Night Must Fall (1964) Reviews

• The great Albert Finney and his mysterious hat-box!

  Coventry2005-06-15

  To start with a little off-topic note: in 2003, Tim Burton made the film "Big Fish" which stars Ewan McGregor as a younger version of Albert Finney. When you actually see "Night Must Fall", which was shot around the time when Finney was in his late 30's, it becomes obvious how good this casting choice was! From multiple camera angles, McGregor really looks a lot like the young Finney and the facial expressions are almost exact. "Night Must Fall" itself is a truly interesting and involving thriller and I wonder why on earth it's so underrated! This is a remake of a 1930's thriller that stars Finney as a dangerous, yet very charismatic psychopath who systematically works his way up in a high-society family as a pageboy. After a while, the elderly lady and her daughter grow really fond of him but his mind and intentions are still disturbed. The film has a terrific opening sequence (the frightening image of Danny getting rid of his murder victim) and an extremely suspenseful finale! Everything in between is a bit too talky and – at times – somewhat dull, but you keep watching since Finney's performance is so outstanding. Especially the scenes in which he relives his vile crimes up in his room (forcefully holding the hat-box that contains grim trophies) are very tense and unsettling. Reisz' directing is well-handled but it merely is Freddie Francis' imaginative photography that makes this film so dreamy and beautiful. Francis unquestionably was Britain's best cinematographer of that time and he also directed a couple of entertaining horror films ("Trog", "The Creeping Flesh", "Tales that Witness Madness…")

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• Don't See This Film At Night!!!!

  legwarmers19802005-07-31

  This black and white 1960s classic of a serial killer is one of the most frightening movies ever made. There are no monsters, masked killers, or nightmare ghouls. What is so utterly terrifying is that the sadistic murder is seemingly the "nicest" guy around. A good-looking, charming and friendly fellow; some 20 years before the horror of Ted Bundy!. Albert Finney gives his most impressive and outstanding performance. He is chilling, lovable, funny, and scary. The opening scene in which Finney is walking in a swamp with a head-less, arm-less, leg-less torso is one of the most shocking and disturbing scenes in film history. Night Must Fall is a really great piece of film-making, but don't see it before night falls! You won't be able to sleep!!!!!!

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• Immensely underrated

  katerinand2004-03-18

  The remake of the 1937 film was slaughtered both by critics and audience at the time it premiered and there was mainly one reason for it:the crazed fans of Albert Finney were absolutely shocked,as he daringly chose the role of the psychotic ''killer with the angelic face'', following his all-time favorite roles of ''Saturday night and Sunday morning''and, particularly, ''Tom Jones''.As many historians mention, the ''MGM wives'' who were few of the first to see the film, turned violently against the gifted director, Karel Reisz, shouting ''what have you done to that beautiful boy?''!But this is not a serious reason to dismiss an, overall, very good film, which, however, has some serious flaws.The use of music is exaggerated and some times irritating and, only in the first part of the film, Finney doesn't quite know how to tackle with his disturbed character. But the photography is great, Mona Washbourne gives a superb performance and Karel Reisz does a great job, not only updating the old text and bringing it within the ''realism'' of the British Free Cinema movement, but also with his masterful camera movements and his use of editing and abruptly cutting to different scenes, he creates an imposing psychological thriller, where what you don't see is more disturbing than what you do. Being one of the greatest actors EVER, Finney soon finds a convincing attitude for his character and the last part of the film is absolutely brilliant as a whole.It should be re-examined and re-appreciated, that's why it has to come out on VHS and DVD a.s.a.p.! 7.5/10

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• Impressive performance by Albert Finney

  swabidoo2006-10-02

  To each his own taste, but I have to disagree with the other review of this movie. I love Albert Finney's performance as a psychopath who has the gift of perceiving the innermost needs of those he meets and then molding his own personality to take advantage of those needs. (I don't know anyone from Wales, nor do I know what a stereotypical "mad Welshman" is.) He and Mona Washbourne play off each other superbly. I do agree with the other review's assessment of the cinematography, and especially love the lighting. To see Finney in TOM JONES (previous) or TWO FOR THE ROAD (following), although he is young, his face does have character and expression lines - he is human. The lighting in this movie smooths his face to make it seem devoid of affect; you feel that his reactions to the people and the world around him spring not from human emotion but from insanity. If you're an Albert Finney fan I definitely recommend viewing this movie and making your own judgment.

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• A great, tense thriller! (No Spoilers)

  redwulf20022004-10-19

  I've heard about this British gem, and I was stoked to see that it was on TCM (UK) the other night. Albert Finney is superb as Danny, well the entire cast is very strong. I'd heard about it from the Freddie Francis link (he was Director of Photography)and I wasn't disappointed, it just has his unique stamp all over it. For most of the film, the audience is waiting for something to happen as the tension is kept to a maximum throughout the film. The final payoff is superb and shows just why Finney is one of Britains best actors. I thought it was a lot like that other British twisted family oddity 'Girly' (US title) but with fewer sexual undertones. It's a shame Night Must Fall isn't more well known as it's a true gem of 60's British cinema.

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