Sidney Hayers (1921–2000)

Known as "Burn, Witch, Burn" in the United States and "Night of the Eagle" in the UK, this is a clever and nicely constructed adaptation of Fritz Lieber's, superior horror story "Conjure Wife". Written by frequent Roger Corman collaborators Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson, the film tells the story of professor Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde), a young, gifted academic, loved by his students and quickly rising through the ranks of academia. When he catches his wife Tansy (Janet Blair) show more engaging in secretive witchcraft, he orders all her magical totems and witchy accoutrements destroyed. As soon as Tansy's charms are burned things start going terribly wrong for Norman - he's accused of rape, his country cottage burns down and Tansy tries to drown herself. With his life out of control he begins to reappraise his belief in the supernatural. The Matheson / Beaumont story is hugely interesting in the clever dynamic it sets up between male and female. Norman has a rigid belief in "masculine" rationalism and logic, while Tansy has a "feminine" belief in intuition and supernaturalism. Norman tries to control and impose his will on the world with his cold, rigid logic, while Tansy seeks to work in tandem and co-operation with the natural world. The climax of the film, where Norman is forced to submit to a world beyond his rationalism and arrive at a belief in the supernatural, clearly sets out where the film-makers sympathies lay - the women are clearly in charge in this world of magic. Director Sidney Hayers and cinematographer Reginald H. Wyes give the film a beautifully stark look, with some excellent shadowy and atmospheric black-and-white photography. The interiors are cleverly illuminated, but it is the exterior nighttime photography that really catches the eye - the moonlit exteriors, particularly when Norman goes walking across the night time beach and through an ancient cemetery are particularly impressive. Hayes moves the story forward at pace, building from one set piece to the next with unrelenting momentum; his only misstep, perhaps, being the strange stone eagle climax. The acting is good throughout - Peter Wyngarde starts out arrogant and in control, at home in his world of staid conformity, buts ends up a broken man in a world beyond his ken. Janet Blair is equally good, panicked at Norman's actions, frighteningly knowing of the consequences and strangely willing to sacrifice herself for the man she loves. Margaret Johnston as Flora also puts in a good turn as a second witch on campus. Overall "Night of the Eagle" is a superior, tight and terse little chiller with plenty of delicious subtext and subversive thought floating (not very far) beneath the surface. show less

This is a brilliantly taut heist-gone-wrong noir-thriller that focuses on the impact of a armoured van robbery on all the people involved from the thieves, the guards on the money lorry through to the police and the wives of the various participants. The planning of the robbery, the conflicts within the gang, the betrayals and the ultimate tragedy of the whole thing are beautifully captured by George Baxt's script (from a novel by Derek Bickerton) and dynamically handled by director Sidney show more Hayers who injects plenty of pace and tension. The black and white cinematography by Ernest Steward is first class and really captures a gritty and authentic late fifties Newcastle - you can almost taste the dirty industrial atmosphere in Steward's hazy, smoggy location photography. The cast is excellent with Michael Craig in top class form as the smooth and suave but dangerously violent gang leader Johnny Mellors. Equally good is the beautiful French actress Françoise Prévost as Katie Pearson, the disappointed, embittered wife of the inside man, who sees a way out of her hum-drum existence by hooking up with Mellors. Also of note is Billie Whitelaw, the wife of the armoured van guard killed in the heist who has little faith in the abilities of the police and sets out to extract her own vengeance. All this makes for a fantastically exciting thriller than also brings plenty of noir-inflected cynicism and a feeling of impending doom. "Payroll" is an excellent, little known British heist thriller that deserves a much larger audience. show less

Christopher Lee is arrogant psychiatrist Dr Stephen Hayward, whose wealthy wife has disappeared. He is conducting an affair with his beautiful secretary Helen (Judy Geeson) and police have received an anonymous note accusing him of murdering his wife. Detective Inspector Lomax (Jon Finch) is the boozing detective, with a convoluted private life of his own, assigned to make sense of the Hayward case. Director Sidney Hayers gives the film too much of a made-for-TV ambience for comfort but show more keeps things engaging with a number of interesting, if contrived twists, all the way to a clever surprise ending. That twist ending comes totally out-of-the-blue, but it makes sense of what looked like a slightly redundant sub-plot involving Lomax and his lover that runs throughout the film. The players are all good – Christopher Lee is appropriately sinister; Jon Finch is dogged in his pursuit and Judy Geeson is an initiator of action rather than a simple love interest. Overall “Diagnosis: Murder” is a compelling little murder mystery that is intriguing and comes to a clever surprise ending. show less

Substance: Sixties glamour-adventure, featuring Diana Rigg in designer pants as a distraction from the utter mindlessness of the scripts. Fun for nostalgia buffs, and to see what passed for hi-tech in the good old days. However, the pace is too slow and the inanities too abundant for sustained interest.
In this particular episode, the victims of an extortioner behave totally unreasonably (they give no credible explanations for their failure to seek assistance) and the extortioners themselves show more exhibit both unexplained expertise and unbelievable stupidity.
(Did not watch the second episode).
Style: Low-key British humour, mild suspense, cellophane fights. show less