FILMMAKER CURTIS HARRINGTON'S NIGHT TIDE

This evening I watched one of the finest films that I've seen in the past few years.

Night Tide, directed by Curtis Harrington and starring Dennis Hopper, was shot in 1960 and distributed the next year through Roger Corman's Film Group organization.

That's all that I can say right now since I will have to sleep on the film and decide in the morning how I can best articulate my reaction to Night Tide. In broad terms, the flick, not atypical of the director's body of work, plays as a floating sort of dream. Make no mistake, however; there are some shocks and chills. (Sweet dreams, sailor.)

Final note, for now: As is the case for many movie-fans of my generation, I'm sure, I was introduced to Curtis Harrington through the spooky 1966 matinee classic, Queen of Blood. In that case, he was a director-for-hire. Night Tide was a much more personal work.