A nervous woman is a witness to murder...but whose?
Every so often, especially around Halloween, TCM plays the 1973 thriller Night Watch. I've tried to watch the film several times, but usually don't get past the first 20 minutes or so. I usually love a good thriller, especially one from the 70's, and want to find another Elizabeth Taylor film to enjoy. I just can't with this one, although this past weekend, I did finally watch it until the end.
I think my reason for liking the beginning was explained by watching it until the end. I just found the beginning scenes 'too much.' Taylor's overacting, along with the quick edits made it difficult to really enjoy. Some of what I disliked, may be explained now that I finally watched the ending, which reveals the 'twist'. Without spoiling, it did explain some of what I found so annoying.
The thriller, directed by Brian G. Hutton, is from a screenplay by Tony Williamson. Williamson based his work on the 1972 play of the same name by Lucille Fletcher. You can see when watching the film that it could work really well as a stage production. There are really just three main characters, and the overwrought acting choices wouldn't seem so forced on stage.
During this past viewing, I also played a bit more attention to actor Laurence Harvey who plays Taylor's husband John Wheeler in the film. The project reunites the pair who previously appeared together in 1960's BUtterfield 8. I have not seen that film either, but it's now added to my long list. Night Watch was sadly Harvey's last film, after a long distinguished career. Many may have seen the Lithuanian-born British actor in films including; The Manchurian Candidate, The Alamo, The Running Man, and his Oscar nominated role in Room From The Top.
Harvey & Shirley MacLaine
Harvey & Alan Bates in
The Running ManHarvey with Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate 
The relationship between Eleanor, (Lansbury) and son in The Manchurian Candidate was a controversial part of the film. Although she played his mother, Lansbury was only 3 years older than Harvey. Before the dramatic climax, In the novel, Eleanor uses her son's brainwashing to have sex with him. Concerned with the reaction to even a reference to a taboo topic such as incest in a mainstream film at that time, the filmmakers instead had Eleanor kiss Shaw on the lips to imply her incestuous attraction to him
Night WatchHarvey had two 'partial' nude scenes. One in Night Watch, and the other in The Magic Christian. I say partial as both only showed a wee bit of butt, a half moon, (above) and just a peak. (below)
The Magic Christian (1969)
In The Magic Christian, Sir Guy Grand, (Peter Sellers) is an eccentric billionaire. A big spender, Grand does not mind handing out large sums of money to various people, bribing them to fulfill his whims, or shocking them by bringing down what they hold dear. It begins with relatively minor spoofs, such as bribing a Shakespearean actor, (Harvey) to strip during a stage performance of Hamlet.
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