Endless Night (1972 film)
Encyclopedia
Endless Night is a 1972 British
crime film
directed by Sidney Gilliat
and starring Hayley Mills
, Britt Ekland
, Per Oscarsson
, Hywel Bennett
and George Sanders
. It is based on the novel Endless Night
by Agatha Christie
.
coast. Unknown to him, she is actually a wealthy heiress and can make his dream come true. With the help of her efficient German companion, Greta (Ekland), they marry and build a memorable home designed by noted architect Santonix (Oscarsson), much to the disapproval of Ellie's family, who try to buy off Michael.
However, the land the couple purchased is known as "Gypsy's Acre" and is said to carry a curse. Mysterious accidents pile up, a self-proclaimed gypsy haunts the grounds, and after a midnight accident, Greta moves in with the couple to nurse Ellie back to health, to the resentment of Michael.
A further equestrian
accident results in the death of Ellie, and Michael is shattered. With the aide of her lawyer "Uncle" Andrew (Sanders) and Greta, Michael pulls together. But he remains haunted by ghostly images of Ellie and a devious murder plot-and another death-are revealed in the finale.
Auction House, Hertfordshire
, Middlesex
, as well as the West Country
and Albergo San Pietro, Positano
, Italy. The Philpotts' estate (Mike and Ellie's neighbors) was filmed at Grim's Dyke
.
The score was by Bernard Hermann. Ellie's singing in the film was dubbed by Shirley Jones
.
Christie herself was displeased by the "lack-lustre" adaptation of one of her favorite novels, although she had been initially pleased by the choice of Director-writer and cast. Further, she disliked the (admittedly brief) erotic nudity by Ekland in the film's final sequences.
After an unsuccessful run in Britain, UA did not release the film in the United States, although there were runs in Denmark and Finland in 1973.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
directed by Sidney Gilliat
Sidney Gilliat
Sidney Gilliat was an English film director, producer and writer.He was born in the district of Edgeley in Stockport, Cheshire. In the 1930s he worked as a scriptwriter, most notably with Frank Launder on The Lady Vanishes for Alfred Hitchcock, and its sequel Night Train to Munich , directed by...
and starring Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
, Britt Ekland
Britt Ekland
Britt-Marie Ekland is a Swedish actress and singer, and a long time resident of the United Kingdom. She is best known for her roles as a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun, and in the British cult horror film The Wicker Man, as well as her marriage to actor Peter Sellers, and her...
, Per Oscarsson
Per Oscarsson
- External links :...
, Hywel Bennett
Hywel Bennett
Hywel Thomas Bennett is a Welsh film and television actor. Bennett is best known for his recurring title role as James Shelley in the television sitcom Shelley from 1979 to 1984 and its sequel The Return of Shelley from 1988 to 1992....
and George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
. It is based on the novel Endless Night
Endless Night
Endless Night is a work of crime fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on October 30, 1967 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at eighteen shillings and the US edition at $4.95...
by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
.
Plot
Michael Rogers (Bennett), a young drifter currently employed as a chauffeur, has a chance meeting with the lovely Ellie Thomsen (Mills). He dreams of building a magnificent house on a particular spot of land along the DevonDevon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
coast. Unknown to him, she is actually a wealthy heiress and can make his dream come true. With the help of her efficient German companion, Greta (Ekland), they marry and build a memorable home designed by noted architect Santonix (Oscarsson), much to the disapproval of Ellie's family, who try to buy off Michael.
However, the land the couple purchased is known as "Gypsy's Acre" and is said to carry a curse. Mysterious accidents pile up, a self-proclaimed gypsy haunts the grounds, and after a midnight accident, Greta moves in with the couple to nurse Ellie back to health, to the resentment of Michael.
A further equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
accident results in the death of Ellie, and Michael is shattered. With the aide of her lawyer "Uncle" Andrew (Sanders) and Greta, Michael pulls together. But he remains haunted by ghostly images of Ellie and a devious murder plot-and another death-are revealed in the finale.
Cast
- Hayley MillsHayley MillsHayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
as Fenella 'Ellie' Thomsen - Hywel BennettHywel BennettHywel Thomas Bennett is a Welsh film and television actor. Bennett is best known for his recurring title role as James Shelley in the television sitcom Shelley from 1979 to 1984 and its sequel The Return of Shelley from 1988 to 1992....
as Michael Rogers - Britt EklandBritt EklandBritt-Marie Ekland is a Swedish actress and singer, and a long time resident of the United Kingdom. She is best known for her roles as a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun, and in the British cult horror film The Wicker Man, as well as her marriage to actor Peter Sellers, and her...
as Greta - George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
as Andrew Lippincott - David BauerDavid Bauer (actor)David Bauer was an American actor, a Chicagoan, who was based primarily in Britain. He was chosen as the most promising actor at Washington University and his professional career began immediately after graduating...
as Uncle Frank - Peter BowlesPeter Bowles-Early life:Bowles was born in London, England, the son of Sarah Jane and Herbert Reginald Bowles. His father was a chauffeur and butler at a stately home in Warwickshire; but, upon the outbreak of World War II, he was seconded to work as an engineer at Rolls-Royce and moved the family to Nottingham...
as Reuben Brown - Patience Collier as Miss Townsend
- Windsor DaviesWindsor DaviesWindsor Davies is a British actor, well known for playing the part of Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the 1970s/1980s British sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum.-Early life and career:...
as Sergeant Reene - Mischa de la Motte as Maynard
- Helen Horton as Aunt Beth
- Lois MaxwellLois MaxwellLois Maxwell was a Canadian actress.Maxwell began her film career in the late 1940s, and won a Golden Globe Award for the New Actress of the Year for her performance in That Hagen Girl...
as Cora Walker Brown - Aubrey Richards as Dr. Philpott
- Ann WayAnn WayAnn Way was an English character actress in film and television. Born in Wiveliscombe, she began her career in repertory in Dundee in the 1960s....
as Mrs. Philpott
Production
Shooting locations included Christie'sChristie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
Auction House, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, as well as the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
and Albergo San Pietro, Positano
Positano
Positano is a village and comune on the Amalfi Coast , in Campania, Italy. The main part of the city sits in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast.-History:...
, Italy. The Philpotts' estate (Mike and Ellie's neighbors) was filmed at Grim's Dyke
Grim's Dyke
Grim's Dyke is the name of a house and estate located in Harrow Weald, in Northwest London, England, built in 1872 by Norman Shaw, and named after the nearby pre-historic earthwork known as Grim's Ditch. The house is best known as the home of dramatist W.S. Gilbert, who lived there for the last...
.
The score was by Bernard Hermann. Ellie's singing in the film was dubbed by Shirley Jones
Shirley Jones
Shirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...
.
Reception
The film received mixed reviews. Although reasonably faithful to the novel, it is "An example of the sort of thing Christie was writing in her later years: moody psychological studies very different from, and not so much fun as, her early thrillers." Contemporary critics have noted "Nice performances all around, with special admiration for Oscarsson's role as the dying architect."Christie herself was displeased by the "lack-lustre" adaptation of one of her favorite novels, although she had been initially pleased by the choice of Director-writer and cast. Further, she disliked the (admittedly brief) erotic nudity by Ekland in the film's final sequences.
After an unsuccessful run in Britain, UA did not release the film in the United States, although there were runs in Denmark and Finland in 1973.