Night of the Eagle

Plot synopsis:
Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) is a psychology professor lecturing about belief systems and superstition. After a scene in which his wife searches frantically and finds a poppet left by a jealous work rival, he discovers that his wife, Tansy (Janet Blair), is practising obeah, referred to in the film as "conjure magic," which she learned in Jamaica. She insists that her charms have been responsible for his rapid advancement in his academic career and for his general well-being. A firm rationalist, Norman is angered by her acceptance of superstition. He forces her to burn all of her magical paraphernalia.
Almost immediately, things start to go wrong: a female student (Judith Stott) accuses Norman of rape, her boyfriend (Bill Mitchell) threatens him with violence, and someone tries to break into the Taylors' home during a thunderstorm. Tansy, willing to sacrifice her life for her husband's safety, almost drowns herself and is only saved at the last minute by Norman giving in to the practices he despises.
Tansy attacks him with a knife while in a trance, but Norman disarms her and locks her in her room. Her limping walk during the attack gives Norman a clue to the person responsible for his ill luck: university secretary Flora Carr (Margaret Johnston), the wife of Lindsay whose career had stalled in favour of Norman's. Flora uses witchcraft to set fire to the Taylor home with Tansy trapped inside.
Using a form of auditory hypnosis over a loudspeaker system, Flora convinces Norman that a giant stone eagle from atop the university chapel has come to life to attack him. Lindsay arrives at the office and turns off the loudspeaker, and the illusory eagle vanishes. Tansy escapes her burning home and rejoins her no longer skeptical husband. On their way out of the campus, Lindsay sees the chapel's heavy doors are ajar (left thus by Norman in his "escape" from the eagle), and insists upon securing them despite Flora's protests. As she waits for him, the eagle statue falls from the roof and kills her.

Tags: paranormal

Review:
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'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.
A lot of its force--notwithstanding the good solid script and direction--is due to Peter Wyngarde's performance as the husband of the title witch.
As the story progresses, Wyngarde shows us, one unnerving step at a time, the man's loss of his lack of faith, to the point of absolute belief (which the film points up with an obvious, but very satisfying, joke) and absolute terror.
After a Friday night bridge party at the Taylor home Norman discovers that Tansy has a bunch of charms and totems hidden all over the house that she uses to cast spells on and for persons that she knows including himself.
Shocked to find out that Tansy is practicing Witchcraft Norman has her burn all the artifacts, involving that ancient superstition, and put the thought of casting spells and bringing good or bad luck to people that she knows in the fireplace together with them.
Norman is now so possessed by what has been happening to him since that night of revelations about the powers of Witchcraft that he actually makes some kind of ceremony, with a photo of Tansy and candles, to break the deadly spell that he unleashed on her as well as himself and amazingly it works.
You never really know if what was happening to Norman and Tansy is real or just their imagination but that's exactly what made the movie "Burn Whitch Burn" or "Night of the Eagle" work so well.
Like the great Lawton/Tourneur film-noir horror movies of the 1940's "Burn Whitch Burn" lets your mind,not the special effects, do the thinking and thus literally scares the hell out of you..
This is far and away my very favorite horror movie -- not only is it truly scary, it is extremely well-acted, has a very intelligent script, great direction, super photography.
What's most unusual about it is the relationship among the Professor Taylor (the devastatingly yummy Peter Wyngarde)and his wife Tansy (Janet Blair) -- these two have amazing chemistry and along with the horror, you get a very realistic story of a married couple very much in love, who struggle with the wife's admission of being a witch.Much of the horror here is simply implied, making it that much scarier, but what is shown is truly chilling.
If you've never seen a believable performance in a horror movie, check out Wyngarde in this --his final scene should be shown in every drama school -- his fear is that palpable..
A college professor in England named Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) and his wife Tansy (Janet Blair) seem to live a charmed life.
Trust me, I'm not giving anything away--you'll know who the evil witch is within the first 10 minutes.A well-made, frightening horror film.
Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) is a successful young professor, married with Tansy Taylor (Janet Blair).
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.
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.
Sidney Hayers directed this British adaptation of the Fritz Leiber novel(previously filmed as "Weird Woman" with Lon Chaney Jr.) that stars Peter Wyngarde as a skeptical college professor who is disdainful of anything supernatural or magic, who is shocked to learn that his wife Tansy(played by Janet Blair) is a practicing witch!
There are manyBrian 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 anaspect of housewife sexuality (in Jack's Wife), this film focuses onthe male variety.
Director Sidney Hayers had come from TV, where he seems mostly stayed thereafter - a pity, as he clearly rose to the challenge of this material.Best of all are the two excellent performances by Janet Blair and Margaret Johnston.
The Jacques Tourneur movie is more satisfying because of the tautness of its screenplay, but in every other way NIGHT OF THE EAGLE (aka BURN, WITCH, BURN) is as good.
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 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.
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.
Night of the Eagle (AKA: Burn, Witch, Burn!) is directed by Sidney Hayers and adapted to screenplay by Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson and George Baxt from the novel "Conjure Wife" written by Fritz Leiber.
Music is by William Alwyn and cinematography by Reginald Wyer.Psychologist Norman Taylor (Wyngarde) is rocked when he discovers that his wife Tansy has been dabbling in witchcraft.
Lurking underneath is a veritable hot-bed of spitefulness, jealousies and bitter rivalries that come to the fore once the black magic forces of evil gather to destroy the Taylors.I do (not) believe.It builds with ambiguity lurking overhead, ensuring the belief system of Norman Taylor and the audience is constantly tested, and then the coiled spring is unleashed.
A skeptical college professor (Peter Wyngarde) discovers that his wife (Janet Blair) has been practicing magic for years.
Like the learned, rational fellow he is, he forces her to destroy all her magical charms and protective devices, and stop that foolishness.Prom producer Sam Arkoff (American International Pictures) and writers Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson (Matheson a frequent AIP contributor and both veterans of "Twilight Zone") comes this tale that I had never heard of before catching it in October 2011 in Chicago.
BURN, WITCH, BURN is the story of Norman and Tansy Taylor (Peter Wyngard and Janet Blair).
Burn, Witch Burn!Being cursed by a witch is the best excuse one could have for getting out of work.Unfortunately, the academic in this psychological thriller actually enjoys lecturing.When psych professor Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) learns his wife (Janet Blair) has been dabbling in the dark arts since returning from the West Indies, he orders her to cease.
Unaware her charms have been helping his career, he is left defenceless against another witch (Margaret Johnston) out for revenge.Through auditory hypnosis, this mysterious sorceress convinces the skeptical scholar a giant stone eagle statue has come to life and is now stalking him.Known across the pond as Night of the Eagle, this British/American co-production of pulp novelist Fritz Leiber's seminal work is a well-crafted and moody depiction of witchcraft on campus featuring some impressive special effects and unnerving performances.
The second film version of Fritz Leibers' story "Conjure Wife" (after "Weird Woman" in the 1940s), "Burn Witch Burn" is an engaging shocker with first rate performances and atmosphere.
Scripted by Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont, it spins the yarn of a young couple, Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) and Tansy Taylor (Janet Blair).
Then things *really* start getting weird.Directed by Sidney Hayers, this definitely lives up to its original title, "Night of the Eagle", with avian imagery prominent throughout.
An uncredited Paul Frees does the opening narration, setting us up for the horror to come by letting us know that the practice of black magic and witchcraft is a real thing, and by chanting an incantation that will supposedly keep us safe!Leibers' story would again be filmed, this time for laughs, in the 1980 comedy "Witches Brew".Eight out of 10..
The pacing is swift and rarely becomes English stodgy and it all builds to an ambiguous analysis with some shutters along the way.The weakness in this obscure Movie is the middle section as it leaves the confines of Academia and its surrounding Homelife to venture into some wide open scenes of Beaches and Highways, where it loses a bit of the more effective confined confrontations of Evil and the Story becomes a tad confusing.
In this understated and superbly atmospheric adaptation of Fritz Leiber's short novel "Conjure Wife", Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) lectures on the psychology of superstition at a small English medical college.
A rising star of the faculty, he's admired by his students and the envy of his peers.A dyed-in-the-wool skeptic in matters supernatural, Norman is shocked and angered by the accidental discovery that his beautiful wife Tansy (Janet Blair) is a witch.
Despite her pleading, he forces Tansy to burn all her protective charms.It doesn't take long for Norman to realize he's made a really bad move.If this movie has one clear antecedent, it's Jacques Tourneur's 1957 "Night of the Demon".
There's a wonderful sardonic humor in the way Leiber takes the normal jealousies, frustrations and backbiting of the academic life, then kicks it up a whole bunch of notches by adding black magic to the mix.Wyngarde and Blair give strong performances; so does Margaret Johnston as the antagonist, Flora Carr.
Malice simmers just below the surface in her character, and she's quite believably evil when she finally drops the mask entirely."Night of the Eagle" (aka "Burn, Witch, Burn!") is proof that with the right story and some capable people, a low budget isn't necessarily a major handicap.
This begins well as Peter Wyngarde's character begins to become aware that some of his recent good fortune may have come as a result of his wife's witchcraft.
The book is rather deeper and more involved in the psychology of the characters than is possible in the movie, but they have made a good, honest attempt to translate that to the screen, and certainly achieved a nice spooky atmosphere in the process.
Norman lectures his students about the preposterousness of supernatural believes, but soon after he discovers that his own beloved wife Tansy has been practicing witchcraft ever since they went to Jamaica for their honeymoon.
Burn, Witch, Burn (1962) *** 1/2 (out of 4) A college professor (Peter Wyngarde) who doesn't believe in witchcraft is outraged when he discovers that his wife (Janet Blair) is practicing it.
BURN, WITCH, BURN, also known as NIGHT OF THE EAGLE, is without question one of the best films of its type and it would make a great double feature with another British classic from this era, THE CITY OF THE DEAD.
Horror film fans who love creepiness at its low key but effective best will find this movie a jewel.
Peter Wyngarde, who played the ultra creepy ghost in "The Innocents", does an excellent job as the psychology professor who learns that his wife has been practicing black magic.
By today's standards what may be the worst part of "Night of the Eagle" is the special effects, but on the positive side you have tension built from almost nothing (as in the scene Blair searches for a little doll after a bridge session), effective editing, a good score, fine performances, a sexual undercurrent all through the movie that today would be explicit, and raw sensuality from leading actor Peter Wyngarde, who had previously been cast as the servant who supposedly had involved children Flora and Miles in sexual activity in "The Innocents".
There's even a homo-erotic feeling in the way his body is displayed (I have no idea if director Sidney Hayers or Wyngarde were homosexuals, or if they did it on purpose; this is just an impression I had, but it seemed logic to me since the man is accused of raping a student, and all women in the university should envy Blair, with those senior husbands of theirs.) Sometimes things seem illogic, like Wyngarde entering a cemetery, but as he has read in his wife's notes, that is a perfect place to perform a rite, what in fact he is going to do.
Night of the Eagle is a creepy and effective little thriller that benefits from a chilling atmosphere, some good scenes of suspense and some great acting and direction; but doesn't quite make up for a lack of scope and ambition.
The film is based on a novel by Fritz Leiber Jr and is directed by Sidney Hayers, the British director behind the excellent Circus of Horrors in 1960.
Despite her pleading that his rivals at the college are also practicing witchcraft against him, he forces his wife to get rid of her charms...The style of the film is one of its strongest elements and the black and white picture helps to create a very foreboding atmosphere that bodes very well with the supernatural themes of the plot.
The plot is always at least interesting and Peter Wyngarde and Janet Blair are both excellent in the lead roles and provide engaging characters for the audience to bond with.
The basic plot: A rigid and scientific college professor, Norman Taylor, learns that his wife is a witch and burns all her witch's tools, but, once he forces her to give up protection, the dark forces against them are exposed.....The praise: Great.
Good performances by Janet Blair, Peter Wyngarde, Margaret Johnston.
Attempting to get through to his hysterical wife that her use of charms and trinkets protecting against witchcraft are ludicrous, a man's life changes for the dreadful when he finds himself at the center of a series of strange supernatural hauntings after their destruction.This one turned out to be quite enjoyable for the most part, even though there's some pretty big flaws to this one.
If your looking for a good horror film to view on a rainy night than you definitely want to check this out.
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.
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.
The acting is very good and Blair is solid as the wife trying to convince her husband that black magic does exist.
Some fine acting from the distinguished cast help to make us care for the characters and believe the events that play out.The film kicks off happily enough, with teacher Norman Taylor, a resolute non-believer in the supernatural, lecturing his students on superstition and the like.
The supporting cast are fine, with Margaret Johnston as a creepy, limping fellow teacher who has a few secrets to hide.Probably the best-remembered part of this film is the ending, which sees Wyngarde trying to save his wife from their burning home.
I can see why they call this one "Night of the Eagle" as well as "Burn Witch Burn" both titles fit the film.
But I really wish they would have left out the eagle bit because it would have been a more believable witchcraft film - it should look like a series of coincidences and accidents - well, from my stand point of view.
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.
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.
87 minutes in the U.K. 90 minutes in the U.S.A. U.S. release title: Burn, Witch, Burn.SYNOPSIS: Tansy Taylor, the wife of an English university professor, secretly practices witchcraft to further her husband Norman's career.
Night of The Eagle (based on Fritz Leiber's splendid novel Conjure Wife) would have been a classic with just a little more restraint; as such its last hour is almost a total pitch into non-stop horror, to the extent that it becomes a little overbearing and almost spoils the many superb horror set-pieces.Peter Wyngarde (yayy - it's Jason King!!!) plays a lecturer at a small town college whose relentless dismissal of the supernatural - even scrawling "I Do Not Believe" on the blackboard during one of his lectures - comes to seem extremely foolish after he burns all his wife's voodoo protections.
On some subconscious level Tansy has come to suspect her husband is in danger, and of course, she is right.This is a movie that can be viewed as a close companion to Night Of The Demon, in that both films show a rigidly disbelieving academic forced to confront the idea that there ARE more things on earth than are dreamt of in their philosophies.
His wife tells him that she has been practicing witchcraft for years, as this was the most effective way of protecting him against the evil which surrounds him...A good horror movie with an eerie, almost surreal atmosphere.