The Nightcomers (1971) Online

For the inscrutable yet precocious personalities of Miles and Flora evident in the 1961 film 'The Innocents'. As well, the ghosts of that movie are fleshed out nicely in this prequel. Quint is a morally repugnant character, sadistic and controlling, but he's also darkly magnetic as the corrupter of the lovely young governess who submits to (and even embraces) his perverted ideas of sexuality. Together they are fated to become the imprisoned souls that haunt the estate. Together they have inflicted unknowable damage to the psyches of the children.

Brando is very good in the role of Quint. He gives the character a credibility and powerfulness that one would expect from a personality who will ultimately refuse to leave, even after his bizarre death. Few actors would be convincing enough to portray such a reprehensible protagonist and still be vaguely, mysteriously likable. That Brando can deliver this affect with legitimacy is not surprising, genius that he is. Another who might have been very interesting to watch in this role is Dirk Bogarde.

The director's visual styling of the film is it's most unfavorable aspect and prevents it from being excellent. In any case, this unusual little entry has always been a tad underrated. I suspect that now that Marlon has passed on an overdue re-assessment is likely.

As with many Winner films it is necessary to not make the mistake of expecting his film to be exactly as you expect, or very much like it at all actually. Forget Henry James, forget The Innocents and just enjoy Mr Winner's take on how the children lost their innocence. The SM and bondage scenes were more explicit than I remember on a previous viewing and it may be that the earlier video had been trimmed. Certainly here there is no mistaking the powerful relationship between Brando and Beacham and I for one found the playing out of these scenes by the children fairly powerful. I suppose the pace is a little slow which is perhaps particularly noticeable because of how quickly does the effective ending unfold. Not for purists but if you are looking for that something just a little bit different……UPDATE 7.2.17 Just watched this again, on blu ray this time and enjoyed it even more. Once again I felt the bondage scenes more explicit than I remember from before! Funny thing memory.

Conceived as a prequel to The Turn Of The Screw, Winner's film is a curious vehicle for Marlon Brando, as well as a example of a failed attempt to film gothic, period drama satisfactorily. Brando plays Peter Quint, the sexually aggressive former valet, now locum gardener at Bly House, an English county estate. Bly is run jointly by housekeeper, Mrs Grose (Thora Hird), and a governess, the repressed Miss Jessell (Stephanie Beacham). The only other inhabitants of this curious domicile are two children, Miles (Christopher Ellis) and Flora (Verna Harvey), nominally the wards of the absent Master of the House (a splendid Harry Andrews), obliged with their care after the death of their parents in an overseas automobile accident. The children regard Quint as something of a surrogate father, and feel that they can ingratiate themselves by manipulating his private life, notably his intense relationship with Miss Jessell.

Jack Claytons The Innocents (1962) is the closest point of reference for Winner's effort, as the earlier film is the definitive telling of the Henry James tale, the events of which spring from this. Presumably the appointment, and despatch to Bly of the (unnamed) new governess at the film's end is that of Miss Giddings, the character played by Deborah Kerr. But where Clayton's film was completely successful in transmitting a feeling of supernatural unease and psychological dread, Winner's ham-fisted approach to his material comes across as almost entirely without atmosphere or charm. James' characters may act out their allotted parts in The Nightcomers, but its presentation of situation and personality veers uncertainly between the childhood gormlessness of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the compulsions of Lady Chatterley's Lover, as much as evoking any genuine atmosphere of psychic foreboding.

Perhaps such foreboding was the last thing the director had in mind. Brando of course regularly exudes magnetism, even in his less successful films, and the animal sexuality of the gardener towards the governess is one of the most dynamic things about Winner's film. UK TV viewers, used to seeing Beacham as the staple of such programmes as Tenko and Dynasty, will raise eyebrows as she gamely submits her buxom charms to Quint's hands - at one point hogtied and squirming in an impromptu Edwardian bondage session. Jessell despises herself, and yet craves what Quint brings during his nocturnal visits. These scenes, verging on the embarrassing for viewer and participants alike, at least provide vivid entertainment sadly missing elsewhere. Unfortunately such adult titillation also disrupts the progress of a film which required the screw turned of increasing tension and menace and proves a distraction from the growing relationship between Miles and Flora, the children at the centre of the film.

As rounded dramatic characters, the youngsters have a hard job convincing the audience. Alternating between school children's pranks, nascent sexuality, naïve hero-worship and psychosis, it is difficult to discover an internal consistency in their actions. The gauche imitations by Miles and Flora of Quint's sexual performance, including a 'bondage' session of their own, and Miles' announcement to the shocked interrogation of Mrs Grose afterwards ("I'll tell you exactly what we have been doing. We have been doing sex!") are an amusing diversion. And this imitation of the adult affair they have witnessed serves as an ironic parody of their elders, if it hardly prepares the viewer for their final, violent, actions. Accordingly our interest is reduced, and dramatic curiosity falls readily upon the relationship between Quint and Jessell, rather than the peculiar wards they shepherd.

Winner clearly thought so too, for his camera dwells too much on those headline adult liaisons for the film's good. This 'false' emphasis (no matter how good sex is for the box office) means that, when the children ultimately take matters into their own hands, events seem rather lame, their motivation too unconvincing and bald. The paramount influence of Quint of course goes some way to explaining the kids' increasingly odd behaviour, notably his announcement, taken on faith, that "if you love someone, sometimes you really want to kill them." But there is a world of difference between his power games with Miss Jessell and the children's attempts to retain them both in their service, as "the dead have nowhere to go." A handful more scenes of the children, talking through their convictions together, would have gone a long way.

Outside of problems with characterisation, many of the film's faults can be place at the door of Winner. Never the subtlest of directors, he was an odd choice to helm a project of this sort which required emotional tact and physical suggestion. Although the location filming at 'Bly' is effective enough, Winner's weakness for jerky zooms, for exploitation, his stiff direction of actors (only the method-trained Brando seems at ease, even with a faintly ludicrous Irish accent), as well as an over-insistent score, provided by the normally excellent Jerry Fielding, are distracting. Beecham and Hird perhaps saw the film as a stepping-stone to better things and do their best. Fresh from Last Tango In Paris, Brando carries over some of the appetites of Paul, his character in the previous production. The blunt Quint, however, is miles away from the sophisticates who inhabited Bertolucci's classic.

Perhaps in the hands of a flamboyant Ken Russell, or even a cool Terence Fisher, The Nightcomers would have congealed more into a worthwhile experience. As it is the film remains an uneven oddity: explicitly sexual between consenting adults, and confused and coy when it comes to those far more interesting shadows of psychology.

A prequel to Henry James's ¨The turn of the screw¨ wherein a worker named Peter Quint (Marlon Brando) trysts with the governess Miss Jessel (Stephanie Beacham)of two malicious children named Miles and his younger sister Flora (Harvey and Chris Ellis) who are in her care and located at Bly manor.

Yet another special version of the Henry James classic with drama, tension, sexual games and splendid exteriors. Good performance from Marlon Brando as sadist Irish gardener and Stephanie Beacham as the young, too-impressionable governess and submitted to masochist relations with Quint, whom she thinks is corrupting the innocent kids . Furthermore the watchful and voyeurs children possessed by evil who think which lovers unite in death , they are finely played by Ellis and Harvey. And the housekeeper performed by Thora Hird who believes Peter Quint influence on the young children was thought to be malevolent. The film packs evocative photography in a good restoring by Robert Paynter and sensational musical score by Jerry Fielding. The picture is acceptably directed by Michael Winner. He had important commercial success in the mid-70 with his fetish actor, Charles Bronson , achieving various box-office hits, as ¨Deathwish I and II, furthermore ¨The mechanics¨ and ¨The stone killer¨.

Other adaptations about ¨Henry James' The turn of the screw¨ are the followings : Turn of the Screw (1974) by Dan Curtis with Lynn Redgrave; (1989) by Graeme Clifford with Amy Irving and David Hemmings; (1992) by Rutsy Lemorande with Patsy Kensit, Julian Sands and Stephane Audran; (1999) by Ben Bolt with Jodhi May, Pam Ferris and Colin Firth. And of course the classic and best version ,the incredibly eerie rendition titled ¨The innocents (61)¨ by Jack Clayton with Deborah Kerr, Pamela Franklin and Martin Stephens where the protagonist begins to see the specters of Miss Jessel and Peter Quint .

One of Marlon Brando's least-known films, 'The Nightcomers' is a prequel to 'The Turn of the Screw' and describes the events leading up to Henry James' famous ghost story.

Brando plays Peter Quint, the valet at the English country estate, Bly House, whose owners have recently died abroad in an automobile accident. Their children, Flora and Miles, see Quint as a fascinating source of knowledge and believe that everything he says to them is true. They are intrigued by his words and actions, often copying them with ultimately disastrous results. These re-enactments include acting out Quint and the governess, Miss Jessel's (Stephanie Beacham) bondage sessions.

The children all too literally accept Quint's claims that to hate is to love and that the dead remain where they are and meet as though still alive. They then attempt to apply their own logical conclusions to life at Bly House.

Brando gives a decent performance (with an Irish accent) in a role that, because of the dull script, is difficult to excel in and easy to mess up and he often resembles Richard Harris in 'This Sporting Life'. The success of the film is severely limited as it appears incomplete to those who haven't read the original story and it will disappoint those who have as the previously unexplained mystery that made 'The Turn of the Screw' so chilling has now been solved. This 'solution' is not helped by Michael Winner's rather bland direction and the wretched performance of Christopher Ellis as the young Miles.

It is difficult to see what attracted Brando to the idea of making a film that is often reminiscent of Hammer horror. Maybe it was the prospect of playing a character who causes a frog to explode by making it smoke a cigar.

Prequel to Henry James' "The Turn Of the Screw" attempts to show how the two young British children at the center of that story became so disturbed. It turns out the creepy caretaker at their manor (Marlon Brando) seduced their passive nanny into an S&M relationship. Interesting concept, yet director Michael Winner's ham-fisted execution of the material is surely not inviting for an audience (it plays like an R-rated version of "The Innocents"). Damp, creepy atmospherics and a potentially engrossing narrative are each mitigated by Winner's sledgehammer style, which doesn't allow for anything loftier than shock moments (no psychological overtones here!). Soap buffs will be stunned to see ice queen Stephanie Beacham in such a role (although she does garner points for bravery). As for Brando, this is right in keeping with his repertoire of offbeat roles, and he seems to delight in the vulgarity. There's a streak of nastiness running through this film that isn't provocative--just repellent. *1/2 from ****

In the Victorian England, the teenagers Flora (Verna Harvey) and her brother Miles (Christopher Ellis) have just lost their parents in a car accident in France. Their tutor (Harry Andrews) decides to leave the children alone in their huge mansion under the care of the old housekeeper Mrs. Grose (Thora Hird), the governess Miss Jessel (Stephanie Beacham) and the gardener Peter Quint (Marlon Brando). Miles and Flore are very connected to Peter, who misleads their education with twisted concepts of love and death, but the orphans believe and are fascinated by his knowledge. Peter is the lover of Jessel, and they use to have sadomasochistic sex. When Peter sees their kink bondage night of sex, he has a corrupted and perverted sexual initiation. When Mrs. Grose writes to the master of the house to fire Miss Jessel and Peter Quint, Flora and Miles plot a dark scheme to keep them together in the property.

"The Nightcomers" is a very dark tale about finding sexuality and losing innocence in a very twisted way. The performances of the cast are top-notch, but Marlon Brando leads the story with his usual competence. I have never had the chance to read "Turn of the Screw" or see "The Innocents" to make any comparison, but I really liked this unknown and underrated movie. The bondage scenes are very impressive, with Marlon Brando and Stephanie Beacham showing a great chemistry. It is impressive to see that Verna Harvey was twenty-years old in 1972. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Que Chegam Com a Noite" ("The Nightcomers")

Made at a time when Brando was doing very little on film (and when he did, could do no right, if one examines the reviews and box office returns of his films during this period), this prequel to "The Innocents" (which was based on Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw") has little going for it, but may still provide some interest to fans of his. Brando plays a valet whose employer and wife have died in India. The couple's two children come to live at their parents' estate and Brando stays on as a gardener/handyman. Also in residence is a persnickety maid (Hyrd) and a refined nanny/schoolteacher (Beacham.) These five form an uneasy existence with each other as the children hang on the earthy and repugnant Brando's every word and Brando repeatedly seduces Beacham with increasing sadomasochism. Hyrd tries to keep everyone in check to no avail. Finally, the machinations and misunderstandings culminate in a burst of violence, just in time for the story to peter out and set up for the beginning of the original. Brando is an acquired taste here. It's one of his performances in which it's the audience's duty (burden?) to figure out what he is doing and what he is saying. He's messy, flabby, often unintelligible and, naturally, self-indulgent. Nonetheless, fans of his may lap it up with relish. Beacham does a nice enough job, but can't hope to win any scenes up against the ACTING of Brando. The children (scarcely heard of again after this) are the typical bratty, snotty, unattractive, impossible kids that have been seen in countless British movies. The most interesting performance in the film is actually that of Hyrd. She brings a lot of variety and detail to her role of the housekeeper. Andrews pops up briefly and effectively as the children's' disinterested uncle. The film is stacked with unappetizing and repulsive scenes such as a frog being killed, a turtle being mistreated, chicken feathers being ripped out by hand and then, of course, the "arty" S&M sex scenes between Brando and Beacham. These tasteless (and rather boring) sequences don't illuminate the characters or entertain the audience and so are pretty pointless. There's a grain of interest in the material, but the sloppy direction and awkward script don't help keep it going. Stay awake for Beacham's hilarious final screen moment and for Brando's as well. Fortunately, for him, "The Godfather" was just around the corner.

Easily the best movie ever directed by Michael Winner...due in large part to the stunning performance he coaxes out of Marlon Brando. He plays Peter Quint, the surly British handyman-cum-deviant who destroys the children of Henry James' THE TURN OF THE SCREW while violently deflowering the children's tutor (a decidedly foxy Stephanie Beacham). Brando and Beacham have real electricity. Beacham manages to hold her own against the acting giant so it's a surprise that she never really made it as a film actress.

It's an audacious, one of a kind film that's a must see for Brando fans. He gives a truly great performance at a time when most of Hollywood had written him off. He would rebound a year later with THE GODFATHER. Director Winner never did make anything nearly as good as this and was soon back to making the likes of DEATH WISH (various volumes) and of course the woefully ill-advised remake of THE BIG SLEEP.

The Innocents implies, but Nightcomers delivers the rare emotional flesh of the under belly of Henry James story.

It is appropriate to the tale for the audience to experience the sexual paradox of SM, to understand the true power of Quant over the children.

What will these children be like when they mature into adults? Or will they develop into adults ever? Fascinating story. Brando was perfect for this story, and I am sure, his own psychology included such behaviors.

Prick ones body to find ones soul? The levels of pain and pleasure become blurred as in real SM experiences....one does not know where one begins and the other ends. A valid depiction of the pain +pleasure paradox is soundly explored. The audience is given a crash course to SM which enables the intelligent observer to taste and enmesh the aspects of this paradox. All feelings are permitted to be touched. I am sure it will be unsettling emotionally far after one leaves the theater or the click of your remote. Its excellent theater and well told with a master teacher in Brando as your spiritual guide.

What more could one want from a film? Done right before "Tango", and meant to be a prequel of sorts to The Turn of the Screw, this film is an oddity. The kids performances aren't that great, but Brando and Beachum do the dance enough to make it worthwhile. The director accidentally uses the zoom lens too much- it must have been an accident, there's no other explanation- and the music is a bit broad too, but it's worth it for Brando. He takes a character and turns it on it's ear, but it all makes sense- he doesn't do it to shock or get your attention, like Nicolas Cage does- it all seems to come out of a logical character study, and it's always a joy to watch. Check it out, you won't be sorry.

Marlon Brando is just amazing in this extraordinary film.Most people don't understand Brando's career choices .But I think that as years go by,they will.His ideas were way ahead of his time.His talent and range were unbelievable.Every actor tries to imitate his intensity (deniro,penn,nolte,.....) with no success.Definitely the king of acting.

It was a good job Marlon Brando was saved from total obscurity after "The Godfather." The year before that film, Brando came to England to make a totally forgettable film called "The Nightcomers." It was meant to be a prequel to the classic, "The Innocents." Unfortunately, the above film can never lay claim to coming close to equalling the overall effectiveness of the 1961 masterpiece. With Michael Winner, we get the usual content: graphic sex and violence. He clearly didn't bother to attempt to imbue the story with some subtle touches and hoping to create the right mood for his film. A few scenes are in questionable taste and this doesn't exactly encourage me to warm to the film! Brando is OK as the Irish gardener Quint but he is mumbling more than ever.

Originally I would have given this film a 3 out of 10 but I read the reviews and I disagree with all of them so I gave it a one. First of all, Marlon Brando has no range. If he is not mumbling, he is overextending himself. Brando is the most overrated actor in history. After Mutiny on the Bounty, he lost his status in Hollywood. He regained it with the Godfather. This was made before the Godfather.

If you only saw On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire or the Godfather, you would think that he was a great actor. I saw those films first and wanted to see more of his movies. However, each movie of his reveals more flaws than any perceived greatness.

In this film, the Nightcomers, Brando is either overacting or not acting at all. He stands around and broods as the camera pans. I don't care about Quint, who is a bum but stays employed because the new guardian of the children doesn't care. Guess what? Neither do I. The children and the rest of the supporting cast are plastic toys used poorly by Michael Winner, the director. A great actor could have made something of this script and a great director could have made something of this pathetic actor. Neither showed up for the shoot. There is good material for a film but everyone handles their roles so poorly that the film rambles on without a point. It is extremely boring.

Whether or not it was a prequel or not does not matter at all. Brando is saying, "I'm Brando doing Brando acting and you're going to like it because I'm Brando, d***it." I keep thinking of Eddie Murphy as Gumby when I watch Brando.

My advice: Watch a Bogart film. Bogart is enjoyable to watch even if the film is awful. Or watch the Godfather, On the Waterfront or A Streetcar Named Desire. Every other film of Brando's irritated me to no end.

A very underrated, understated film of Marlon's which I found to be psychologically and sexually amazing, not to mention creepy! And this was even before his performance in Last Tango in Paris.

What's going to happen next? How far is the governess going to go? Who is the masochist and who is the sadist? It can almost be called a sexual thriller. And the accent Marlon gives is Scottish/Irish mix. He's not loaded, fully awake and attuned in all his skill.

How many film buffs have missed this performance??? You cannot say you love film and not have seen this. I have to say it's Marlon at his most compelling except for The Godfather.

Fantastic performances by the children, Stephanie Beacham as the governess and Marlon is "Peter Quint". Set in an English Manor; themes include female nudity, children acting out, and sexual fetishes. Could not be made today without MAJOR criticisms and protests. Wow.

Filmed on location and the story is interesting and captivating - to say the least. The ending is not predictable. Hard to find and not shown in the US. Try to find on DVD.

The Nightcomers is an odd, depressingly dull film from the director of many bad movies Michael Winner. What distinguishes it from most other bad Michael Winner films is that it stars the great Marlon Brando, in one of the most curious roles of his career. Brando is excellent in this, but in spite of his efforts the movie still fails to ignite.

The story takes its inspiration (if that's the right word) from the Henry James classic The Turn of the Screw. It explores the reasons behind the childrens' disturbed behaviour in that literary masterpiece, concluding that they were affected by witnessing sexual games and acts of aggression in their infancy. The action takes place at a Victorian mansion, where the two children finds themselves drawn to the gardener (Brando), a strange, philosophising peasant who casts an evil aura over the entire household. In one particularly distasteful scene, Brando demonstrates his cruelty by showing the children how to explode a frog. In another, he is seen performing sexual bondage upon the governess of the house Stephanie Beacham.

There was probably a worthy film somewhere amidst this material. The central idea is interesting and the performances are interesting too. The key problem is Winner's fussiness as a director, constantly distracting the audience with his zooms and close-ups and bizarre camera angles. This is a film ripe for the remake factory. Just as long as Michael Winner doesn't get his hands on it again.

To my mind, one of the most underrated films of all time, due entirely to the fact that reviewers, amateur and professional, just cannot face reality squarely. It is an unqualified masterpiece, written by Michael Hastings, that speaks of, among other things, the impressionability of children, the necessity of intimacy over artificiality, of direct education rather than only book learning, the brutal reality of sex over the dreaminess of what we merely wish for, the question of death and what it is and many other issues including class questions. This prequel to The Innocents (the film version of the Gothic Henry James novel, "The Turn of the Screw") brilliantly answers the question of how Flora and Miles came to be possessed by the spirits of the gardener and governess and it does so in a non-mystical way that sits side by side with the mystical notions of it, which it cleverly dismisses. This act explains the underlying nature of Henry James's sideways attack on the conventions of his day and strips "The Innocents" of its reality-substitute. Such substitutes will never be enough for us to live life in reality. "Last Tango In Paris" was a kind of bookend to this but Tango was far too literal. This metaphoric telling of life and death as it really is should have been celebrated. It would have and will continue to be but not by cowardly crybabies who can't or won't face life.

Marlon Brando's sole horror movie vehicle is a disturbing, eerie and underrated affair that deserves more praise. Intended as a prequel of sorts to Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw", it is often said to be a follow-up film to Jack Clayton's mesmerizing adaptation of the latter, "The Innocents". Thus, people wanting to see "The Innocents" all over again are bound to be disappointed. For starters, "The Nightcomers" is not even a ghost story to begin with, and can be described as being more of a dark drama with horror overtones, with the underlying theme of sexual-repression being one of the few things the two films share. Although Miles and Flora kill the two so they can at least be together, even if after death, the matter is not dealt in a supernatural way at all. In fact, considering how there are no ghostly manifestations of their dead parents leaves the audience to believe (well, at least those unfamiliar with either James' or Clayton's work) that they were simply insane, in a way more akin to Carlos Henrique Taboada's "Veneno para las Hadas". The final scenes gives a sense of hoplesness, rather than the creepy-but-macabre tone some might expect. As it is often said, Brando's performance as Peter Quint is brilliant, and should be compared to his similar work in "Last Tango in Paris" the following year. In fact, I wonder if Bertolucci ever saw this film before casting Brando as Paul in "Last Tango...". In this one, he manages to convey sympathy and melancholy for his rather brute and vicious character. Stephanie Beacham holds up extremely well against Brando, and they a strangely effective chemistry between them. Thora Hird is delightfully annoying as intended, and the younger actors who play Miles and Flora are quite convincing as well for their young age, and come across as being quite creepy. Tame though they are, the scenes where the two start imitating Quint and Jessell are quite disturbing to say the least. The film also benefits heavily from a bittersweet sense of humor and witty one-liners, that thankfully does not ruin the omnipresent sense of dread and sexual frustration, only enhance it. "The Nightcomers" has been often criticized for being dullishly directed, which surprises me since the whole thing was anything but dull in my view. Surely, some scenes go on for a bit too long, but it's not like they ruin the film. Winner goes for a more naturalistic approach as opposed to Clayton's more nightmarish, otherworldly take, and us such, the film is a real marvel to look at. Winner makes perfect use of the locations at the British countryside, landing a lot to the thick, brooding atmosphere. The musical score, though not particularly memorable, fits perfectly with it's beautiful imagery. Overall, while not a perfect film, "The Nightcomers" has plenty to offer to the open-minded. Just do not expect anything close to "The Innocents", or Winner's later, more "hardcore" horror entry "The Sentinel". 9/10

Although the sets and cinematography are scrupulously suggestive of the early 20th century in the United Kingdom and the performances quite good, The Nightcomers never quite gels as a Gothic horror classic. Maybe we see a bit too much of ourselves and don't like to think of the implications of what we're watching.

The children of a wealthy British family are left orphaned by the deaths of their parents in a motor car crash. A cousin who is the closest relation to the father Harry Andrews is at the estate to tidy up affairs, but has no desire to stay there or act as a parent to these two. Never mind, they are amply provided for with cook and governess who are Thora Hird and Stephanie Beacham. The father had a valet played by Marlon Brando and since there is clearly no need for one now he's relegated to the gardener's duties.

Brando's delightful Irish gardener Quint bonds with the kids. He's full of blarney and charm, but that cheerful exterior hides a rather complex and sadistic being. The kids catch him and Beacham in some kind of bondage game as Brando initiates Beacham into the finer points sadomasochistic sex. Both children take careful notes. The kids are played by Christopher Ellis and Verna Harvey.

In the end what happens sets the stage for Henry James's classic Gothic horror tale The Turn Of The Screw. That was brought to the screen ten years earlier as The Innocents which starred Deborah Kerr as the new governess for the kids. According to The Nightcomers, The Innocents would be the last thing anyone would have entitled that film.

Fine performances, wonderful sets and cinematography, yet the film just lacks a spark to consider it a classic. Marlon Brando's fans will want to see it though.

Another reviewer called this movie unnecessarily cruel because of its sexual depictions. I call it unnecessarily cruel because of its depictions of cruelty to animals. Cruelty to animals is never justified. Not in books or any story and certainly not in the visual arts. When I see it in a movie I would have otherwise enjoyed, I cannot recommend that movie. I believe the writer/director equates cruelty to animals with sexual deviations such as S&M. While I only very slightly and briefly experimented in S&M in my youth, I do not believe these two behaviors are connected. If someone becomes aroused during S&M activities (those depicted in the movie are rather tame activities at that; after all it is a movie) it has nothing to do with mindless harming of animals, which are innocent and helpless. Sexual deviation is strictly human in origin.

Nevertheless, Brando looks very sexy. However, I am disappointed he participated in the graphic animal cruelty contained in the script.

this is truly a one-of-a-kind film. I give it a 6 rating because it lags and Brando really isn't giving it his best. He's somewhat like his character in "The Island of Dr. Moreau," although it seems to work much better in the latter film. (I give that film a 7 -- I think the magic to that film, though most won't agree, is that all the actors hated each other during the making of it, the tension makes it work). Anyway, this film delves into animal cruelty, incest and comes close to child molestation. It could never be made today or, if it did, it would probably sell a lot of tickets. It follows Brando, who is the groundskeeper for a rich estate with two children who idolize him. He "rapes" the nanny repeatedly, and the kids watch without him knowing. They start role-playing with each other the things he does to the nanny. He has this skewed vision of life that he passes along to them, which leads to his demise. The arrow through the head and the frog smoking a cigar are classic movie moments in my view.

Made just before "The Godfather" saved his career and changed his life, "The Nightcommers" shows just what a desperate state Brando's career was in. This deeply terrible film is awful in a lot of fairly interesting ways, however, and a curious movie hound will want to endure it's wretched 96 minutes.

It should be noted that this prequil violates both James's "The Turn Of The Screw" and "The Innocents" the great film of that novel. It comes off like many cheap brit or Italian horror films, with a clumsy and offensive sex scene thrown in. Michael Winner's reputation as a terrible director was well earned. Scene after awful scene is handled clumsily and the ending is really terrible.

Oddly, the film foreshadows both "Last Tango" and "The Missouri Breaks" where Brando once again used his Irish accent. If you, like me, respect the still controversial "Last Tango" as a classic, the movie will be even more painful. Brando, handsome but already gaining girth, was forced by Bertoluchi to drop twenty pounds, we can see why.

The whole point of The Novel is that we cannot be sure WHAT happened at Bly, and this film provides a most unwelcome explanation.

This is a loose prequel to the classic Henry James ghost story The Turn of the Screw, which itself was successfully filmed in 1961. Of course, with Michael Winner at the helm of this film, it soon changes from a ghost story to something more exploitational, as the director deals with a sado-masochistic relationship between the gardener and the governess that certainly WASN'T on the mind of Henry James when he wrote his story! In today's society where so-called documentaries on everything from sexual perversion to sex changes are ten a penny on every television channel, these sexual scenes have lost their power to shock; the sight of Stephanie Beacham hog-tied in the bedroom isn't perhaps as outrageous as it would have been in the 1970s.

Elsewhere, the film plods along slowly with a lack of pace and lack of action. Much of the screen time is given to the rather unsavoury character Quint, which is unsurprising considering that he's played by Marlon Brando. Brando gives one of those offbeat, anything-goes type performances that I personally hate; Johnny Depp's turn in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN is the most recent example of this type of "acting". Adopting a surprisingly good Irish accent, Brando boozes, sleeps, and acts odd throughout the film, most memorable in the opening scenes where he causes a frog to explode after making it smoke a cigarette!

The film has some good turns from the adult performers, all of whom are to be seen in rather more genteel fare than what's on offer here. Stephanie Beacham, who resolutely refused to disrobe in many of her other films, shows that she's not camera shy here, regularly stripping off for the torrid sex scenes. Harry Andrews pops up in a few scenes to lend some quiet dignity to the proceedings, while the biggest surprise of all comes from the appearance of Thora Hird as the ghastly housekeeper with maggots in her hair. I'm somebody who knows Hird solely from her role in the long-running sitcom LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE, so her appearance here seems quite extraordinary!

Sadly, the film is let down by some diabolical acting from the 'child' actors – one of whom, Verna Harvey, was actually 20 when this was filmed! Christopher Ellis is particularly bad and his voice really grates on the viewer's nerves. Winner seems to be a somewhat slapdash director, filming bland, boring shots at one moment and overusing the zoom lens at another. He fails to insert any much-needed energy or excitement into the proceedings, even at the shocking climax, which plays out as staidly as the rest of the film. Still, the Cambridgeshire locations are nice to look at – almost as nice as Beacham's ample charms – which is something, I suppose.

Dear Michael Winner,

I guess you were unable to control Marlon Brando on the sets because he was at his mumbling best in this film. I had to use subtitles to figure out what he was saying most of the time.

The film is a prequel to the Henry James novel "Turn of the Screw" (which I have not read). It is set in a remote country house occupied by a couple of orphaned kids, their governess (Stephanie Beacham), a senior governess (Thora Hird) and the manor's caretaker (Brando). The governess and the caretaker are locked in a sadistic love affair which soon begins to alter the behavior of the orphaned children who look up to them for guidance.

I loved the setting and the characters. It is one of those films where the characters almost seem to be locked together in some place (in this case, a huge country house with large grounds) and they soon begin to interact with each other in mysterious ways. It is a film of strange relationships. Not just between Brando and Beacham but also between the two orphaned kids whose awakening sexuality leads to incestuous behavior. Quinn the caretaker is witty and charming but also derives pleasure from beating up women. The governess is needy and lays in bed every night waiting for Quinn. The two orphans are confused and in the absence of proper role models, begin to develop dangerous ideas about sex, love and death. The senior governess is a broken moral compass to these strange creatures who find ways to trick her.

The film would look great on Blu-Ray as the country house and grounds are beautiful in the mild haze of the winter fog. Brando's body language is amazing. He has some of the best lines in the movie. Beacham is erotic even when she is dressed like a prude. The sweaty sex scenes between the two were overwhelming. The conservative senior governess is played by Thora Hird, who fitted the role perfectly. The beautiful Verna Hervey plays the female of the orphaned children. Christopher Ellis is her brother. Both of them looked sweet and innocent.

It is one of those relatively unknown British gems, Michael. I would recommend it to fans of odd horror films with a lot of character development.

Best Regards, Pimpin.

(8/10)

This is one film you never really see anywhere. This one takes place before Turn Of The Screw, the novel by Henry James. A huge manor situated on a vast amount of land located in England is the setting. It takes place around early 1900's. The house is occupied by two children whose parents were killed in accident leaving them in the care of the master of the house. A housekeeper takes care of the day to day operations leaving the nanny to tend to the kids. There is a groundskeeper as well played by Marlon Brando and yes he does use his Brand 'O style of acting. The master of the house wants nothing to do with anybody so he leaves to another dwelling telling the housekeeper only to contact him if someone dies basically. The film then shows the relationship of Brando and the nanny which involves sado masochistic things. The kids idolize Brando copying everything he does since he has been the only parent figure they have had, but Brando has several issues.

This was a good slow burning film as it develops all the characters and then the build up for Turn Of The Screw. Brando's a kinky bastard in this one probably still holding the butter from Last Tango In Paris. You even get to see a frog explode from smoking a cigar. It would have been a perfect stop smoking commercial.

If you don't mind Brando talking like a wee leprechaun and the odd sex scene with ropes then you'll like this flick. It does have a bitter ending.