Night of the Eagle [1962 film]

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) 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 show more 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