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{{Short description|1968 British film by Frederic Goode}}
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'''''The Hand of Night''''' is a 1968 British [[horror film]] directed by [[Frederic Goode]] and starring [[William Sylvester]], [[Diane Clare]] and [[Aliza Gur]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/35672|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205180312/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/35672|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 February 2009|title=The Hand of Night (1968)|website=Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk|accessdate=9 May 2018}}</ref> It is also known by the [[alternative title]] '''''Beast of Morocco'''''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/beast-of-morocco-v4465|title=Beast of Morocco (1966) - Frederic Goode - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie|website=AllMovie}}</ref> Its plot concerns a man who encounters a dangerous woman while searching for his friend, a missing archaeologist, in [[Morocco]].<ref name="x cert">John Hamilton, ''The British Independent Horror Film 1951-70'', Hemlock Books, 2013, p. 171-174</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Craig |first1=Rob |title=American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography |date=15 February 2019 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-3522-4 |page=115 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0CIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA115 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Craig |first1=Rob |title=American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography |date=15 February 2019 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-3522-4 |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0CIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 |language=en}}</ref>
'''''The Hand of Night''''' (also known as '''''Beast of Morocco''''' <ref>{{cite web |title=Beast of Morocco (1966) - Frederic Goode - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/beast-of-morocco-v4465 |website=AllMovie}}</ref>) is a 1968 British [[horror film]] directed by [[Frederic Goode]] and starring [[William Sylvester]], [[Diane Clare]] and [[Aliza Gur]].<ref name="BFIsearch">{{Cite web |title=The Hand of Night |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150032353 |access-date=14 August 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/35672|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205180312/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/35672|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 February 2009|title=The Hand of Night (1968)|website=Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk|accessdate=9 May 2018}}</ref> It was written by [[Bruce Stewart (scriptwriter)|Bruce Stewart]].

== Plot ==
Paul Carver is an Englishman who has recently lost his wife and children in a car accident. Waking from a nightmare, we find Carver on a plane traveling to Morocco, where he attempts to meet with a doctor, only to discover that the doctor has died. In despair, Carver ends up at the home of a German archaeologist, Otto Gunther, whom he met on the plane. It is here, in the midst of a party, that Carver first encounters the two women who will determine his destiny: Gunther's assistant, Chantal, and the mysterious Marissa. Grieving the loss of his loved ones and crippled by survivor's guilt, Carver must choose between life, represented by Chantal, and death, represented by Marissa.<ref name="x cert">John Hamilton, ''The British Independent Horror Film 1951-70'', Hemlock Books, 2013, p. 171-174</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Craig |first1=Rob |title=American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography |date=15 February 2019 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-3522-4 |page=115 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0CIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA115 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Craig |first1=Rob |title=American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography |date=15 February 2019 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-3522-4 |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0CIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 |language=en}}</ref>


==Cast==
==Cast==
* [[William Sylvester]] - Paul Carver
* [[William Sylvester]] as Paul Carver
* [[Diane Clare]] - Chantal
* [[Diane Clare]] as Chantal
* [[Aliza Gur]] - Marisa
* [[Aliza Gur]] as Marisa
* [[Edward Underdown]] - Gunther
* [[Edward Underdown]] as Gunther
* [[Terence De Marney]] - Omar
* [[Terence De Marney]] as Omar
* William Dexter - Leclerc
* William Dexter as Leclerc
* [[Sylvia Marriott]] - Mrs Petty
* [[Sylvia Marriott]] as Mrs Petty
* [[Avril Sadler]] - Mrs Carver
* [[Avril Sadler]] as Mrs Carver
* [[Angela Lovell]] - Air Hostess
* [[Angela Lovell]] as air hostess
* [[Maria Hallowi]] - Nurse
* [[Maria Hallowi]] as nurse

== Reception ==
''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote: "The pink mist that billows from the eye socket of a skull throughout the opening credits augurs both the pretensions and the weaknesses of this rather dull exercise in the macabre. Despite some sterling decomposition work by the make-up department, the film relies heavily on old Hammer production tricks without contributing any original variations of its own; and the story is not helped by the portentous rhetoric of lines like "I too have lived in the shadows". William Sylvester leads the group of sweat-streaked humans battling indomitably against the unknown – in this case a species of lily-livered vampirism that would make Dracula turn in his shallow grave."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1968 |title=The Hand of Night |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305824399/160F20ED51D64AACPQ/1 |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=35 |issue=408 |pages=180 |via=ProQuest}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s British films]]
[[Category:1960s British films]]
[[Category:English-language horror films]]




Latest revision as of 17:59, 22 September 2024

The Hand of Night
Theatrical poster;
Directed byFrederic Goode
Written byBruce Stewart
Produced byHarry Field
Starring
CinematographyWilliam Jordan
Edited byJohn Blair (supervising)
Music byJohn Shakespeare
Production
company
Release date
  • 6 October 1968 (1968-10-06) (UK)
(general release)
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish

The Hand of Night (also known as Beast of Morocco [1]) is a 1968 British horror film directed by Frederic Goode and starring William Sylvester, Diane Clare and Aliza Gur.[2][3] It was written by Bruce Stewart.

Plot

[edit]

Paul Carver is an Englishman who has recently lost his wife and children in a car accident. Waking from a nightmare, we find Carver on a plane traveling to Morocco, where he attempts to meet with a doctor, only to discover that the doctor has died. In despair, Carver ends up at the home of a German archaeologist, Otto Gunther, whom he met on the plane. It is here, in the midst of a party, that Carver first encounters the two women who will determine his destiny: Gunther's assistant, Chantal, and the mysterious Marissa. Grieving the loss of his loved ones and crippled by survivor's guilt, Carver must choose between life, represented by Chantal, and death, represented by Marissa.[4][5][6]

Cast

[edit]

Reception

[edit]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The pink mist that billows from the eye socket of a skull throughout the opening credits augurs both the pretensions and the weaknesses of this rather dull exercise in the macabre. Despite some sterling decomposition work by the make-up department, the film relies heavily on old Hammer production tricks without contributing any original variations of its own; and the story is not helped by the portentous rhetoric of lines like "I too have lived in the shadows". William Sylvester leads the group of sweat-streaked humans battling indomitably against the unknown – in this case a species of lily-livered vampirism that would make Dracula turn in his shallow grave."[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Beast of Morocco (1966) - Frederic Goode - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  2. ^ "The Hand of Night". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  3. ^ "The Hand of Night (1968)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  4. ^ John Hamilton, The British Independent Horror Film 1951-70, Hemlock Books, 2013, p. 171-174
  5. ^ Craig, Rob (15 February 2019). American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography. McFarland. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-4766-3522-4.
  6. ^ Craig, Rob (15 February 2019). American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography. McFarland. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-4766-3522-4.
  7. ^ "The Hand of Night". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 35 (408): 180. 1 January 1968 – via ProQuest.
[edit]


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