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ALBERT FINNEY DOMINATES 1964 REMAKE OF "NIGHT MUST FALL."

Posted by DEWEY MEE on May 31st 2024

This 1964 British remake of 1937's "NIGHT MUST FALL" takes its time building up suspense, but benefits from Albert Finney's riveting performance as Danny, a charismatic and sexy sociopath who works his way (as a general handyman and caregiver) into the home of Mrs. Bramson (Mona Washbourne), an elderly lady in a wheelchair.
Mrs. Bramson's maid Dora (Shelia Hancock) and daughter Olivia (Susan Hampshire) are both seduced by Danny. At one point, they both fight over him in the middle of the town. And old lady Bramson even says to Olivia, "Danny doesn't belong to you. I pay his wages."
The film has several scenes that build to something disturbing, and then suddenly pull back and cut awkwardly to the next scene ; as if afraid to show the depths of Danny's twisted depravity. This film was released four years after Hitchcock's "PSYCHO", so it could have been much more bold than it is. But the film finally becomes truly disturbing and unnerving when an "innocent and friendly" game of Hide And Go Seek turns deadly. The chills are well worth the long wait.