Night of the Eagle (1962)

Director: Sidney Hayers

Starring: Peter Wyngarde, Janet Blair, Margaret Johnston, Anthony Nicholls, Colin Gordon, Kathleen Byron, Reginald Beckwith

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Do the undead demons of hell still arise to terrorize the world?

Plot: A skeptical college professor discovers that his wife has been practicing magic for years. Like the learned, rational fellow he is, he forces her to destroy all her magical charms and protective devices, and stop that foolishness. He isn't put off by her insistence that his professional rivals are working magic against him, and her protections are necessary to his career and life.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Absolutely!

Damn fine film. This is a no nonsense look at modern day witchcraft that doesn't dress its protagonists in robes and silly rituals. If witchcraft were real, I imagine it would play out as portrayed in this picture.


Once again the British deliver a product loaded with stellar performances, a sharp and careful script (by two of THE best writers of THE TWILIGHT ZONE TV show, Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont) and expertly and patiently directed by Sidney Hayers. It's not a slow picture like you would expect with a British horror of this era and it delivers the horror with a tense twist in the final half hour. Peter Wyngarde is particularly magnificent. I'm anxious to re-visit this one again.