Fear No Evil (1969) (TV)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writers:

Guy Endore (story)
Richard Alan Simmons (writer)

Release Date:

3 March 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

A psychiatrist specializing in the occult becomes involved in the case of a man who is possessed by a spirit in an antique mirror...

Plot Keywords:

Mirror | Antique | Occult | Spirit | Back From The Dead

Cast

Louis Jourdan	...	David Sorell
Carroll O'Connor	...	Myles Donovan
Bradford Dillman	...	Paul Varney
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Harry Snowden
Lynda Day George	...	Barbara (as Lynda Day)
Marsha Hunt	...	Mrs. Varney
Katherine Woodville	...	Ingrid Dorne
Harry Davis	...	Mr. Wyant
Ivor Barry
Jeanne Buckley	...	Miss Bamett
Robert Sampson
Lyn Peters
Susan Brown

Also Known As:

Bedeviled (USA) (working title)
NBC World Premier Series: Fear No Evil (USA) (series title)

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

This was the very first "Movie of The Week" on US television. It was produced by Universal Studios for NBC's "World Premier Series", a series which promoted feature films made for television.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Ritual of Evil (1970) (TV)

The devil uses a mirror to possess souls!

When first aired in 1969, this TV production was a ratings powerhouse for NBC. Starring the infrequently used Louis Jourdan as David Sorell, an L.A. psychiatrist with an interest in the occult, the film tells the story of a mirror that holds a demon that possesses the soul of newlywed Bradford Dillman. Lynda Day (the future wife of actor Christopher George) plays Dillman's hapless wife who herself is to be the next victim of the mirror's machinations. A pre-Archie Bunker Carroll O'Connor is on hand as Dillman's friend that's hiding a sinister secret. Veteran actress Marsha Hunt is very good as Dillman's adoring and devoted mother. English stalwart Wilfred Hyde-White plays Jourdan's apparent mentor in things that go bump in the night.

The film has a nicely creepy feel, befitting the studio (Universal) that brought the world so many classic horror films during the 30's.

Also, the score by Billy Goldenberg is effectively spooky, especially the scene wherein the entranced George descends from the stairs to be "rejoined" with her deceased husband.

"Fear No Evil" yielded a sequel a year later, the somewhat weaker "Ritual of Evil" with Jourdan returning in the lead role.