User reviews

This film excels both as a good narrative (though it borrows heavily from "Cat People"), but also on a deeper, symbolic level. While Dennis Hopper had small roles before this, "Night Tide" casts him as a lead, and he fares well. Reviewer Rick McGrath says, "Hopper's acting in Night Tide is, I think, ultimately suspect. It's fun to see him so young, so cute in his tight navy suit, but he plays Johnny Drake as a bumbling, nervous, fidgety, slightly stupid loner ... so much so he often seems dislocated from the action and his co-stars." I don't know that I agree. Surely he comes across as nervous and shy at times, but bumbling? Clearly his character was designed to be young and inexperienced -- this is necessary for the scene in which he confronts Captain Murdock (Gavin Muir) in his home and is told tales of the Sirens and is shown a dismembered Arab hand. A hardened sailor wouldn't be so spongelike for forbidden knowledge.

McGrath refers to this film as "a psychosexual tale of freudian camp and hilarity". I think it's deeper than that. Yes, there's more sexuality than is presented on screen, but I don't accept the absurd premises of McGrath, who goes so far as to say one scene involving a dock is "phallic". No way. Is the film campy and hilarious? To a point, sure. It's the early 1960s and the budget is low. But the writer and director, Curtis Harrington, seems to have a vision and executes it with finesse. The opening scene clues us in that Harrington is a man who cares about visuals, and we are reminded of this again alter on when we see Mora close up in the sideshow mermaid tank. He frames shots to reveal not just an object, but an emotion.

The casual viewer may overlook the literary and occult themes present in this short film, but I think the flower that is "Night Tide" cannot fully bloom without this understanding. As revealed in the closing credits, the film takes its name from a verse in Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee":

"And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling - my darling - my life and my bride, In the sepulchre there by the sea, In her tomb by the sounding sea."

The poem highlight's Poe's love of a woman so strong it stretches beyond death, and also happens to be the last complete poem he ever wrote, in essence his "last words". The macabre nature of the poem underscores the hidden darkness of "Night Tide" that may not be apparent to all viewers.

Captain Murdock is a man with a rich sense of literature and philology. He is clearly familiar with Greek legends, as he relates the tale of the Sirens briefly to Drake. Presumably he is also the one who named Mora after finding her on a Greek island (assuming her origin is truthful). The name "Mora" is likely a variation of the Greek name "Moira", one of the Fates of legend. Her name translates roughly to "fate", "destiny" or "doom", a fitting moniker for a woman who is the death of her lovers. Murdock also paraphrases a notable line from Shakespeare's Hamlet:

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

As an aside, it is worth noting that Harrington named his main character "Drake", a male duck, which may be symbolic of Johnny's being torn between land and sea, as ducks are comfortable equally with both. This is clear from his career as a Navy man who spends his time on the ocean, but seems more at home on the shore. And, of course, it parallels his love of Mora, the creature of the sea, with the relative safety of the land where she is unable to lure him to a watery grave.

Most viewers will miss the occult connection, as it is not made overtly clear in the film. The only sign we have to go off of is Murdock's address in Venice, 777 Saabek Lane. "777" may be familiar to Biblical scholars as one of the numbers of perfection -- 7, the number of God himself, combined with 3, the unity of the trinity. It is alluded by this address that Murdock is a man of knowledge and power, both mysterious and esoteric. But also, this is a number associated with Aleister Crowley, the famed English occultist. This is no mere coincidence, as Crowley has a connection to this film.

His connection comes through the woman who plays the "water witch" that speaks the odd language, Marjorie Elizabeth Cameron (1922-1995). Cameron was the wife of rocket scientist Jack Parsons, a friend of Alesiter Crowley who was hand-chosen to lead California's Agape Lodge in 1942. Parsons, incidentally, was also a magick partner with Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Cameron came to be involved with "Night Tide" as she had partied with co-star Dennis Hopper in the 1950s, and worked with Curtis Harrington and Kenneth Anger in 1954's "Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome" -- Anger was another Crowley devotee, who also knew Manson Family member Bobby Beausoleil. He later associated with Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey. To say that Cameron, Hopper and Harrington had connections to Crowley and the occult would be a mere truism, and that occult symbolism figures into "Night Tide" should not be considered a stretch.

(Review considered too long by IMDb... see Killer Reviews for complete write-up.)

Though it is a small production, it is interesting in the way it deals with the myth and mystery of the sea and its lore. We are purposely given sketchy information about the carnival mermaid who may in fact be a siren luring the lonely sailor nearly to his doom.

A very young Hopper plays the sailor, and Lawson is sufficiently enchanting to make us believe that she is more than just a girl wearing a fake fishtail. The film has a TWILIGHT ZONE quality to it, leaving the viewer wondering at the end.

Fascinating study with great location and innocent performance by Dennis Hopper who looks about sixteen years old, but is actually in his late 20's. Linda Lawson is lovely and mysterious and it's always great to see Luanna Anders. I hope this film has some kind of cult following because it's so strange.

A 7 out of 10. Best performance = Dennis Hopper. This is on DVD now and fairly easy to find. If you're a Hopper fan, this is a must-see. Great black and white cinematography and eery feel the entire film that is unexplainable. This should definitely have a higher rating by IMDb voters (in my opinion).

Released one year prior to the atmospheric, surreal horror classic "Carnival of Souls," "Night Tide" is a similarly bizarre film that radiates an odd effect. Johnny (a young Dennis Hopper) falls in love with Mora (Linda Lawson), a sideshow performer who might also be a mermaid with a penchant for murdering her lovers. The performances are adequate and realistic, with Hopper conveying a proper balance of lovestruck awe and confusion; Lawson is fittingly remote and enigmatic. Writer-director Curtis Harrington builds a fair amount of suspense and limits the action to several effective dream sequences, thereby retaining a surreal mood. Not as wild as Jack Hill's "Spider Baby," nor as subtly brilliant as "Carnival of Souls," "Night Tide" is a diverting in-between that's worth a look.

Sailor on shore-leave meets and falls for a mysterious woman who works as a carnival mermaid on the California coast. Is she a neurotic or actually a descendant of the Sirens? Moody mystery isn't quite the thriller it was advertised as. It has a straightforward narrative and very few actual surprises, but there are surreal bits, a great beatnik party on the beach, terrific black-and-white cinematography, and handsome, pre-hippie Dennis Hopper at his most grounded and friendly (and polite!). The film hopes to absorb its audience by means of atmosphere and little red herrings, not big shocks. I admired the film, but it's not to every taste. **1/2 from ****

Oddball cheapie is a lot of atmospheric fun for about an hour or so, then kind of just peters out with a weak ending. Still, there is a nice tone to the off hand, low key acting, and it is wonderful for an L.A. Lover to see Santa Monica and Venice as they looked in this period. This film, along with Welles "Touch Of Evil" and John Parker's "Dementia" aka "Daughter of Horror", form a sort of dark trilogy of Venice Beach Noir. The unmistakable Bruno Ve Sota (the poor man's Orson Welles?) is in two of them. Anyway, it's a must for any fan of the "Pyschotronic" film underground, you'll be glad you checked it out. Love the scene with the Seagull.

I have been obsessed with this movie for quite some time. It's setting in Venice Beach and the Santa Monica Pier in the early 1960's, captures an eerie, desolate, seediness that is disappearing faster than mold in the sunlight as our urban landscape becomes more homogeneous and bland. I love so many details of this movie such as the jazz combo in the Blue Grotto, the name "Blue Grotto", the carousel, the apartment over the carousel looking out over the water, the tacky carnival atmosphere, the beatnik bongo players on the beach, the mysterious incredible Cameron as the sea witch in flowing black veils, the strange, haunting score, Captian Murdock's home filled with oddities from his travels, the gloomy lighting and crumbling buildings with beautiful baroque detailing and a low, howling wind whistling though the canals. It all melds together in to a gem of a movie that I never get tired of watching. As for the acting, I found Dennis Hopper to be quite convincing and appealing as a nice lonely boy, so refreshingly different from his later roles. The result is a movie that is mysterious, haunting and beautiful which captures the sublime essence of a magical dream falling into decay.

Lured by the sweet sweet sound of the jazz flute, sailor Johnny Drake (Dennis Hopper) enters the Blue Grotto bar at Venice Beach where he becomes captivated by a beautiful young woman called Mora (Linda Lawson). Despite her initial frostiness, Johnny wins Mora over with his affability and begins dating her, learning how she makes her living in a sideshow attraction as a mermaid. However, talking to other folk at the carnival, Johnny also learns that Mora believes herself to be a real mermaid, and that her previous two boyfriends drowned in suspicious circumstances. Could Johnny be next to meet a watery fate?

The first feature from director Curtis Harrington, Night Tide possesses an eerie and ethereal atmosphere not unlike the following year's over-rated cult classic Carnival of Souls; there's also more than a touch of Val Lewton about the film, with a splash of The Twilight Zone for good measure. Throughout the movie, Harrington plays with his audience, keeping them in the dark about whether Mora is merely a confused young woman with deep-seated emotional issues, or whether she really is a 'person of the sea'. Unfortunately, the novice director allows the pace to drag, doesn't generate much suspense and fails to pull all the strings together in a satisfactory manner for the somewhat muddled (some might say 'ambiguous') conclusion.

Thankfully, Mora's wild beach dance to groovy bongo beats and the octopus dream sequence help to prevent the film from being totally dullsville.

Don't get me wrong... I don't think this is a great achievement in film making.

I stumbled across this movie on late night TV, back in the early days of UHF, when, at 13 or 14, it was very exciting to me to have new channels that were so low budget that they showed things that, in the light of mainstream, 3 channel, VHF programming, seemed very much like they were being beamed in from another galaxy.

Through the lens of adolescent angst that I saw it through, this is a movie about unbearable loneliness, brilliantly captured by Dennis Hopper, whose only way out of his loneliness is through a beautiful woman from another world that he can't fully understand.

Like Kabuki theater on Darvon, he moves through the shadows of this overfiltered dreamworld of seaside 1960. The real monster is loneliness, and unlike most horror movies, the monster wins this one.

The setting, the off season seaside resort (and it could have been any, not just Venice Beach) was perfect, being there by oneself is possibly the loneliest experience one could have, hinting at a livelier, fun=filled world that, because of time, is unattainable.

It represents to me, maybe the first "indie" film I saw and recognized as one, "indie" in the original sense of a movie that was not made to be a box office hit, but because someone HAD to make a movie about something they felt strongly about, or had an artistic vision that had to be shared. Many of the earlier examples of these movies found their way onto UHF, because they were cheap to rent. But they got me hooked, and as soon as I could drive, sought out the art theaters in nearby towns that showed what was then called "underground" cinema, Kenneth Anger, John Waters (pre-flamingoes) I am Curious (Yellow and Blue.) These films are not as enchanting to me now, but then, none of them ever lived up to Night Tide for me.

For sentimental reasons, this has always been, and will always be, one of my very favorite movies.

I had long been interested in checking out this low-budget fantasy; as soon as I learned of writer/director Harrington’s passing, I ordered it and another horror title of his – RUBY (1977). I was afraid that the 1999 Image/Milestone DVD (in a snap case!) would have gone OOP by this time, but I got lucky. Anyway, I loved the film: it was Harrington’s first feature-length effort (and the best that I’ve watched from him); of his remaining work, I’m most interested in the psychological thriller GAMES (1967) – which has never been shown in my neck of the woods and, regrettably, is still M.I.A. on DVD – though I should be getting to his sci-fi concoction QUEEN OF BLOOD (1966) fairly soon.

While watching NIGHT TIDE, I was reminded of other arty (though small-scale and independently-produced) cult horror items from that creative era – such as DEMENTIA (1953), CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962) and INCUBUS (1965). Richard Valley perceptively remarks in the DVD liner notes that the film presents what is probably cinema’s only wicked mermaid: the aquatic legend at the core of the narrative – with the compulsion it places on the girl concerned to kill her current lover, and the intermittent appearance of a mysterious older member of the ‘species’ (who greets her in a foreign tongue) – is clearly influenced by CAT PEOPLE (1942), the Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur classic (incidentally, lead Dennis Hopper is seen here following the so-called ‘Water Witch’ played by Cameron, an eccentric figure with artistic and occult leanings popular around this time – could this be an inversion of the celebrated night-time stalking scene on New York streets from CAT PEOPLE?). However, the film can also be defined Hitchcockian – sharing its enigmatic female lead with VERTIGO (1958) and featuring a PSYCHO (1960)-ish explanatory ending.

The cast is interesting: it’s refreshing to see Hopper playing wholesome, rather than one of his trademark psychotics; Linda Lawson is quite striking as the mermaid girl; Gavin Muir is imposing in an ambiguous role (originally intended for Peter Lorre!); and Luana Anders likable in the small but touching part of ‘the other woman’. Thanks to its dreamy cinematography by Vilis Lapenieks (though an uncredited Floyd Crosby did the studio interiors), the evocative carnival/sea-side setting (partly filmed at Venice Beach, which I visited a number of times while in L.A. in late 2005) and a fine score by David Raksin, the film is turned into a hypnotic mood piece. Especially effective are the quirky scene early on in which seagulls are compulsively attracted to Lawson’s bizarrely-decorated apartment (thus anticipating Hitchcock’s own THE BIRDS [1963]!); the hero’s nightmares which see Lawson metamorphose first into an octopus and then into Cameron herself; the scene in which Hopper finds Lawson mysteriously tied to the pier; and the suspenseful climax (following the girl’s ‘inexplicable’ underwater attack on Hopper, the latter confronts Muir at his tent and is shown Lawson’s drowned body, while being threatened with a gun – then we cut away and, on resuming the scene, find that Muir has been disarmed).

A quotation from Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee”, in which the title is mentioned, concludes the film; incidentally, Roger Corman (director of several cinematic adaptations of the author’s work) helped raise finance for it – and Harrington himself twice filmed “The Fall Of The House Of Usher” as a short subject, made at a distance of some 60 years from one another! By the way, while NIGHT TIDE was first shown at the 1961 Venice Film Festival, it wasn’t officially released in the U.S. until 1963; as if to make up for this, Harrington proudly states that the film has often been revived over the years – chiefly through the copy he personally donated to Henri Langlois of the Cinematheque Francaise!

The accompanying Audio Commentary is something of a letdown, being a laidback conversation between star and director (who have remained friends): however, both tend to be sketchy about several of the details pertaining to the shooting – and, too often, lazily resort to merely pointing out the locations used for any given scene!

Finally, both the “DVD Drive-in” and “DVD Savant” reviews mention Harrington’s early short work as being in a similar vein to his debut feature; one wonders whether this will ever be more readily available, particularly now that the director’s gone.

No need to repeat the plot or dwell on consensus points. A few remarks about the movie's significance might be helpful, however. Harrington's quirky little film was part of a larger independent effort in the early 1960's to break away from studio domination and commercial conformity. The movement came along in the wake of John Cassavetes' groundbreaking Shadows (1960), and also at a time when European films from Fellini, Bergman and the French New Wave, et al, were expanding audience perceptions. Shadows proved that audiences were ready for a more daring product than what Hollywood of the 50's was producing. Perhaps more importantly, Shadows showed that a quality feature-length film could be done on a small budget ($40,000), with a non-union crew, get commercially distributed, and be reviewed in major publications (Night Tide, I recall, managed a good review in mainstream Newsweek). One or more of these factors had long prevented emergence of an independent film movement outside studio bounds. But by the early 60's, times had changed.

Night Tide remains an oddity, sort of a blending of Shadows and Roger Corman with the ghost of Val Lewton hovering in the background. The ending is unfortunate, something of a loss of nerve given Harrington's overall imaginative approach. What impressed me then, and still does, is the director's visual style. Most every frame amounts to a well-composed visual treat, even when taking in the flat side of Santa Monica's ocean front. It's a measured, near- lyrical style, well suited at capturing the poetical side of horror a la Lewton—a dimension sorely missing from today's bloodfests. Anyway, the movie shows considerable promise; I'm just sorry Harrington slipped into obscurity, never developing into the career I think his talent deserved. Meanwhile, the movie furnishes a look-see into what was then a fresh movement in film-making.

This is a real unheralded minor gem. It has a similar tone and atmosphere to Carnival of Souls (1962) yet is much less well known than that cult classic. Both films stories are based around carnivals, in Carnival of Souls it was an abandoned one whereas Night Tide is set in an off-season seaside resort. The melancholic, lonely ambiance given off by this setting is one of the chief strengths of the film. A sailor falls in love with a carnival girl who believes herself to be a mermaid, an underwater race who kill by the full moon. She says she has been responsible for the deaths of her previous two lovers.

In keeping with the haunting and dreamy atmosphere, the mermaid is portrayed as a doomed creature who takes no joy in her situation. The film displays the influence of the Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur films of the 40's and 50's in the way that it presents its chilling story in a highly subtle, sophisticated manner. I was especially brought to mind of Cat People (1942) with is cursed central female character. It also shares another detail from that film, with its mysterious woman in the periphery of events who interacts occasionally and appears to also be one of the mythical race. This latter aspect is very well integrated into the story and adds a nice bit of ambiguity to events. The haunting jazz score also perfectly captures the right ambiance of the events. Lastly, there is Dennis Hopper who has one of his early starring roles here, unusually he plays a gentle soul and he does it very convincingly; although, in fairness, the cast in general all put in fine performances. This low budget flick is one that remains very emotive and interesting. It takes a less obvious approach to its material and this pays off with a haunting, tragic tale that makes quite an impact.

Naive young sailor Johnny (Hopper) lobs into a seaside town on shore leave and discovers the beguiling Mora (Lawson), dark, sensuous beauty who dons a fish tail to play a sideshow mermaid for a living. But her mysterious past and strange affinity with the sea and its inhabitants causes concern among the townsfolk who implore Johnny to walk away before he ends up dead. Moody, black and white bleached beatnik treatment with some funky jazz arrangements cloaks a clever thriller that might be regarded as laboured to some, but there's a satisfying climax for those who can hang in till the end.

Hopper is simple and understated, never intellectualising his small-town character who's just in uniform to see the world, without appreciating what's beneath the surface (there's a critical scene where Hopper thinks he's going to set Lawson straight on her mermaid fantasy, but Lawson's wisdom as she calmly emasculates his blind, patriotic ignorance is a poignant observation). Lawson is sultry and seductive, burdened by the sinister secret of the sea, her adopted guardian played by Gavin Muir as the lonely sea captain is another tortured soul, for whom there must be some sympathy. Luana Anders has a minor supporting role for those familiar with her pert, Cheshire grin and hometown girl appeal. She has little to contribute but her coffee, nevertheless, she's a scene stealer all the same.

Well photographed and scripted, the dialogue is tightly focused and delivered with precision - Harrington has crafted a compelling pocket-sized thriller that culminates in a climax that's sudden, shocking and sure to please. There might be a snag or two with the convenience of the conclusion and a seemingly unresolved sub-plot, but they're not deal breakers.

Night Tide is an effective low budget horror that works mainly thanks to the surreal and creepy atmosphere. The movie somewhat unique as it handles a subject rarely seen in horror movies; that being the legend of the mermaid (the only other one I've seen is 2001's She Creature). The film is directed by Curtis Harrington who directed a handful of low budget horror movies in the sixties and seventies and obviously has some talent; as the low budget of this one is excellently masked by his stylish direction and constantly fascinating plot line. The film focuses on a young navy man by the name of Johnny Drake. He spots the captivating Mora in a bar and gets chatting to her, eventually deciding he likes her and the feeling is mutual. Mora is a strange girl and this is highlighted by the fact that for a job, she wears a fake fish tail and sits in a tank that looks like it's filled with water to fool circus-goers into believing she is a mermaid. However, it's not long before Johnny comes to believe she could be a real mermaid...

One of the most notable things about this film is the early role for the great Dennis Hopper. It's somewhat different to the roles he would come to be known for; and while the performance is somewhat understated and the young man was not a master of his craft in 1961; it's still a very good role and the actor convinces excellently as the naive young seaman. Director Curtis Harrington slowly builds the plot line as the film goes along and constantly draws us into the mystery. The fact that the film is based on a mythology not often used ensures that the film is more interesting than it might have been otherwise, and some attempt is made to build this mythology via a conversation between two of the leading characters; although I would have preferred a little more on the interesting back-story. The film is very intriguing for the first hour and after that it does go off the boil a little and the final third is not so good. Still, the ending (while slightly disappointing), is well done and intriguing enough. Overall, this is a very good little horror film and is well worth seeing!

Lonely, young sailor Dennis Hopper (as Johnny Drake) enters a seaside California tavern and spies exotic, forlorn beauty Linda Lawson (as Mora). Smitten, Mr. Hopper walks her home, but receives only an invitation to breakfast, the next day. The next morning, Hopper shares a breakfast of mackerel with Ms. Lawson (and a seagull). Lawson explains she works as a mermaid for the local carnival. Hopper begins a relationship with the strange woman, who implies she may be descended from real mermaids. Then, he learns her previous boyfriends died mysteriously…

Curtis Harrington's "Night Tide" is absorbing, atmospheric, and hypnotic. Director Harrington and star Hopper are perfectly suited to each other, focusing on Hopper's achingly natural, and almost impossibly poignant, characterization. The photography (Vilis Lapenieks) and music (David Raksin) are also in tune. Lawson is magnetic and mysterious. Shakespearean reader Gavin Muir (as Samuel Murdock) and coffee-loving Luana Anders (as Ellen Sands) join in the struggle for Hopper's mind and body. If only there were a couple of re-takes, another edit, and a clearer resolution…

******* Night Tide (8/61) Curtis Harrington ~ Dennis Hopper, Linda Lawson, Gavin Muir, Luana Anders

I read several of the other reviews and some of the highly rated reviews manage to describe the experience of viewing this film quite well. Several aspects of the film receive little or no mention. One of these is the excellent soundtrack, very early-sixties, jazzy, musically sophisticated, well orchestrated. I firmly believe that the soundtrack makes or breaks the illusion of any television show or film. The soundtrack creates and maintains the mood. It isn't overdone, isn't at all clichéd or predictable and it lifts this simple, moody, black and white film into the realm of effectiveness. All of the actors acquit themselves well enough to maintain the mood. People may be critical of the film for lacking high production values or brisk pacing. I rate it highly for hanging together as a cogent work of art, for carrying its story through to fruition, for managing to affect the viewer and for stimulating moods and feelings. It manages to synergize into something more than its parts and its flaws. It leaves the viewer with remembered images and the sense of having experienced something poignant. As another reviewer said, I have watched it several times and always manage to be moved by it. Having said all that, as another reviewer said, it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Curtis Harrington's "Night Tide" probably didn't seem especially engaging on paper: it's a gentle, tragic love story with some slightly macabre overtones. But it clicks because of the utterly authentic locations (I was amazed to discover that Venice Beach, which looked so battered and defeated in Matt Cimber's "The Witch Who Came from the Sea", was in precisely the same condition more than a decade earlier!), Vilis Lapenieks' tasty cinematography, and David Raksin's jazzy, melancholic score. Dennis Hopper is okay, but I think he plays the young sailor as more of a noodlehead than was necessary. On the other hand, Linda Lawson is terrific as the beautiful, distant, otherworldly sideshow performer to whom Hopper is attracted, and Gavin Muir does a good job as Lawson's eccentric adoptive father. Comparisons to "Carnival of Souls" are inevitable because of the amusement pier backdrop, I suppose, but "Night Tide" is not a horror film. It would make a nice double feature with the aforementioned "The Witch Who Came from the Sea".

On leave in a shore side town, Johnny becomes interested in a young dark haired woman.

They meet and he learns that she plays a mermaid in the local carnival.

After strange occurrences, Johnny begins to believe that she may actually be a real mermaid that habitually kills during the cycle of the full moon.

Low budget Roger Corman-ish budget.

Very 60s.

Almost filmed like an extended Twilight Zone episode.Man meets girl. Girl eats men.

It's an interesting period place positioned right smack in the beat generation.

It's worth a watch, but don't expect to be moved all that much. It's really a short story expanded to 90 minutes.