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Overrated

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Troubled young man (Nicholas Clay) named Billy is able to charm his way into the pitiable household of a blind, overbearing elderly woman named Edith Prince (Pamela Brown) and her browbeaten, tired adopted daughter, Maura (Patricia Neal). What the women are unaware of is that he's a serial killer, mostly of pretty young women around his age, with brown, short hair styles and petite builds. Gradually, as he repairs the outer structure of the decaying mansion (think Grey Gardens, as the two women are middle aged and elderly), the two become dependent on him, even as Billy starts to become consumed by the monster inside him, cultivated and unyielding due to a past trauma when he was a young teenage boy molested by hideous, hag countryside farm women. As Billy starts to become more and more withdrawn from Edith, he does bond closely with Maura who once left her mother for a man when she was twenty. When Maura was debilitated by an aneurysm, Edith helped her back to health. Then when Edith suffered an illness which blinded her, Maura returned the favor and has been under her thumb every since (for twenty years or so). As a nosy, busybody friend of Edith's named Millicent (Jean Anderson) stirs the pot, understanding that Maura is attracted to Billy, she tries to nudge Edith into realizing that her gardener/handyman is bad news. Billy might just be the wedge to force apart the two women, and this could finally be the motivation Maura needs to free herself from Edith's overwhelming control.Dark film was written by Roald Dahl (yes, *that* Roald Dahl; of the children's books), and the score by Bernard Hermmann recalls the best of Hitchcock. While the murders are carefully avoided, Billy's succumbing to the dark passenger that wants him to kill is well executed. You can see he is unable to resist his murderous impulses. The romantic angle between a middle aged woman, rotting inside due to her mother's burdensome expectations to be coddled and spoiled, with the yearning for a male companion she can love, and the young man who emerges as the possible savior needed to urge her to move on was perhaps a bit too far fetched for me to personally swallow. Particularly the ending where the two run off to the Scottish Highlands to live in a cottage only for their brief happiness to be shattered due to his inability to keep what lies within at bay; I was quite surprised the film went this route. The film has Billy needing Maura as he seems desperate to stop killing, admitting that his problem overtakes him and he can't remember committing the acts he never technically admits to killing, so Maura can only comfort him when he requests her not to leave his side while he tries to rest. The cast is top notch with notable work even from Graham Crowden as a rather oddball church choir instructor, a little bit too knowledgeable of the killing spree overtaking England and quite a gossip-spreader (as is Millicent, always up to no good, with Edith all too fascinated by what she hears). There's a bit of adult comedy involving the priest and his wife regarding "an external operation" that is shared by Edith, Millicent, and Crowden's Mr. Bolton that should amuse. MGM didn't get behind this film, and it fell into obscurity, but I think "The Night Digger" is a bonafide cult film ready for an audience to see it. Patricia Neal returned from a stroke not long before this, and her work is exemplary. It is all there on her face, and seeing her character slowly gain courage to approach leaving her mother and admitting her feelings for Billy is just a part of what makes this film a must for Neal fans. Going from a wallflower old maid resigned to her servitude to a woman reaching forward for her independence is satisfying...even if it involved a psychotic with a complex towards most women. His steadily growing defiance as Edith starts to take some of what she uses against Maura in an effort to force him into becoming another victim of her every whim is what ultimately destroys the superficial bind that tied them temporarily. The mansion setting is rich in set design and old history detail...it is as if Mama Bates had a hand in its decor and was responsible for the architectural look of the place. The space and expansive furnishings can be quite an eyeful. Not only the inside, but the outer, far-reaching exterior of the mansion is quite towering and decadent, with the garden and back yard just as elaborate. As extravagant as the demands and personality of the woman who owns it, the house could only fit Edith Prince.

I'm surprised that this particular film isn't as well known, as "The Night Digger" is an effectively expressive British psychological thriller (penned by Roald Dahl) with a touch of Gothic drama, psycho-sexual unease and sinister moods. The performances of the cast do go a long way to carrying the intrigue and ambiance, where Patricia Neal, Pamela Brown and a very brooding Nicholas Clay do an outstanding job. Neal's repressed turn really is one of great strength and emotion, while Brown authentically commands the screen as the demanding, disabled mother. Clay has a charm about him, but lurking underneath is something unsettling. The relationship that slowly builds between Neal and Clay's characters is affecting, that when she becomes suspicious of him, due to the disappearances of young woman in the area. She just doesn't want to believe he has anything to do with it, despite knowing he surely does. She yearned for something meaningful, and that was him as he brings out the confidence in her and of course she loves the man. So they run away together. The moments when she finally confronts him over it, while terse it remains powerful. Even the sequences with Neal and Brown (adopted daughter and mother) crafted out gripping exchanges. The scenes involving the murders or even the lead up to them (where he torments the victim) are truly creepy, and Bernard Herrmann's subtle, but tense score paints it nicely. This is set-up in an remote country mansion within a small rural town, so town gossip features prominently and is somewhat a driving force for some key plot progressions. So is the loneliness of Neal's frustrated character, which Clay's character takes advantage of and so does Brown's. The pacing is causal, but it helps the atmosphere build and lets the character's form shape.

The Road Builder is sadly not very well known, and that's a shame because this psychological thriller is a real gem and would certainly benefit from being more widely seen. The film is based on a book by Joy Cowley, although there were apparently some changes made to the story (I don't know what since I've not read the book). One of the more surprising things about this film is the fact that the screenplay was written by popular children's author Roald Dahl, although clearly he did also have a taste for the macabre if Tales of the Unexpected as well as his children's book 'The Witches' are anything to go by. The film is a strange love story at heart and we focus on a house inhabited by an old spinster and her middle aged daughter Maura. Their lives are changed one day when a young stranger on a motorbike turns up and they agree to let him stay. The young man becomes a popular figure in the house rather quickly, especially with Maura. However, there's something strange about him as evidenced by his sudden bursts of depression, apparently owing to the tragic death of his parents.Most of the plot takes place in a grandiose mansion and it makes for a really good location for the movie - it's very isolated and is nice to look at. The atmosphere is very good throughout and this excellently compliments the plot which is thoroughly dark and largely unpleasant. The plot doesn't move particularly quickly, but it's always interesting thanks to the way that the characters are built up progressively and director Alastair Reid focuses on their relationship with one another. The acting is very good and the film stars Roald Dahl's then wife Patricia Neal in the lead role. She gets on well with the other two main players, Pamela Brown and Nicholas Clay and these actors help to ensure that the film works well. There's not a great deal of shocking moments, but the way that the unpleasant happenings are handled works very well as it's nasty yet completely believable. It all boils down to a very good ending and The Road Builder is certainly a film with a 'sting in the tail'. Overall, I really hope this gets a decent release soon because it's a great thriller and well worth seeing!

I have seen this film last week on TV. I am glad that the there are English subtitles so that I can clearly enjoy the dialogue. Only it is pity that the English subtitles from TCM are kind of closed captions that cannot be taken for recording.Different than the comment of another Dutch viewer from 2006, I find this film a rather nice good movie. The maker has put quite some different (thrilling, creeping, emotional, romantic) components to the movie, but not into deep touch by purpose. If one is specially looking for or fond of a particular type of movie from one of these components, one may not feel satisfied enough. However I am glad that the maker had made it in this way that the movie content becomes "rich" in a special way. It makes the film as a whole quiet thrilling, creeping, emotional and even bit romantic too. It is not boring at all, I enjoy every moment of the movie. Making a film to a particular type/direction of course is a heavy job but to combine different type of components in a fine way is not easy too.The film is quite moving that I have only realized at the end that it is already a film of 110 minutes. It is not boring at all, I have enjoyed every moment of the movie. Yes, this is not a film made for award nomination, but both the director and the leading actors have done a pretty good job. If you watch the film carefully you will realize that the film is quite fine made. From their fine work, you can see and feel the style of the early 70's British films. It is a small budget production, but still leaves some compelling moonshine. I simply like this movie.The ending indeed is quite a critical way. I have never read the novel. I don't know whether the end is the same as the movie. I wonder if the director has extended and refined the ending for about 10 minutes more, will the ending be then a bit better than a shortcut? On the other hand, I have the feeling that it seems that the director has deliberately made the ending in this stunning way that it now leaves us crossing feelings and questions that makes the movie still time to time staying on our mind.It may not be a top A-film, but it is a little gem which absolutely is worthing to see.I give it 7.75 out of 10.