Night of the Eagle
(aka: Burn Witch Burn!)
(1961)
review by Suspiriorium

I really love it when a film unexpectedly comes out of nowhere to completely blow me away. One such film is the 1961 British film Night of the Eagle (crudely re-titled Burn, Witch, Burn! for the US – actually a line of dialogue from the film). Having heard nothing about it prior to viewing, I sat down expecting a fun and cheesy black & white quickie. I was therefore very surprised & indeed overjoyed to discover a tense, stylish & engrossing chiller.

Norman (Peter Wyngarde) is a new University professor who has swiftly managed to get a higher scholastic average than any of the other professors, & is seemingly first in line for a promotion. He strongly believes that the supernatural & witchcraft are simply a morbid desire to escape from reality, that can exist only in an atmosphere of belief – and can simply be destroyed by not believing. He swiftly finds his conceptions challenged when he discovers various Voodoo artefacts in his wife’s possession, & has to start questioning just what it is he believes.

There is actually slightly more narrative to this film than I have indicated above, but I think this is a film that will play better if you don’t know too much about it before you watch. The narrative (based upon the novel “Conjure Wife” by Fritz Leiber) is slightly episodic, with strands coming to the forefront for 15-20 minute sections, before dropping back in favour of another thread. Although it does make the film rather awkward in terms of structure, you can never be entirely sure exactly where it’s going to go next, & it maintains a healthy head of freshness & inventiveness throughout. A quick glance at some of the other credits of screenwriters Charles Beaumont & Richard Matheson will give you some indication of the quality on offer – Masque of the Red Death, The Haunted Palace, The Legend of Hell House, Stir of Echoes (novel), Duel, I am Legend (novel), The Devil Rides Out, The Raven, The Pit & the Pendulum, House of Usher… I think you get the picture.

The central conflict in the film – between rationality & irrationality, unbelief & belief – is by no means the most original, but it is dealt with fairly intelligently & makes for compelling viewing. If I was feeling pseudo-intellectual, I could suggest that this is just an interesting view on the battle between the sexes, with the rational viewpoint representing the masculine, & the irrational the feminine (indeed, in the novel all females are witches!). One of the things that I like best about the film is that right to the end it remains utterly ambiguous, leaving the viewer to draw their own conclusions – but whichever viewpoint you choose, it actually works. I could say that this suggests that the two sexes, although very different, can (and need to?) co-exist very happily.

Whatever the subtexts, it wouldn’t really mean too much if the film were not particularly entertaining to watch. It is, thanks to some stylish direction by Sidney Hayers, who makes good use of some unusual camera angles & movements to generate some wonderful scenes of tension and a couple of genuine shocks. A terrific rhythmic & propulsive score by the great William Alwyn considerably aids him in the creation of tension & suspense. The film manages to stay disturbingly plausible throughout, although one sequence involving the titular eagle towards the end does perhaps tend a little toward daftness. It also has a surprising amount of depth, refusing to be simply sorted into black & white, but having shades of grey & some interesting moral ambiguities.

One of the big complaints I’ve heard levelled against this film is the quality of it’s leading performances. Whilst Wyngarde is perhaps a little stiff as Norman, I personally find him to be perfectly acceptable, since the character is very stiff & restrained. The film is lifted by some fine supporting performances though, from the likes of Margaret Johnson, Anthony Nicholls, & Colin Gordon.

Overall, Night of the Eagle is a surprisingly complex & accomplished little film. Whilst it’s perhaps not a masterpiece, it’s certainly superior fare & deserves to receive more attention than it has so far. A DVD release would be very welcome.