Burn Witch Burn – PETER WYNGARDE: The Official Website

Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) is a psychology professor lecturing about belief systems and superstition. After a scene in which his wife searches frantically and finds a black magic charm left by a jealous work rival, Flora (Margaret Johnston), he discovers that his wife, Tansy (Janet Blair), is practising ‘Obeah’, referred to in the film as “conjure magic,” which she learned in Jamaica. She insists that her charms have been responsible for his rapid advancement in his academic career and for his general well-being. A firm rationalist, Norman is angered by her acceptance of superstition. He forces her to burn all of her magical paraphernalia.

Almost immediately, things start to go wrong: a female student (Judith Stott) accuses Norman of rape, her boyfriend (Bill Mitchell) threatens him with violence, and a strange force tries to break into the Taylors’ home during a thunderstorm. Tansy, willing to sacrifice her life for her husband’s safety, almost drowns herself and is only saved at the last minute by Norman giving in to the practices he despises. However Flora’s torment does not stop there…

Directed by Sidney Hayers

Based on ‘Conjure Wife’ by Fritz Leiber

Credits

Photographic tribute shot by O-Ten Photography – Lighting Asistant & Photo Editor by Micci Luise – Make-up & wigs by Katherine Gregory MUA – Wardrobe by No.6 Emporium – Interior Locations by kind permission of Linda & Rory, Hull – Hull Mag & East Riding Magazine – Exterior Location: Kim Hayman, Hull University

Hull Mag & East Riding Magazine

Firstly O-Ten would like to thank the editor of Hull Mag and East Riding Magazine, Nic, for his continued support of O-Ten Photography.

2019 marks the 10th year of O-Ten so I felt that this was the perfect year to put together a tribute to one of my favourite horror films.

This has been a labour of love and could not have been possible without the support of Tina Wyngarde-Hopkins and the stellar cast whom in my eyes mastered their roles impeccably.

Last but not certainly least I would like to thank Micci who was my lighting assistant on this shoot, post production and web designer.

A huge thank you to all involved xx

Exterior Location: Kim Hayman, Hull University

The Cast

Dale Moy – Norman Taylor

Katherine Gregory – Tansy Taylor

Maria Lee Metheringham – Flora Carr

Chris McColgan – Harold Gunnison

Sakinah Barwick – Margaret Abbott Wardrobe

Wardrobe

Everything Peter ever wore including rings and cufflinks were always his own accessories and never owned by the wardrobe department.

I did a lot of research to find a similar wardrobe and the identical Majex watch, to make this as authentic as possible and holding to the true production values of the film, and in particular to Peter’s eye for detail.

The distinctive shantung silk jacket which he wore throughout this film was co-designed by Peter and his Saville Row tailor. Also he co-designed with the same tailor on his wardrobe for Department S and Jason King in the 1970s. Everything Peter ever wore including rings and cufflinks were always his own accessories and never owned by the wardrobe department.

Peter Wyngarde

“The name Peter Wyngarde elicits an image of Seventies psychedelia, handlebar moustaches and flares under which one could easily house a family five. But long before he lit his first Sobraini cigarette on the ITC series, Department S, Peter had appeared in over 120 television and stage plays, and was already a star of the big screen.”

”One of his most fondly remembered cinematic characters was that of Norman Taylor in ‘Night of the Eagle’ (A.K.A. ‘Burn, Witch, Burn’) – an obstinate psychology professor, who steadfastly refuses to accept that his wife is a witch.”

“Prior to being offered the part of Taylor, Peter had seen success playing the ghost of Peter Quint opposite Deborah Kerr in ‘The Innocents’. When the script for ‘Night of the Eagle’ arrived, he initially rejected it – fearing that he might find himself being typecast in one horror genre film after the other. However, after giving the offer further consideration he asked director, Sidney Hayers, if he might work on the script himself.”

“Re-working screenplays and theatrical scripts was something that Peter had done since his early days in Rep. After spending long days on the set of a film or TV episode, he’d often return home to re-write much of the action and dialogue for the following day’s shoot.”

“I was fortunate to know Peter personally for almost 30 years and learned almost immediately that his work was the most important thing in his life; nothing else compared. Everything he appeared in, from a simple Question and Answer session at a fan convention to a lavish West End production was meticulously planned out in the minutest detail. Nothing was left to chance. He cared deeply about “the work” and was determined never to short-change his audience.”

“‘Night of the Eagle’ has become a firm favourite around the world, and is regularly shown in cinema’s both here in Britain, and especially in the US, around Hallowe’en. Peter was delighted to learn shortly before he passed away in January 2018, that the film had returned to a cinema on Broadway where it’d originally been premiered in 1962.”

“I’m sure that he’d be delighted with this article, and grateful for all the work that Chris has put into it. I hope that it will inspire those of you who’ve never seen the film to seek it out, and those who have to revisit it and Peter’s other work.”
– Tina Wyngarde-Hopkins