Night Tide
About Night Tide
Johnny Drake (Dennis Hopper), a sailor on leave in Santa Monica, falls in with Mora (Linda Lawson), who sits in a tank on the pier as Mora the Mermaid. Captain Murdock (Gavin Muir) raised her after she was orphaned on Mykonos. Ellen Sands (Luana Anders) warns Johnny that Mora's last two boyfriends drowned. Mora believes she is a siren under the moon, and a woman in black (Marjorie Cameron) follows her. On a full-moon dive Mora cuts Johnny's air hose, then swims off. Johnny finds her body in the tank. Murdock admits he killed the earlier boyfriends so she would not leave, and that he planted the mermaid story in her mind. Johnny and Murdock are arrested. Ellen sees Johnny off as his leave ends.
Cast & crew
More about Night Tide
Curtis Harrington wrote and directed it. Aram Katarian produced. Harrington later put the full cost near $75,000; the cash outlay was $50,000, of which Katarian supplied $10,000. Part of the money came from Pathé Laboratories through a distribution guarantee from Roger Corman's Filmgroup. Exteriors were shot on Santa Monica Beach in 1960. Interiors, including Mora's apartment, a hotel room, and the police station, used a union crew so the film could get projectionist approval. American International Pictures later released it on a double bill with Battle Beyond the Sun.
Themes
Background
An independent feature made in 1960, shown at European festivals in 1961, and only then sold into American International's double-feature market.
Making
Harrington shot the pier and beach on location and the rooms with a union crew. The commercial opening was held back for nearly two years after the festival screenings, then paired with a Soviet science-fiction picture Corman had recut as Battle Beyond the Sun.
Reviews
Variety, on 6 September 1961, granted Harrington a flair for narration and said the mood, suspense, and atmosphere were underdeveloped. The Aurum Film Encyclopedia of horror links the film to Cat People (1942) and the Val Lewton practice of suggesting the monster more than showing it.
Audiences
Harrington blamed the double bill with Battle Beyond the Sun for a weak commercial run.
Look
Vilis Lapenieks shot the Santa Monica pier, the beach, and the night dives, with studio interiors for the rooms and the police station.
Music
David Raksin composed the score. A jazz group on the pier includes saxophonist Paul Horn.
Preservation
The Academy Film Archive restored the film from the original negative in 2007. In 2020 Nicolas Winding Refn produced a 4K restoration from material in Harrington's estate. The copyright was not renewed.
Notes
- It is Dennis Hopper's first starring role.
- The title comes from lines in Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee.
- Marjorie Cameron, the artist associated with Jack Parsons, plays the Sea Witch and is billed as Cameron.
- Paul Horn, Joe Gordon, Jimmy Bond, and Kenny Dennis appear uncredited as the jazz combo.
- It played the Spoleto Film Festival in July 1961, where it was named the top American film, and the Venice Film Festival that August.
- General release waited until 13 February 1963 in Detroit. New York opened on 25 May 1964.
Awards
- Named the top American film at the Spoleto Film Festival, July 1961
Scenes
- Mora performs in the sideshow tank on the pier.
- She cuts Johnny's air hose during the full-moon dive.
- Murdock confesses that he killed the earlier boyfriends and taught Mora she was a siren.
Influenced by
- Cat People (1942)
- Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee
Also available
- Academy Film Archive (2007 restoration)
