Black Noon

1971
5.8| 1h15m| NR| en
Details

Reverend John Keyes and his wife, Lorna, on their way to a new congregation out west, break down in the desert and are rescued by the residents of a nearby town. At first warm and welcoming, the townspeople become more and more solicitous of John and insistent that he stay on as their minister, against the wishes of Lorna, who goes unheeded and slowly becomes deathly ill. Will John realize the danger before it is too late?

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime. Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Reviews

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting
MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.
ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
mlraymond Like many people on this site, I saw this movie only once, when it was first televised in 1971. Certain scenes linger in my memory and an overall feeling of disquiet is how I remember being affected by it. I would be fascinated to see it again, if it was ever made available for home video.Possible spoiler: I wonder if anyone else would agree that the basic plot setup and characters might have been derived from a 1960 British movie, originally titled City of the Dead, retitled Horror Hotel for the American release? There are some similarities also to a later British film The Wicker Man.One detail remains with me years after seeing the film. It's a small but significant moment near the beginning of the film. As I recall, a minister and his wife have stopped to aid some people by the side of the road, circa 1870, somewhere out West. The friendly seeming Ray Milland introduces himself and his ( daughter?), Yvette Mimieux, a beautiful young mute woman. While the preacher is helping Ray Milland with the wagon, a rattlesnake slithers into view and coils menacingly, unobserved by any of the characters except Yvette Mimieux. She doesn't look scared at all, but stares at the snake with silent concentration, until it goes away. With this strange little moment, we already realize there's something highly unusual about these seemingly normal folks, though the possible danger to the minister and his wife remains vague and uncertain for a long time.That one little scene stays with me vividly after all these years, along with many others. The film has a haunting quality about it that won't let go, and it's not surprising that people remember it so vividly. Someone ought to make this available for home video!
whitewood1 I feel like I have some uber-rare disease that no one has heard of and I have finally come across a support group on the net! I finally found this title by asking for an answer on an "experts" site on the web. I too, saw this movie in my youth and was struck by the atmosphere and especially the ending. I have never forgotten it and have never seen it since. No one I know saw the film and I had almost given up on ever finding it's title. Alas, even knowing the name, I shall probably never see the film again as it is impossible to find commercially. Small steps...G
scoutfinch237-1 I too watched "Black Noon" as a ten-year-old in the States on ABC's "Movie of the Week". In particular, Hank Worden, as old Joseph, really scared the hell out of me as a kid.It's possible that if I were to view it now as an adult (having watched many creepy movies since then, like "Carnival of Souls", "Rosemary's Baby", and "The Shining", it may not stand up to the creepy memories I have of this movie. But I'd love to get the chance to see for myself!ABC produced a couple of high quality films for their "Movie of the Week" series. Some better than others. "Crowhaven Farm" was actually the scariest of them all. Hope Lange as an unwitting victim amongst a secret coven of witches was so chilling.Seared in my memory, though probably not as scary as the above two mentioned "Movies of the Week" would be "The House on Greenapple Road" (with a young Eve Plumb as the young daughter in a brutally bloody scene in the kitchen) and "The House That Wouldn't Die" with Barbara Stanwyck. Also, I vaguely remember another "Movie of the Week" with Lesley Ann Warren, Peter Haskill, and Ryan Hope. Pretty good, though not truly as scary as "Black Noon" or "Crowhaven Farm".One other last "Movie of the Week" I remember was "Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring" with Sally Field. Kind of hooky, not at all scary, but I do remember enjoying it as a young girl.
bgr3 I have seen this film only once, on TV, and it has not been repeated. This is strange when you consider the rubbish that is repeated over and over again. Usually horror movies for me are a source of amusement, but this one really scared me.DO NOT READ THE NEXT BIT IF YOU HAVE'NT SEEN THE FILM YETThe scariest bit is when the townsfolk pursue the preacher to where his wife lies almost dead (they'd been poisoning her). He asks who the hell are you people anyway. One by one they give their true identities. The girl who was pretending to be deaf in order to corrupt and seduce him says "I am Lilith, the witch who loved Adam before Eve".