Terrible zzzmovie
Added 11/6/2009
This movie was horrible and certainly not worth the money and postage I spent on it.
It certainly was not a good movie writer at work
Taught me never to buy a movie that I had not seen
chfancier
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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An unusual role for Hayley Mills
Added 4/23/2009
I'm not an Agatha Christie fan but I've always adored Hayley Mills in any movie. I'm endeavoring to collect all of her movies I have not yet seen. This movie was quite different than anything I have seen her in before and I have not read this book.
I personally don't think Spoilers applies to a movie this old, but if you are someone who doesn't want to know the details of a movie, you shouldn't be reading our comments... especially mine. So stop now if you don't want to know the film details.
There was a bit of Hitchcock intrigue in this movie. I was actually quite shocked by the drastic turn of events about halfway through the movie and even more surprised by the ending... and I'm rarely caught off guard like that but this movie caught me twice with the unexpected twists and turns of the plot.
But I didn't like the role they gave to Hayley Mills. She did a beautiful job playing this role, but we are accustomed to seeing her in Disney movies with happy endings and it was a little disturbing to see her end up in such a tragic turn of events. It was like killing off Pat Boone or Debbie Reynolds.
The silliest part of the movie was when she met her future husband and he commented about her being an American... then she responded with her British accent. I think I would have changed those particular lines in that movie. It stuck out like a sore thumb. Not Hayley's fault. It was the director's fault for not changing or deleting those lines with Hayley in the role.
The singer who they chose for Hayley's singing voice was much too old and too deep to be the singing voice of a young girl like Hayley was at the time. From the warble and oscillation, that singing voice sounded like an Italian opera singer, at least 20 years Hayley's senior. Certainly not a very young woman. The song really didn't add to the movie in any way. I'm not sure why they included this scene unless it was a special favor for the singer.
Although Hayley was quite a lovely young woman at the time, I would have to agree with one of the other reviewer's comments about anorexia. You could clearly see each rib bone in Hayley's chest above the neckline of her dresses. But also keep in mind that "thin was in" in the sixties and all of the girls wanted to look like "Twiggy" who was a very bone-thin, anorexic fashion symbol at the time... and all the males expected the same from the girls. Anorexia was not labeled and was actually encouraged in the 60's and 70's until Karen Carpenter died. It was not until then that public opinion went through a drastic change.
As with most older British movies, they have a bit of trouble clearly expressing the plot and continuity to the audience. There was not enough explanation of the conspirator's reasons or details on their prior collusion. The ending was also a bit muddy. It looked like they ended the movie in the middle of a scene.
It would have been a lot of help if they had included closed captioning or subtitles with this movie. Old movies like this didn't use dialogue coaches, so the actors would mumble and string words together in the local dialects from where they had grown up so it was difficult to follow from time to time, simply from lack of enunciation. It is possible that they could have digitally improved the sound as well.
There's no doubt the storyline was quite filled with surprising twists. I guess in my case, I just didn't care for seeing Hayley Mills end up as a casualty. I kept waiting for her to appear at the end, hoping her demise had only been a setup to trick the guilty into a confession.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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ENDLESS NIGHT (BRITISH LION FILMS/1972)
Added 2/19/2009
REVIEW: Although it looks like some made-for-T.V. adaptation from the early 70's: "ENDLESS NIGHT" is actually quite a neat little thriller that is probably the closest Agatha Christie ever came to writing a bona fide horror story. It begins when a shiftless-yet-charming chauffeur falls in love and marries a rich American heiress, and together they build an extravagant modern house on a supposedly cursed lot called Gypsy's Acre. After moving in they begin to experience a host of supernatural occurances (along with the usual plethora of meddling relatives PLUS a nutty old lady who seems to be stalking them) that threatens their newfound happiness. Before long there is an accident, a death, a disappearance, and most definately a murder: but who or what is behind all the sinister goings-on at Gypsy's Acre? Is it truly cursed? Or is there a real human element of evil at work here? Director Sidney Gilliat does a fantastic job in building up the bits and pieces of the plot until the final horrific climax that fully lives up to the film's title. Along with the superb musical score by Bernard ("PSYCHO") Herrmann: the cast itself is quite excellent (especially Hywel Bennett in the role of Michael the chauffeur, George Sanders as "Uncle" Andrew, and Per Oscarsson as the brilliant-yet-sickly architect Santonix), and the construction of Gilliat's screenplay is faithfully adapted from Christie's novel with every surreal plot twist intact. HARSH LANGUAGE: about 29 words (including ten uses of God/Jesus' name in vain or as a by-word). VIOLENCE: about 8 scenes of (mostly) mild violence. NUDITY/SEXUAL REFERENCES: about 4 scenes and/or references (including a quick shot of nude photos in a gas station service booth, a scene in bed with no nudity, an extended sex scene with nudity, etc.). DRUG REFERENCES: about 11 scenes of smoking and drinking.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Two's Company, Three's A Shroud...
Added 12/1/2008
Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett star as two young strangers who meet, fall in love, and get married. He is a former chauffeur, and she is an heiress worth millions. Of course, her family is against the whole idea, and their attorney (George Sanders) offers big money for a quick divorce! This does not bother these lovebirds. After all, their relationship is built on stronger stuff. It is a romance for the ages. Enter Britt Ekland (The Wicker Man) as Mills' old friend, and things really get interesting. Ekland moves in w/ the young couple, causing strain on the marriage. Plus, odd occurances begin chipping away at the tranquil atmosphere, causing a rising sense of dread. ENDLESS NIGHT has a nice, sudden jolt to it that takes us from a love story w/ vaguely mysterious elements, and hurls us into a story of greed, insanity, and murder. All of the characters are wonderful, especially Hayley Mills (whom I've loved since the original Parent Trap). As for the major twist in ENDLESS NIGHT, it is said that only 3 people in 100 can see it coming. I was (happily) in the vast majority who had their jaws dropped! Highly recommended...
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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This was just like the book written by Agatha Christie. I have read all of her books and this was the scarest and closest to reality. I couldn't believe there was a nude scene!!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Terrible zzzmovie
Added 11/6/2009
This movie was horrible and certainly not worth the money and postage I spent on it.
It certainly was not a good movie writer at work
Taught me never to buy a movie that I had not seen
chfancier
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
An unusual role for Hayley Mills
Added 4/23/2009
I'm not an Agatha Christie fan but I've always adored Hayley Mills in any movie. I'm endeavoring to collect all of her movies I have not yet seen. This movie was quite different than anything I have seen her in before and I have not read this book.
I personally don't think Spoilers applies to a movie this old, but if you are someone who doesn't want to know the details of a movie, you shouldn't be reading our comments... especially mine. So stop now if you don't want to know the film details.
There was a bit of Hitchcock intrigue in this movie. I was actually quite shocked by the drastic turn of events about halfway through the movie and even more surprised by the ending... and I'm rarely caught off guard like that but this movie caught me twice with the unexpected twists and turns of the plot.
But I didn't like the role they gave to Hayley Mills. She did a beautiful job playing this role, but we are accustomed to seeing her in Disney movies with happy endings and it was a little disturbing to see her end up in such a tragic turn of events. It was like killing off Pat Boone or Debbie Reynolds.
The silliest part of the movie was when she met her future husband and he commented about her being an American... then she responded with her British accent. I think I would have changed those particular lines in that movie. It stuck out like a sore thumb. Not Hayley's fault. It was the director's fault for not changing or deleting those lines with Hayley in the role.
The singer who they chose for Hayley's singing voice was much too old and too deep to be the singing voice of a young girl like Hayley was at the time. From the warble and oscillation, that singing voice sounded like an Italian opera singer, at least 20 years Hayley's senior. Certainly not a very young woman. The song really didn't add to the movie in any way. I'm not sure why they included this scene unless it was a special favor for the singer.
Although Hayley was quite a lovely young woman at the time, I would have to agree with one of the other reviewer's comments about anorexia. You could clearly see each rib bone in Hayley's chest above the neckline of her dresses. But also keep in mind that "thin was in" in the sixties and all of the girls wanted to look like "Twiggy" who was a very bone-thin, anorexic fashion symbol at the time... and all the males expected the same from the girls. Anorexia was not labeled and was actually encouraged in the 60's and 70's until Karen Carpenter died. It was not until then that public opinion went through a drastic change.
As with most older British movies, they have a bit of trouble clearly expressing the plot and continuity to the audience. There was not enough explanation of the conspirator's reasons or details on their prior collusion. The ending was also a bit muddy. It looked like they ended the movie in the middle of a scene.
It would have been a lot of help if they had included closed captioning or subtitles with this movie. Old movies like this didn't use dialogue coaches, so the actors would mumble and string words together in the local dialects from where they had grown up so it was difficult to follow from time to time, simply from lack of enunciation. It is possible that they could have digitally improved the sound as well.
There's no doubt the storyline was quite filled with surprising twists. I guess in my case, I just didn't care for seeing Hayley Mills end up as a casualty. I kept waiting for her to appear at the end, hoping her demise had only been a setup to trick the guilty into a confession.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
ENDLESS NIGHT (BRITISH LION FILMS/1972)
Added 2/19/2009
REVIEW: Although it looks like some made-for-T.V. adaptation from the early 70's: "ENDLESS NIGHT" is actually quite a neat little thriller that is probably the closest Agatha Christie ever came to writing a bona fide horror story. It begins when a shiftless-yet-charming chauffeur falls in love and marries a rich American heiress, and together they build an extravagant modern house on a supposedly cursed lot called Gypsy's Acre. After moving in they begin to experience a host of supernatural occurances (along with the usual plethora of meddling relatives PLUS a nutty old lady who seems to be stalking them) that threatens their newfound happiness. Before long there is an accident, a death, a disappearance, and most definately a murder: but who or what is behind all the sinister goings-on at Gypsy's Acre? Is it truly cursed? Or is there a real human element of evil at work here? Director Sidney Gilliat does a fantastic job in building up the bits and pieces of the plot until the final horrific climax that fully lives up to the film's title. Along with the superb musical score by Bernard ("PSYCHO") Herrmann: the cast itself is quite excellent (especially Hywel Bennett in the role of Michael the chauffeur, George Sanders as "Uncle" Andrew, and Per Oscarsson as the brilliant-yet-sickly architect Santonix), and the construction of Gilliat's screenplay is faithfully adapted from Christie's novel with every surreal plot twist intact. HARSH LANGUAGE: about 29 words (including ten uses of God/Jesus' name in vain or as a by-word). VIOLENCE: about 8 scenes of (mostly) mild violence. NUDITY/SEXUAL REFERENCES: about 4 scenes and/or references (including a quick shot of nude photos in a gas station service booth, a scene in bed with no nudity, an extended sex scene with nudity, etc.). DRUG REFERENCES: about 11 scenes of smoking and drinking.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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