Night of the Big Heat (1967)

Country of Origin: UK
Year of Production: 1967
Running Times: 94 mins
Length: 2578.61 metres
Format: Eastmancolor
Ratio:
Sound: mono

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Planet Film Productions
Producer: Tom Blakeley
Associate Producer: Ronald Liles

SCRIPT
Script: Ronald Liles
Additional Dialogue: Jane Baker, Pip Baker
Novel: John Lymingtom

DIRECTION
Director: Terence Fisher
Assistant Director: Ray Frift

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Reginald Wyer
Lab: Humphries Laboratories, London, UK

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Rod Keys

MUSIC
Music: Malcolm Lockyer
Musical Director: Malcolm Lockyer (uncredited)

SOUND
Sound Recordists: E. Karnon, Dudley Messenger
Dubbing Editor: Norman A. Cole

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Geoffrey Rodway
Hair: Stella Rivers
Costume Designer: Kathleen More

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Trading Post Ltd
Special Effects Supervisor: Martin Gutteridge
Special Effects Camera Operator: Frank Drake

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: Alex Vetchinsky

MISCELLANEOUS
Continuity: Joy Mercer

CAST
Christopher Lee (Godfrey Hanson)
Patrick Allen (Jeff Callum)
Peter Cushing (Dr Vernon Stone)
Jane Merrow (Angela Roberts)
Sarah Lawson (Frankie Callum)
William Lucas (Ken Stanley)
Kenneth Cope (Tinker Mason)
Percy Herbert (Gerald Foster)
Thomas Heathcote (Bob Hayward)
Anna Turner (Stella Hayward)
Jack Bligh (Ben Siddle)
Sydney Bromley (old tramp)
Barry Halliday (radar operator)

PLOT SUMMARY

An autumnal heatwave gripping the Scottish island of Fara turns out to be caused by a covert invasion by protoplasmic aliens seeking energy of any kind, primarily heat. Islanders and their animals are burnt to a crisp as they struggle to find a way to stop the invaders before they can escape to the wider world.

Though it doesn't plumb the depths explored by Fisher's first planet production, The Earth Died Screaming (1964), Fisher couldn't seem to be able to give The Night of the Big Heat the same energetic silliness that made Island of Terror (1966) so much fun. His pacing is somewhat erratic, allowing the film to dawdle when it should have been sprinting and consequently, it fails to engage the emotions in any way. Individual scenes and images stand out, but the whole fails to gel and the climax is less than convincing - though as a parody of War of the Worlds (1953) (seemingly invincible alien invaders destroyed by the forces of nature), it's not bad.

UK
Theatrical Distributor: Planet Film Productions

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Maron Films
Video Distributor: New Star Video

USA
Rating: GP

Brennender Tod - German title
Demoni di fuoco - Italian title
Island of the Burning Damned - US title
Island of the Burning Doomed - US TV title
La nuit de la grande chaleur - French title

REMAKE OF
Play of the Week: The Night of the Big Heat (1960)

MAGAZINES

Video Review April 1983 (UK)
review

BOOKS

Hoffman's Guide to SF, Horror and Fantasy Movies 1991 - 1991 p.193
credits, review

Reference Guide to Fantastic Films p.224
credits

KEYWORDS

aliens; book into film; heatwaves; islands; remakes

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008