Dead of Night (1945)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Alberto Cavalcanti

Writers:

H.G. Wells (original story) &
E.F. Benson (original story) ...

Release Date:

15 February 1946 (Finland)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Architect Walter Craig, seeking the possibility of some work at a country farmhouse, soon finds himself once again stuck in his recurring nightmare...

Plot Keywords:

Dream | Nightmare | Architect | Psychiatrist | Farmhouse

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Mervyn Johns	...	Walter Craig
Roland Culver	...	Eliot Foley
Mary Merrall	...	Mrs Foley
Googie Withers	...	Joan Cortland
Frederick Valk	...	Dr. Van Straaten
Anthony Baird	...	Hugh Grainger (as Antony Baird)
Sally Ann Howes	...	Sally O'Hara
Robert Wyndham	...	Dr. Albury
Judy Kelly	...	Joyce Grainger
Miles Malleson	...	Hearse Driver
Michael Allan	...	Jimmy Watson
Barbara Leake	...	Mrs O'Hara
Ralph Michael	...	Peter Cortland
Esme Percy	...	Antiques Dealer (as Esmé Percy)
Basil Radford	...	George Parratt

Runtime:

103 min | USA:77 min | Germany:95 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | USA:Approved | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Norway:16 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Trivia:

US distributors thought that the original cut of the film was too long. The golfing sequence and the Christmas ghost tale were both cut. This confused audiences, who could not understand what Sally Ann Howes, Basil Radford, and Naunton Wayne were doing in the linking story.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the dummy sequence, when sitting and talking with Mr. Kee, the dummy's hand changes position from table to knee.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Walter Craig drives up to Foley's farmhouse and looks around with an expression part suspicious and part dumbfounded]
Eliot Foley: Ah! Walter Craig?
Walter Craig: How do you do. You're Eliot Foley.
[They shake hands]
Eliot Foley: That's right. So glad you were able to come. Let's have your bag. I'll put the car away afterwards. You know, it struck me, after I'd telephoned you, rather cheek on my part to ask a busy architect like yourself to come down and spend the weekend with a set of complete strangers.
Walter Craig: [to himself] Not complete.
Eliot Foley: You see, we're pretty cramped for space here. We need at least two more bedrooms.
Walter Craig: And with only one living room.
Eliot Foley: Yes, only one living room. However, we'll go into all that in the morning, shall we?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006)

Soundtrack:

The Hullalooba

One of the best horror films ever!

This is one of my favorite horror film along with Masaki Kobayashi's Kwaidan. Like Kwaidan, this is also a horror anthology. But this directed by four directors and are not separate like Kwaidan's are. This film begins with an architect arriving at a remote farm house for a party. When he's there he feels like he's been here before. Then everyone starts telling scary stories. Each of these stories are shot by different directors. The first story "Christmas Party" is about a girl at a Christmas Party who finds a hidden flight of stairs. She goes up them and finds a boy who's crying. The second story "The Haunted Mirror" is about an engaged couple who marry and the wife buys him a mirror. Needless to say, it is not a normal mirror with a horrifying past. The third story is called "The Hearse Driver". It is about a man who dreams he sees a hearse go by and a creepy man iside tells him "There's room for one more". This becomes a premonition of things to come. I heard a story like this one in a scary story book. The fourth story, "Golfing Story" is about two golfers who love a girl so much they hold a special golfing tournament. The winner gets to marry the girl the loser dies. One of the men wins and the other is forced to drown himself. The fifth and final story "The Ventriloquist" is about a ventriloquist who thinks his dummy is out to get him.

As I said this could be one of the best horror films ever. Forget Jason or Freddy or Chuckie, this is the real thing. It certainly is the best B&W horror film. It is very creepy and it really works well in imparting the feeling of the supernatural. ESPECIALLY the "Ventrioloquist" tale. That is chilling enough to scare the bejebers out of you. If you are a fan of new high tech garbage slasher flicks, then I DO NOT recommend this to you. But if you really love all horror films, classic or new, then you will treasure this creepy classic. Rating: ***** out of *****