Movie Review: The Night Walker (1964)
Synopsis: Shortly after her blind and wealthy husband is killed in an explosion, a woman starts seeing him in her dreams. When her dreams become more realistic, she begins to suspect both her deceased husband and a mysterious lover really are visiting her and enlists her husband's attorney to help her figure out the truth.
Who's in it? The movie stars Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Judi Meredith, Hayden Rorke and Rochelle Hudson.
Review: Everyone was still in bed this morning and it was too early/too cold so shovel snow so I decided to use my alone time to watch a movie. I recently came across The Night Walker again and since I didn't remember much about it, decided to give it another try. It turned out to be a good choice.
Even though this movie is classified in the horror/thriller, I disagreed and wouldn't put it in that category The somewhat bizarre wedding scene was a little creepy, but the movie never reached a point where it was overly intense or even suspenseful. However, as I've said before, I'm a huge mystery fan and this movie did fit that category very well.
The thing I liked about this film, at least as far as the mystery goes, was the fact it was very difficult to figure out exactly what was going on. In fact, even when I learned the truth about her bizarre dreams, it took a couple minutes for it to sink in enough for my still-waking-up brain to understand.
Part of the reason for this was, while there were plenty of people who seemed like they were up to something, ranging from the attorney (Taylor) to a seemingly unconnected hairdresser (Meredith), there was no clear motive. I suspected Irene's (Stanwyck) husband (Rorke) was murdered. However, his death didn't explain the mysterious man in her dreams (Lloyd Bochner) or why he suddenly became real. I had some theories but none of them were even remotely accurate (which is rare for me).
Adding to that confusion is the way the movie makes it difficult to keep track of whether she's awake or asleep. In addition to giving the viewer a sense of the disorientation the widowed wife is feeling, it does keep you off balanced while watching, making it difficult to keep track of what is real and what is just a figment of her subconscious. I think more movies should do that.
Final Opinion: As I said, the film is lacking when it comes to the horror/thriller category. However, it is a solid mystery that is worth taking the time to watch if you have an opportunity to. I know we didn't regret it even as I watched it a second time.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1964:
Movie Review: 633 Squadron (1964)
Movie Review: Night Must Fall (1964)
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