Night Has A Thousand Eyes — Night Has A Thousand Eyes(Blu Ray)
Night Has A Thousand Eyes is an intriguing & wholly engaging crossbreed between tense noir and uneasy psychological horror. Throughout this late 1940s film, the tangible feeling of both mystery & eerier disquiet are kept very much alive- as they are skillfully blended with the noir tropes & atmosphere. Here from Powerhouse is a new Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in HD print of the picture, a new commentary track, and a mix of new/ archive extras.
From the year 1948 Night Has A Thousand Eyes was directed by Sydney-born John Farrow. Between the mid-1930s and late 1950’s he had forty-seven feature-length credits to his name. These went from Caribbean island set romantic crime drama Men In Exile (1937), onto WWII set action-drama Wake Island (1942), through proving innocence noir The Big Clock (1948). Onto Mexican set action-adventure Plunder Of The Sun (1953), though to historic action bio John Paul Jones (1959).
The film opens in a rather intriguing and taut manner- as we see a panicked man picking up various female items from a steam-hazed nighttime railway track. He runs up a metal gantry just above the train to save a woman from throwing herself off. The man is geologist Elliott Carson( John Lud), and the woman is his heiress girlfriend Jean(Gail Russell)- she’s ranting about the sky ‘ having a thousand eyes’ and she going to commit suicide as we’re told she’s been in contact with a friend of her parents- John Trinto( |Edward G Robins) who claims he is a Psychic and has had a chilling premonition of her death under a starry sky.
Elliott convinces her to come back down- and the pair head to a diner, where they meet the rather troubled & nervy Mr Trinto. We then get an example of noir flashback- as he details how twenty years ago, he was faking the whole Psychic thing- fleecing money off people in his stage show. But one night he started getting real, and often quite terrifying premonitions- which basically meant for the last two decades he’s been living like a hermit, scared he would get more premonitions about anyone close to him.
As the film unfolds the viewer switches back and forth between believing Trinto is a genuine troubled Psychic who is trying to stop Jean from her death. Or a convincing con man who is trying to get hold of her family's fortune. In time no-nonsense-been-around-the-block policeman Lieut. Shawn (William Demarest) is brought in, and the scales tip more towards him being a conman. Though we don’t get a full and concise answer right until the end of the film.
Acting wise Robins is excellent as the shady, and slightly creepy Mr Trinto- and his wonderful, nuanced acting does keep you wondering on what side of the fence he really sits. Russell is a good fit for a rich twenty-something- who manages to nicely flit between being fearful, caring, and slightly doubtful. Lud is ok- but does at times come across as a little flat & vapid, though later on in proceedings you do really believe he truly cares about Jean.
Throughout its one hour and twenty-minute runtime- the mix of mystery, tension, and unease is most compelling. With Farrow really creating a tangible feeling of eerier disquiet which runs through the marrow of the film. Equally when the noir elements are executed in a skilful & thrilling manner, with moodily classy nighttime visuals & intriguing very well-realized police investigation. Hand's down Night Has A Thousand Eyes is a wonderful crossbred of noir and horror- which truly does keep you guessing until its final moments.
Moving onto this new region Blu-Ray, and we get a 2021 2k scan of the film. This is a tad murky to begin with but as the film goes on, we get well defined black & white picture. On the new extra front on the disc, we get a commentary track from critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme. They begin by talking about how this was made between two big films for Edward G Robins- 1948’s Key Largo with Humphrey Bogart, and 1949’s House Of Strangers. They briefly comment on the film's score & its creator. Before going on to discuss the 1945 novel by Cornell Woolrich the film was based on, and how the book and film do quite differ- with some plot elements purely created for the film- we also get a brief reading from the novel to get an idea of the writer's prose. We get a bio of lead actress Gail Russell- who sadly had an alcohol problem in real life, and this caused issues later on in her career. They discuss Edward G Robins, and how he plays the role in the film. We find out he was a decidedly kind/ caring man- who at one point gave a million $’s the charities in the 40s, which would have been a huge amount of money at the time. Later on, they talk about the film's set-ups and the way actors play certain scenes. They give bios of other supporting actors, including other notable films they were in. We get short quotes from the press reviews of the time, and much more. A most worthy/ interesting/ entertaining track.
Otherwise, on the new extras side, we have Between Heaven and Earth (23.28) which finds writer and film programmer Tony Rayns giving a great overview of the director's body of work, the film it’s self, and the work of author Cornell Woolrich- who wrote the novel the film was based on.
On the archive side of things, we Screen Directors Playhouse: ‘Night Has a Thousand Eyes’(30.01) a 1948 radio play adaptation introduced and directed by Farrow, and starring Edward G Robinson and William Demarest, reprising their film roles. And Suspense: ‘The Man Who Thought He Was Edward G. Robinson’ (28.12) a 1946 radio play tapping into Robinson’s distinctive persona, starring the man himself. There’s an image gallery featuring promotional & publicity.
The release is finished off with a forty-page booklet talking in a new essay by Jill Blake, archival interviews with actors John Lund and Gail Russell, an archival profile of screenwriter Jonathan Latimer, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits.
Night Has A Thousand Eyes is an intriguing and wholly engaging mix of noir & horror genres. With Powerhouse once again presenting us with a wonderful scan of the film, along with the most worthy/ informative extras to boot. So another great release from the label.