CBS LATE MOVIE MONTH: Eye of the Devil (1966)
Posted on July 5, 2023 by bandsaboutmovies
EDITOR'S NOTE: Eye of the Devil was on the CBS Late Movie on May 10 and September 8, 1972 and September 6, 1973.
Based on Day of the Arrow by Philip Loraine, this was shot under the title Thirteen. It was a prophetic title, as the film had to have felt cursed.
Sidney J. Furie was originally going to direct, but he was replaced by Michael Anderson, who then got sick and was replaced by J. Lee Thompson. Even worse, two weeks before filming was scheduled to end, star Kim Novak was thrown from her horse and hurt her back. Production shot around her but it would take eight more weeks for her to heal up, so the entire movie was reshot with Deborah Kerr.
But did she really hurt her back?
In Blow Up... and Other Exaggerations: The Autobiography of David Hemmings, the actor said that he saw Novak arguing with producer Martin Ransohoff and she was fired after.
Philippe de Montfaucon, the Marquis de Bellenac (David Niven) is the owner of an ancient estate in Bordeaux. The grapes have not grown in three years, but he lives far away in Paris with his wife Catherine (Kerr) and two children.
He is asked to come home where Père Dominic (Donald Pleasence), a dark priest, gives him a strange amulet. After their son Jacques has a dream about his father, Catherine takes her children to Bordeaux. As soon as they arrive, they see Christian de Caray (David Hemmings) shoot a dove.
When asked of him, Aunt Estelle (Flora Robson) says that he is "a very wicked little boy" and that his sister Odila (Sharon Tate) is "no better." That night, Catherine watches them conduct a ceremony with the body of the dead dove before an old man closes the doors and tells her to take her children and get away.
That's when she learns how many heads of the family have died, as well as starting to see robed figures everywhere. In order to keep the family's fortunes and even the town strong, her husband must die. There's no stopping it.
Alex Sanders, known as the King of the Witches, was the consultant for all the rituals in this movie.
This was Tate's first movie as well as the last black and white movie from MGM.
Based on Day of the Arrow by Philip Loraine, this was shot under the title Thirteen. It was a prophetic title, as the film had to have felt cursed.
Sidney J. Furie was originally going to direct, but he was replaced by Michael Anderson, who then got sick and was replaced by J. Lee Thompson. Even worse, two weeks before filming was scheduled to end, star Kim Novak was thrown from her horse and hurt her back. Production shot around her but it would take eight more weeks for her to heal up, so the entire movie was reshot with Deborah Kerr.
But did she really hurt her back?
In Blow Up... and Other Exaggerations: The Autobiography of David Hemmings, the actor said that he saw Novak arguing with producer Martin Ransohoff and she was fired after.
Philippe de Montfaucon, the Marquis de Bellenac (David Niven) is the owner of an ancient estate in Bordeaux. The grapes have not grown in three years, but he lives far away in Paris with his wife Catherine (Kerr) and two children.
He is asked to come home where Père Dominic (Donald Pleasence), a dark priest, gives him a strange amulet. After their son Jacques has a dream about his father, Catherine takes her children to Bordeaux. As soon as they arrive, they see Christian de Caray (David Hemmings) shoot a dove.
When asked of him, Aunt Estelle (Flora Robson) says that he is "a very wicked little boy" and that his sister Odila (Sharon Tate) is "no better." That night, Catherine watches them conduct a ceremony with the body of the dead dove before an old man closes the doors and tells her to take her children and get away.
That's when she learns how many heads of the family have died, as well as starting to see robed figures everywhere. In order to keep the family's fortunes and even the town strong, her husband must die. There's no stopping it.
Alex Sanders, known as the King of the Witches, was the consultant for all the rituals in this movie.
This was Tate's first movie as well as the last black and white movie from MGM.