of domestic absurdity, accompanied by a brilliant swelling score. The movie deals unblushingly with perversion, and adult sexuality, though where George Romero used the witch story to describe an aspect of housewife sexuality (in Jack's Wife), this film focuses on the male variety. The main character is a reasonable professor who is happily married to an appealing woman who happens to be a witch. They'd remain happy, if it wasn't for his need to contain what may be prized as a woman's intuition. If only he would let his wife have her silly superstitions, but this is clearly a threat of some kind (as is her infatuatoin with a Jamaican witchdoctor).

A small university town in England is the setting of this well-crafted tale of witchcraft, voodoo, and mystery concerning the rise of a young professor in his department in Sociology. The film begins with the professor giving a lecture on the ridiculous nature of the supernatural. He says that the supernatural only exists when believers exist; otherwise without believers, there would be no supernatural. I thought this was a great way to start a film. You know that before long this young professor will be eating those words. And, indeed, he does. The film's basic premise concerns this man's wife, Tansy, helping him rise - or at least believing to help him rise - in his department amidst other forces that wish to see his downfall. There is certainly a lot going for this British, low-budget film. Great performances are delivered by the entire cast, particularly Peter Wyngarde as the man trapped between what he sees as logical and reasonable and what his wife believes is responsible for his success. Janet Blair plays his wife with great conviction and an intensity that makes what she does seem plausible. One other acting notable belongs to Margaret Johnston as a rather scary, limping colleague who has a crushing blow delivered to her when she doesn't get the department chair. She makes one scary woman! The direction is in the hands of the ever-capable Sidney Hayers, responsible for many of my favourite episodes of The Avengers(including "The Superlative Seven"). Hayers is excellent at pacing the film with tension. But the most credit for the film's success must be given to Richard Matheson who adapted the film from the celebrated novel Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber. Matheson has just enough logic mixed in with mysterious red herrings, superstitious practices, and quaint, British manners to make for a most enjoyable film. There is no doubt that for this film: the eagle has landed!

Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) is a successful young professor, married with Tansy Taylor (Janet Blair). He is a very skeptical man, while his wife believes in magic and witchcraft. One day, he finds lots of amulets and witchcraft in his house, and he decides to destroy all of them. His wife gets scared and advises him that he destroyed all the protection their home and lives had against the evil of envious and wicked persons, including some of his colleagues. Norman in principle does not have faith in her, but many strange events happen with him, and he changes his mind. This English black & white low budget production is one of the most frightening movies I have ever watched. With a great direction, excellent cast having a superb performance and a tight screenplay, this movie may be considered a classic in the genre. Highly recommended for fans of horror movies, in Brazil it is only available on cable television, since Brazilian distributors have not released on VHS or DVD. My vote is eight. Title (Brazil): 'A Filha de Satã' ('The Satan's Daughter') Note: On 30 April 2015, I saw this movie again.

This is a really excellent black and white spooker with an engaging story and some really creepy moments. The production values are excellent, the acting is very good, and the story and script are both top-notch. Plenty of twists, even if the identity of the villain is a bit obvious, and enough tension to really keep you on the edge of your seat.

If your looking for a good horror film to view on a rainy night than you definitely want to check this out. Not only is it well made but the acting is very good with some genuinely spooky moments. Story is about a college professor named Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) who's career and life couldn't be better or happier but one day he discovers that his wife Tansy (Janet Blair) is a practicing witch. He forces her to burn everything that she uses but she pleads that it's for their protection. She warns her husband that evil forces are around and trying to ruin them and maybe even kill them. *****SPOILER ALERT***** The very next day Norman's life seems to be different as he is accused of sexual misconduct by one of his students and then her boyfriend pulls a gun and threatens him. Tansy feels the evil forces closing in around them and she decides to give her life in order for her husband to be saved but he tracks her down and brings her home. Norman then understands that fellow colleague Flora (Margaret Johnston) is behind the evil curses as she is jealous of his professional standing at the college. This film is directed by Sidney Hayers who would go on to be one of the most popular and reliable television directors that Hollywood ever used. This is a low budget effort from AIP and Samuel Arkoff but with the English setting it plays like something from Hammer Studios. The acting is very good and Blair is solid as the wife trying to convince her husband that black magic does exist. She has good chemistry with Wyngarde which is an achievement considering that Wyngarde was gay in real life and had a difficult time convincing Hayers that he would be good in the role. He was right and his character certainly comes to life when he searches for Blair after learning that she is going to kill herself. But there would be no film without Johnston as the limping and gazing Flora. To say her character epitomizes evil is an understatement and who can forget the scene where she talks to Wyngarde in her office with her face hovering over a lamp with that devilish sneer? I'm not convinced that the film needed the scenes with the giant eagle and I would have enjoyed this just as much if those had been omitted in the final edit. If your a fan of films dealing with the supernatural than look no further because this is a well made chiller.

I've just watched this obscure little British horror. The only name I recognised in the credits was the writer Richard Matheson. But it turns out that the director was Sidney Hayers, who also directed Circus of Horrors, before he went on to direct a lot of television, including The A Team, The New Avengers and Manimal (does anyone remember that?). The plot is a little haywire, but this is a great film. It fits into the horror sub-genre "Housewives and school teachers who get into witchcraft", along with Horror Hotel, Hammer's The Witches, Romero's Season of the Witch and many others, probably. It's got some great visuals, partly due to the very dark black and white photography, it has genuine moments of suspense and the special effects are incredible for a film of its age and low budget. It's also known as Burn, Witch, Burn, which gives it a sensationalist twist that it doesn't really need. Night of the Eagle is a much more appropriate title. I highly recommend this if you can catch it on TV or DVD!