ags123 This is worse, if that's possible. Even the Bernard Herrmann score can't redeem this one. Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett have to be among the least charismatic movie couples. Hayley should have taken the part of Lolita when Kubrick offered it to her; maybe her career would have turned in the right direction. And speaking of direction, Sidney Gilliat shows no affinity for it here; the scenes are sloppy, disjointed and, worst of all, boring. The supposed supernatural elements of the story went right over my head, as did much of the plot (maybe I was asleep). I'm giving the film two stars for that "modern" house! Despite being a total cheesefest, it's the most fascinating thing in the whole movie.

dbdumonteil This is a special case in Agatha Christie's canon .She reportedly wrote it in six weeks and ,coming back to "Roger Acroyd" style ,told her story in the first person by chauffeur Mike ;this is one of her most depressing books ,and the last line is unforgettable,echoing Blake's poem which is mentioned as a foreword.A character ,Ellie's friend Claudia,is ruled out.The detective plot is not unlike that of "death on the Nile",without the exoticism,but with more emotion.The writer also found inspiration in some of her old own short stories "the dream house" (1926) and mainly "the case of the caretaker" (1942 )in which the curse of an old shrew (the character of the movie resembles Christie's depiction) is included.Gilliat worked with Hitchcock as a screenwriter and it shows,not only because Herrmann wrote the score;the pictures of the seaside and the magnificent Gypsy's Acres landscape recall some early scenes in "Vertigo" .So does Mickael's museum visit.There are good ideas in the directing :the "four seasons " dream house ,very modern ,in which Ellie sings her baroque aria ;the death of the architect in the hospital;the characters on the painting,coming to life for the final trial ;it seems that -Hitchcock's influence again- the director wanted an ending à la "psycho" .The stars of "the family way" are here again:Mills and Bennett ; the cast also includes Lois Maxwell (everybody knows as Moneypenny) and George Sanders in his last part.Remade as a MTV work in which Miss Marple -who solved "the case of the caretaker" I mention above -appears .Christie reportedly did not like the hot sex scene.

Mr_Ectoplasma "Endless Night" follows working-class freewheeling chauffeur Michael (Hywel Bennett) who falls in love with a billionaire heiress Ellie (Hayley Mills). The two marry, and build a large estate on property in the English countryside known as Gypsy's Acre, which is purported by locals to be cursed land. After Ellie's relative Greta (Britt Ekland) arrives to stay, a series of bizarre events unfold, including ominous encounters with an elderly gypsy woman who roams the property.Based on the Agatha Christie novel, director Sidney Gilliat takes the meat of Christie's novel and puts unique twinges on it that are reminiscent of Hitchcock (Bernard Herrmann's spooky score understates this). The film is admittedly slow, especially in exposition, and there are few quote-unquote thrills to be had, but I found this film strangely compelling in spite of its odd pacing.There is a consistent sense of unease that permeates nearly every scene, although it's difficult to put your finger on what is exactly the cause. The photography in the film is fantastic, capturing the rolling landscapes and the cloudy skies surrounding the manor; this is punctuated by subtle scares that come in the form of various figures lurking below on the hillsides or in the woods, almost like indistinct figures in a painting. The film is at times reminiscent of English Gothic in its aesthetics, even though the house itself is very much "retro '70s" in both style and furnishings. Solid performances from Hywel Bennett and Hayley Mills really shine here, with Mills being especially memorable as a good natured girl who happens to be a billionaire ("world's sixth richest!"). Britt Ekland is also great as the stalwart and fawning relative— her performance really comes full circle in the finale, which provides her the bulk of the role's dynamics, and she handles it fabulously. The conclusion to the film is fairly routine by contemporary standards, although I can honestly say that I didn't see the plot twists coming, so props to Christie and the filmmakers' handling of the material— I was definitely had by the film.Overall, "Endless Night" is an enjoyable and well-acted picture that seems to have been forgotten in time. It is too slow to qualify as a full-blooded thriller, but there are tinges of a British psychothriller here with some genuinely bizarre and eerie moments that stand out among effective cinematography and a disquieting score. In spite of the film's lackluster pacing, it is unexpectedly transfixing, and manages to hold one's attention until the head twisting finale. 7/10.

christopher-underwood I came to this having recently seen the slightly earlier, 'Twisted Nerve' also starring Hayley mills and Hywel Bennett, directed by the Boultings and was expecting something more along the lines of a more traditional thriller/horror. this, however, is a very different film and if not as successful as it might have been, certainly deserving of attention. I was not as persuaded as some by the creepiness but it certainly odd and although it seemed to progress rather slowly and in an unusual way, I had no idea that things would turn out the way they do. Well worth seeing, some may find it more haunting than others but is certainly just that little bit different. Even dressed in a dowdy manner, Britt Ekland completely overshadows Mills in the looks department and Per Oscarsson's performance almost knocks Bennett aside.