Eye of the Devil ** (1967, Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Emlyn Williams, Flora Robson, Donald Pleasence, David Hemmings, Sharon Tate) – Classic Movie Review 8842

Director J Lee Thompson’s promising but clunky 1967 occult crime horror mystery thriller Eye of the Devil stars David Niven, who looks lost as Philippe de Montfaucon, the wine-growing French marquis who has to be sacrificed by vineyard workers following old pagan rituals when the vines fail in a dry season. This psychotronic film, based on a novel by Robin Estridge, has a daft tale tell of black magic in a creepy French chateau, the Castle Bellenac.

Deborah Kerr plays his wife Catherine de Montfaucon and seems equally puzzled by the creaky goings-on, possibly dazed by her last-minute arrival on set as star replacement. Kim Novak was hurt when she fell from a horse late on during filming and was replaced by Kerr, who had to re-shoot all Novak’s scenes.

Sharon Tate in her credited film debut, as Odile de Caray.

The venerable co-stars (Emlyn Williams as Alain de Montfaucon, Flora Robson as Countess Estell and Donald Pleasence as Pere Dominic) are surprisingly powerless to help them out. And the young generation (David Hemmings as Christian de Caray and Sharon Tate in her credited film debut, Odile de Caray) have small roles and are entirely out of it.

Robin Estridge and Dennis Murphy’s unconvincing screenplay is based on the novel Day of the Arrow by Philip Loraine, a pseudonym for Estridge. But Erwin Hillier’s attractive cinematography produces the odd interesting image (the hooded figures in the gardens for example).

Also in the cast are Edward Mulhare, John le Mesurier, Donald Bisset, Robert Duncan, Michael Miller, Pauline Letts and Suky Appleby.

Filming began in autumn 1965 in France and was completed early in 1966, but the film spent a long time on the shelf and its American release was not till September 1967, with its British release not until March 1968.

J Lee Thompson replaced Michael Anderson, and Sidney J Furie and Arthur Hiller directed additional scenes. It was to be filmed in Ireland as Day of the Arrow, but it moved to France, had three title changes, eventually had trouble with the censor, and finally it flopped at the box-office. The jerky editing is due to pre-release cutting and re-editing.

It says in the opening credits ‘and introducing Sharon Tate’, but by the time of the belated release of Eye of the Devil, she had already made and been seen in Don’t Make Waves, which has also has a special ‘introducing’ credit.

It was filmed at Chateau de Hautefort in Dordogne, France.

J Lee Thompson said bewitching Sharon Tate had ‘star projection’.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8842

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