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The Night Digger is a 1971 British thriller film based on the novel Nest in a Fallen Tree by Joy Cowley about two women who are visited by a suspicious handy man.[1] It was adapted by Roald Dahl and starred his then wife Patricia Neal.[2] The Night Digger was the American title; it was originally released in the United Kingdom as The Road Builder.[3]

The Night Digger
original film poster
Directed by	Alastair Reid
Screenplay by	Roald Dahl
Based on	Nest in a Fallen Tree by Joy Cowley
Produced by	Alan D. Courtney
Starring	Patricia Neal Pamela Brown Nicholas Clay Jean Anderson Christopher Reynalds Peter Sallis
Cinematography	Alex Thomson
Edited by	John Bloom
Music by	Bernard Herrmann
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	12 May 1971 (1971-05-12) (U.S.)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Plot

Maura Prince (Patricia Neal) works part-time as a speech therapist and the rest of her time taking care of her blind, invalid mother, Edith (Pamela Brown). Billy Jarvis (Nicholas Clay) arrives, claiming he was sent there by a neighbor's nephew. He ingratiates himself with Edith, who puts him in Maura's bedroom and claims he must be a long-lost relative. Despite Maura's worries, Billy turns out to be a good worker.

While attending church with Edith, Billy notices pretty, young nursery school teacher Mary Wingate (Diana Patrick). That night, while having psychotic flashbacks of young girls tormenting him for impotency, Billy goes to her home and murders her, then buries her body at a construction site. She is the seventh victim he's killed. A nurse (Brigit Forsyth) visits Edith, and warns that Edith's heart is very bad. Having more psychotic visions, Billy follows the nurse home and murders her as well.

Edith calls out for Billy. When he doesn't answer, she tries to climb the stairs to his room and has a heart attack. Maura rushes her to the hospital. When Maura returns from the hospital, she almost catches Billy coming home from the murder. To placate her, Billy lies, claiming his mother died in a fire. He weeps, claiming he often doesn't know what he is doing, and begs Maura to never betray him.

The next day, Maura visits Edith at the hospital. Edith demands that Maura throw Billy out, but Maura breaks with Edith instead.

Maura takes all her savings, buys a new wardrobe, and returns home to tell Billy that she loves him. The two run off to Scotland, where Maura purchases a farm. After some months, Billy meets a young woman who is looking for her dog. Hours later, Billy returns to the farm, psychotic. Maura realizes he has killed again. Realizing he's broken Maura's heart, Billy drives off a cliff on his motorcycle, committing suicide.

Cast

• Patricia Neal as Maura Prince
• Pamela Brown as Mrs. Edith Prince
• Nicholas Clay as Billy Jarvis
• Jean Anderson as Mrs. Millicent McMurtrey
• Graham Crowden as Mr. Bolton
• Yootha Joyce as Mrs. Palafox
• Peter Sallis as Reverend Rupert Palafox
• Brigit Forsyth as District Nurse
• Sebastian Breaks as Dr. Ronnie Robinson
• Christopher Reynalds as Young Billy
• Sibylla Kay as Whore

Critical reception

In a contemporary review, The New York Times wrote "It begs for empathy for its tortured principals, but despite the clearly dedicated contributions of Patricia Neal, Roald Dahl, her scenarist-husband; Pamela Brown and a young newcomer, Nicholas Clay, the strain on credibility is a good deal more notable than the impact on the emotions";[4] while more recently, a reviewer for DVD Talk wrote "The Night Digger doesn't carry much of a reputation, but I found it highly unusual, and more than satisfying".[5] Cinema Retro called it "an underrated gem";[6] and the Radio Times concluded "director Alastair Reid's neo-Grand Guignol chamber piece exudes a peculiar fascination".[7]

References

Further reading

• Stafford, Jeff. "The Road Builder (aka The Night Digger)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 16 January 2011.

External links

• The Night Digger at IMDb

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