What do you know about the secret world you visit when you sleep?
Irene Trent (Barbara Stanwyck) is married to Howard Trent (Hayden Rorke). Howard is a miserable possessive jealous millionaire inventor. He is also blind and creepy. Irene is not happy in her marriage. Howard tapes all conversations in the house hoping to catch his wife in an illicit act. Although Irene is faithful and has never given Howard a reason to believe otherwise, he still constantly accuses her of anything his mealy little mind can think of. Lately she has been having a reoccurring dream about a fantasy love. She also finds herself attracted to Howard’s attorney Barry Moreland (Robert Taylor). He has been the only one who has been allowed in the house. Howard spends his time on different secret projects in his home laboratory.
Irene is about at the end of her rope when suddenly Howard is killed by an explosion in his laboratory. Irene now finds herself a widow and the beneficiary of her husband’s entire estate. The laboratory where the accident happened is locked. Irene decides to move out of the mansion and into a room in the back of a beauty shop she owns called “Irene’s”.
Again she starts dreaming about this “ideal” man that she knows only as “The Dream”, and the dreams intensify. One night her dream seems more real than usual. She dreams she is taken to a chapel and is married to her dream man in front of mannequins. Irene is beginning to doubt her own sanity.
“The Night Walker” was released in 1964 and was directed and produced by William Castle. The screenplay was written by Robert Bloch. This was one of Castle’s creepier movies. I think what pulls this off more than anything else is Stanwyck and Taylor. A lot of Castle’s work is corny and cheezy. Because of the cast, this one seems a little more respectable. Plus Bloch is no slouch when it comes to writing. He also wrote Psycho. Add to that a haunting music score by Vic Mizzy and you have a trifecta that says this is a horror story, a mystery and a thriller. And it all keeps you watching. You want to know what happens next, and you want to know what it all means.
I’ve heard it compared to “Psycho”, which was written by Bloch, although I can’t see it. I’ve also heard it compared to “Homicidal”, another Castle movie, which again strikes me as wrong. If I were to compare it to another movie I would pick “Gaslight”, which is not connected to either Bloch or Castle. Granted it’s not her husband that’s trying to drive her insane, but someone is.
I liked the movie. It doesn’t have the bells and whistles that Castle normally adds to his movies. “The Night Walker” doesn’t need them. The movie is spooky all by itself. It’s complex and fascinating. To me “The Night Walker” is an unappreciated gem of a thriller.