''The Night Has Eyes'', released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

as ''Terror House'' by

Producers Releasing Corporation Producers Releasing Corporation was the smallest and least prestigious of the Hollywood film studios of the 1940s. It was considered a prime example of what was called "Poverty Row": a low-rent stretch of Gower Street in Hollywood where shoest ...

and re-released in the US by Cosmopolitan Pictures in 1949 as ''Moonlight Madness'', is a 1942 British

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Leslie Arliss starring James Mason,

Joyce Howard Joyce Howard (28 February 1922 in London – 23 November 2010 in Santa Monica, California) was an English actress, writer, and film executive. After studying at RADA, she was spotted by film director Anthony Asquith in a play at London's Emb ...

, Wilfrid Lawson,

Mary Clare Mary Clare Absalom (17 July 1892 – 29 August 1970) was a British actress of stage, film and television. Biography Daughter of George Alfred Absalom, Clare was educated at Wood Green secondary school, first worked in an office but a loan ...

. and

Tucker McGuire Anne Tucker McGuire (29 January 1913 in Winchester, Virginia, USA - 3 August 1988 in London, England) was an American-born actress who appeared largely in British films and television. She married actor Tom Macaulay. She appeared in the 1949 We ...

. It is based on the 1939 novel of the same title by Alan Kennington.

Plot

Two young female teachers travel to the Yorkshire Moors where their friend had disappeared a year before, and it is not long before they encounter a man they believe to be her murderer. That night, a violent storm breaks out, and they become stranded in the house where they are staying.

Cast

* James Mason as Stephen Deremid * Wilfrid Lawson as Jim Sturrock *

as Marian Ives *

as Mrs. Ranger *

as Doris * John Fernald as Doctor Barry Randall * Dorothy Black as Miss Fenwick *

Amy Dalby Amy Mary Dalby (3 January 1888 – 10 March 1969) was an English actress of stage and screen, often in kindly or eccentric spinster roles. Amy first acted at the age of six. Her final performance was in the 8 March 1969 episode "The Battle of G ...

as Miss Miggs

Critical reception

Leonard Maltin called the film an "OK mystery"; Allmovie called it a "taut British chiller" ; and ''TV Guide'' wrote "though melodramatic and soundstage-bound, ''Terror House'' is still quite effective and eerie. Fog covers almost every exterior; cinematographer Gunther Krampf spent long periods getting the artificial fog at just the right density...The final film was almost too effective, and after initially getting an A rating from the British censor and being booked on the biggest cinema circuit in Britain, the rating was suddenly changed to H (for "Horrific"), making it off-limits for anyone under 16 years of age. The big circuits had a policy of showing only A films, so the independent cinemas became the big winners, getting an excellent thriller starring Mason, Britain's top leading man at the time."

References

External links

* 1942 films 1940s thriller films Films directed by Leslie Arliss Films set in Yorkshire Compositions by Charles Williams British black-and-white films British thriller films Producers Releasing Corporation films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-thriller-film-stub