Night Watch (1973)

An atmospheric thriller that's a bit short on thrills, "Night Watch" is nonetheless entertaining. Ninety-nine minutes of watching 41-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, still looking good and decked out in Valentino, is reason enough. The successful Broadway play by Lucille Fletcher (ex Mrs. Bernard Herrmann) suffers in its translation to the screen. Like Fletcher's most famous writing credit, "Sorry, Wrong Number," the female protagonist is way too shrill. Poor Laurence Harvey, close to death and generously reunited with his good friend and "Butterfield 8" co-star Taylor, tries hard as the deceitful husband. The ending will satisfy the long, tedious buildup. A fun movie to watch as a distraction when you're home with a cold, but certainly not among Taylor's best.

...and Elizabeth Taylor freaking out!Night Watch from 1973 is based on a Broadway play that starred Joan Hackett. Taylor is Ellen Wheeler, married to her busy husband John (Laurence Harvey). They currently have Ellen's best friend Sarah (Billie Whitelaw) visiting. Sarah is having a clandestine affair and sneaks out to meet him. One night, during a storm, Ellen swears she saw a murder victim in the old house across the way. Raising her suspicions is the fact that the man (Robert Lang) who lives in the guest house is digging what looks like a grave. The next day, trees have been planted on it. Ellen's past comes into play here, as she keeps remembering an incident from years ago.The police, however, can't find anything; Ellen then sees another murder victim and lives in a state of hysteria, paranoid and suspicious of everyone and everything. Her husband has a psychiatrist friend (Tony Britton) speak with her, and it's decided it is best if she goes away for a little rest.This is a fun movie, where it seems there is always a horrible storm raging. It contains elements of some other films, as mentioned above. Taylor, who at this point was making a lot of schlock, does a fine job as the unstable Ellen.I did know how this ended ahead of time, having seen part of it ages and ages ago, so I didn't have the twist-ending thrill others have had. Nevertheless, it was very entertaining.One of Taylor's better films from this period - in the hands of better director, it could have been much stronger, since the story and cast are strong. As it is, it's worth watching.

Ellen Wheeler (Elizabeth Taylor) is stuck in a loveless marriage with John Wheeler (Laurence Harvey). There's also a deserted mansion right next door to her. One dark and stormy night she sees a dead body in that house. She's terrified and calls the police. They come but find nothing. Her husband and best friend Sarah (Billie Whitelaw) try to convince her she was seeing things but she's positive it was there. Soon she can't sleep or eat and is slowly going mad.This starts out pretty bad. The dialogue is terrible and the basic setup is VERY obvious. However it slowly gets better. It is slow-moving but it has a spooky atmosphere, the script improves as the film goes on and Taylor, Harvey and Whitelaw give out great performances. Any faults the film has are forgiven by the ending which has TWO twists and an incredibly bloody murder (this would not get a PG today). Worth seeing for the acting alone. Also this is Liz's only horror film and Harvey's second to last movie. Mild but worth catching at least once.

I have been wanting to see this movie for a very long time since I've been reading so many wonderful reviews and how great the twist was and the fact, this is Elizabeth Taylor's only "horror" film, being a big horror fan myself, I HAD to see it and im glad I did. 33yr old movie and not one movie in Hollywood has ever matched the twist like this one had. Truly one of the most original twist since the sixth sense. Top Nauch acting from Liz who gives again, another tour de force not seen since "Who's afraid of Virigina Wolf?". PLOT: Liz plays Ellen Wheeler, the wife of a rich investment broker in London england who is not happy with her life then one stormy night when she cant sleep, she claims she see's a murder in the house across the garden from hers. she becomes hysterical and her husband (Lawrence Harvey) calls the police and they investigate but find nothing. Then more strange things happen and Liz becomes more and more over the edge and hysterical until her husband and best friend (Billie Whitelaw) decide to put her away. but are hubby Lawrence and friend Billie having an affair and trying to scare liz to death or did a murder really happen? I've seen a lot of murder mystery/thrillers as does my mom shes a huge Agatha Christie fan and always guesses the murderer/ending but neither her nor I guessed this one. one of the most original endings ever made. I wish movies today could still make such a suspenseful impact the way thrillers did back in the day. terrific scenes of the storm, great atmosphere, never gets dull or lets up. a must for anyone who loves great mystery thrillers. I hope it comes on DVD one day with an audio commentary by Liz. defiantly one of Liz's better films in the latter part of her career.