Review: The Night Walker


Barbara Stanwyck (in her final feature film) has nightly visions of an imaginary dream lover (Lloyd Bochner). Her blind and insecure rich husband (Hayden Rorke) thinks she’s having an affair with his lawyer (Robert Taylor). Somebody dies under suspicious circumstances, a dream man comes true, and Barbara Stanwyck screams a lot. 


William Castle (“House on Haunted Hill”,  “ I Saw What You Did ”, “Mr. Sardonicus”) eschews the gimmicks for the most part in this 1965 psychological mystery-thriller scripted by the one and only Robert Bloch (“Psycho”, “Asylum ”). They prove a good combo in this creepy little B-movie with the kind of irresistible plot that keeps me hooked as I try to figure it all out. It also has the kind of unnerving vibe about it that might haunt your own dreams if you watch it before bed. The plot is more Bloch than Castle (and a bit “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”), but some of the optical tricks are very William Castle. Listen out for Paul Frees doing his best Orson Welles imitation giving us an oratory spiel about dreams. I did pick the culprit fairly early, but not the entire scheme so I wasn’t disappointed or deflated. 


It’s a shame that Robert Taylor is such a boring actor, because everything else worked here for me especially the performances by Barbara Stanwyck (a great screamer it has to be said) and a terrific Lloyd Bochner. The latter is certainly more charismatic than ‘ol pale eyes Taylor, and there’s also an interesting performance from an actor named Hayden Rorke as Stanwyck’s suspicious, blind husband. I can’t decide which is creepier, him or the house he and Stanwyck live in. Best of all are the terrific, B&W cinematography by Harold E. Stine (“The Poseidon Adventure”) and music score by Vic Mizzy (TV’s “Green Acres” and “The Addams Family”). The lighting in particular is excellent. 


William Castle and Robert Bloch offer up quite the creepy thriller here, with a mostly terrific cast and a story that keeps you engaged even if you figure out who the villain is here. Fun stuff on the B level, especially for Castle fans as well as those aware of the connection the two main stars had in real-life years prior to making this film.


Rating: B-

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