Night Must Fall Reviews

A fair remake of the classic 1937 MGM film, this time starring Finney as the crazed ax murderer who weasels his way into the home of Washbourne and her daughter, Hampshire, on the pretext of redecorating. While living with the women, Finney plays bizarre games with Washbourne and has an affair with Hampshire. In the privacy of his room, Finney performs elaborate rituals with the severed heads of his female victims, which he keeps in a hatbox. When the police close in, Finney goes berserk and kills Washbourne; but he ends up huddled in the corner of the bathroom like a little boy when Hampshire scolds him. Soon the police arrive and take him away. Strong on atmosphere, but Finney's performance is not so subtle or chilling as Robert Montgomery's in the earlier version. Director Reisz used imaginative transitions, jump-cutting, and often overlapped the visuals of one scene into the audio of the following one. Nonetheless, the result was a disappointment.