The setting is a provincial English college, complete with ivy on the walls.

With so many irrational (let’s be honest: flat-out stupid) “belief systems” given credence in today’s culture, the hero’s domestic problem isn’t at all that unusual. Another protagonist dedicated to the suppression of superstition clashes with his own wife, who is deeply involvedd with voodoo-like black magic picked up on a sojourn in Jamaica.

Burn, Witch, Burn offers the same idea in an even more personal context. Tourneur’s peerless Curse of the Demon distinguished itself by taking a step back from its story about summoning horrors from Hell, to examine the nature of superstition and the modern effort to oppose it. Back in 1944 it was adapted as a Universal “Inner Sanctum” B-picture, Weird Woman. But Burn is sourced in an old novel by Fritz Leiber, often promoted by Forrest J. Superficially the stories are similar, as an eagle does serve as a substitute demon from Hell. The original English title Night of the Eagle sounds suspiciously like Jacques Tourneur’s superb Night of the Demon, known to U.S. in turn subcontracted the actual production of the film to the Brits. president Jim Nicholson was probably a big help. Matheson and Beaumont wrote the script on spec and then sold it to the studio Richard Matheson’s good relationship with A.I.P. The alignment of talent and opportunity that allowed the creation of Burn, Witch, Burn was indeed providential. Hayers’ other transcendent scare classic is a whole different kettle of shocks: 1960′s highly successful mix of sex and gore Circus of Horrors. It’s perhaps the most respected film directed by the prolific Sidney Hayers, a director who eventually segue’d into a long TV career. When originally released it worked audiences into a genuine creepy panic, and a 1974 museum screening I saw elicited applause from a packed audience.

The intelligent and exciting Burn, Witch, Burn gets high marks in every department. But there are horror fans that take special notice when somebody puts together a show that might attract non-horror fans, a film that makes us think about how superstition works and why it has power over people.Ī superior horror film in all respects, Burn, Witch, Burn sees American-International doing a great job, providing a good English filmmaking team with American distribution as well as the talents of the studio’s frequent screenwriters, celebrated horror and sci-fi greats Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson. Written by Charles Beaumont & Richard Matheson and George Baxt from the novel Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber Jr. Starring Peter Wyngarde, Janet Blair, Margaret Johnston, Anthony Nicholls, Colin Gordon, Kathleen Byron, Reginald Beckwith, Jessica Dunning, Norman Bird, Judith Stott, Bill Mitchell. Night of the Eagle / Street Date Aug/ available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

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