Dead of Night (1945)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Alberto Cavalcanti
(more)

Writers:

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

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
Naunton Wayne	...	Larry Potter
Peggy Bryan	...	Mary Lee
Allan Jeayes	...	Maurice Olcott
Michael Redgrave	...	Maxwell Frere
Elisabeth Welch	...	Beulah
Hartley Power	...	Sylvester Kee
Magda Kun	...	Mitzi
Garry Marsh	...	Harry Parker
Renee Gadd	...	Mrs. Craig (as Renée Gadd)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Bonifas	...	French Nightclub Patron in 'Ventriloquist's Dummy' Segment (uncredited)
Peter Jones	...	Fred - Barman in 'Golfing Story' Segment (uncredited)
John McGuire	...	Hugo Fitch in 'Ventriloquist's Dummy' Segment (uncredited)

Directed by
Alberto Cavalcanti		(as Cavalcanti)
Alberto Cavalcanti		(segments "Christmas Party" and "The Ventriloquist's Dummy") (uncredited)
Charles Crichton		(segment "Golfing Story") (uncredited)
Basil Dearden		(segments "Hearse Driver" and "Linking Narrative") (uncredited)
Robert Hamer		(segment "The Haunted Mirror") (uncredited)

Writing credits
H.G. Wells		(original story) &
E.F. Benson		(original story) &
John Baines		(original story) &
Angus MacPhail		(original story) (as Angus Macphail)
John Baines		(screenplay) &
Angus MacPhail		(screenplay) (as Angus Macphail)
T.E.B. Clarke		(additional dialogue)
John Baines		writer (segments "The Haunted Mirror" and "The Ventriloquist's Dummy") (uncredited)
E.F. Benson		writer (segments "Hearse Driver" and linking narrative) (uncredited)
Angus MacPhail		writer (segment "Christmas Party") (uncredited)
H.G. Wells		writer (segment "Golfing Story") (uncredited)

Produced by
Michael Balcon	....	producer
Sidney Cole	....	associate producer
John Croydon	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Georges Auric		(music composed by)

Cinematography by
Stanley Pavey		(lighting) (as Stan Pavey)
Douglas Slocombe

Film Editing by
Charles Hasse

Art Direction by
Michael Relph

Costume Design by
Marion Horn		(dresses)
Bianca Mosca		(dresses)

Makeup Department
Tom Shenton	....	make-up

Production Management
Ronald Brantford	....	unit manager
Hal Mason	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Rowland Douglas	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Norman Hipwell	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Claude Hudson	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
P. Potter	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Billy Russell	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Heather Armitage	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Jim Morahan	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Len Wills	....	draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Len Page	....	recordist
A.E. Rudolph	....	recordist
Eric Williams	....	sound supervisor
W. Boulatoff	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Mary Habberfield	....	dubbing editor (uncredited)
Tom Otter	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Lionel Banes	....	special effects (as L. Banes)
Cliff Richardson	....	special effects (as C. Richardson)

Camera and Electrical Department
H. Julius	....	camera operator
Jack Parker	....	camera operator
Roy Gough	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Gerry Levy	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Michael Shepherd	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Gerry Turpin	....	focus puller (uncredited)
John Winbolt	....	clapper loader (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Leslie Allen	....	assembly cutter (uncredited)
Daphne Heathcote	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Seth Holt	....	second assistant editor (uncredited)
E. Leverett	....	second assistant editor (uncredited)
F. Thomson	....	second assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Ernest Irving	....	music conductor
Frank Weir	....	band leader: Frank Weir and his Sextet
Bruce Campbell	....	music arranger: song (uncredited)

Other crew
Gwen Bartle	....	continuity (uncredited)
M. Hamilton	....	assistant continuity (uncredited)
Daphne Heathcote	....	continuity (uncredited)
Elaine Schreyeck	....	continuity (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Ealing Studios (present)

Distributors

• Eagle-Lion Distributors Limited (1945) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1946) (USA) (theatrical) (cut version)
• Parvisfilmi (1946) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Associated British Film Distributors (ABFD) (1949) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Congress Video Group (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Státní Pujcovna Filmu (194?) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (video)
• Image Entertainment (laserdisc)
• Republic Pictures (199?) (USA) (video)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2008) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• London Philharmonic Orchestra  music played by
• Ealing Studios  music recorded at

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 *****