The Night Walker (film)
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| The Night Walker | |
|---|---|
 Australian Theatrical Film Poster | |
| Directed by | William Castle |
| Screenplay by | Robert Bloch |
| Produced by | William Castle |
| Starring | Robert Taylor Barbara Stanwyck Judi Meredith |
| Cinematography | Harold E. Stine |
| Edited by | Edwin H. Bryant |
| Music by | Vic Mizzy |
| Color process | Black and white |
Production company | William Castle Productions |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Night Walker is a 1964 American psychological thriller film directed and produced by William Castle, and starring Robert Taylor, Judi Meredith and Barbara Stanwyck in her final film role. It was the final black and white film made by Universal Pictures.[1]
Plot[edit]
Irene Trent is unhappily married to a blind, pathologically possessive millionaire inventor, Howard. Howard and Irene's palatial mansion is packed with an endless assortment of cuckoo clocks, all in perfect synchronization, and Howard tape records all conversations in the house for later reference, hoping to catch Irene plotting an illicit liaison.
Irene lives in a constant state of dread, wondering how far Howard's jealousy will go. Yet despite Howard's continual accusations of infidelity, Irene remains faithful to Howard, albeit with nightly recurrent dreams of a fantasy lover and an attraction to Howard's personal attorney, Barry Moreland, the only visitor allowed in the house. Howard spends most of his time working in his laboratory on a variety of projects, the nature of which he refuses to divulge to anyone. As tensions mount, Irene feels trapped in a loveless, lonely relationship. But suddenly, everything changes: Howard is killed by an explosion in his laboratory, and Irene inherits the house and Howard's entire fortune.
The laboratory itself, a charred wreck, is secured from the rest of the house by a padlock so that no one may enter it. Irene, after consulting with Barry Moreland, decides to move out of the house, and into the back room apartment of a small beauty shop she owns, "Irene's," which she operated before she met and married Howard. Almost immediately, the dreams begin again, with increasing intensity, until they take the form of an "ideal" man—known only as "The Dream".
Night after night, "The Dream" appears before Irene, whisking her away to a bizarre wedding ceremony in which she "marries" "The Dream" in front of a group of wax figure witnesses, or engages in a harmless tryst over champagne. Irene begins to doubt her sanity and unaccountably finds herself wishing to return to the nightmarish house she shared with Howard. But the reality behind Irene's dreams is a secret that The Night Walker withholds until the very end; a bizarre and complex tale of murder, betrayal and deception.
Cast[edit]
- Robert Taylor as Barry Morland
- Barbara Stanwyck as Irene Trent
- Judi Meredith as Joyce
- Hayden Rorke as Howard Trent
- Rochelle Hudson as Hilda
- Marjorie Bennett as Manager
- Jess Barker as Malone
- Tetsu Komai as Gardener
- Lloyd Bochner as The Dream
Production[edit]
Modestly budgeted, and shot entirely at Universal City, the film was a change of pace for Castle, who usually relied on gimmicks to sell his films, such as "Emergo" for House on Haunted Hill, or "Percepto" for The Tingler. This time, Castle relied on Bloch's reputation as the author of the novel on which Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is based, as well as the re-teaming of Stanwyck and Taylor, who had been married from 1939 to 1951, as being sufficient to publicize the film.
Originally titled The Dream Killer, the role of Irene Trent was first offered to Joan Crawford (an old friend of Stanwyck) who declined as she was committed to appearing in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte.[2]
When asked if they had any objections to appearing in the film together, (Robert Taylor had remarried after his divorce from Barbara Stanwyck), Taylor replied "It's all right with me if it's all right with her," and Stanwyck said "Of course not—but you'd better ask Mr. and Mrs. Taylor." When asked if it was all right with her, Taylor's current wife Ursula Thiess said only "not necessarily."[3]
Despite all of Castle's efforts, and mixed but generally favorable reviews, the film was not a financial success. It marked the end of Castle's most influential period as a director, although he would go on to produce and direct a number of additional films for Universal, and later, Paramount Pictures. Stanwyck continued working on television until 1986 with her final television series The Colbys.
Home media[edit]
The film was released in 1993 on VHS. It was later released on DVD by Universal Pictures and Turner Classic Movies as one of their "TCM Selects" titles on December 7, 2015, as part of a Double Feature with Dark Intruder from 1965. Shout! Factory released the film on Blu-ray on February 20, 2018.[4]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Richard Pearson (January 22, 1990). "Award-Winning Actress Barbara Stanwyck Dies". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-01-04. Retrieved 2015-11-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Party Honors Divorcees In Filmland". Times Daily. May 9, 1964. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
- ^ "The Night Walker Blu-ray". shoutfactory.com. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
External links[edit]
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