Dead of Night (1945)

Architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality. The guests at the country house encourage him to stay as they take turns telling supernatural tales.

Directors:

Alberto Cavalcanti (as Cavalcanti), Charles Crichton

Writers:

John Baines (screenplay), Angus MacPhail (screenplay) (as Angus Macphail)

Stars:

Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Roland Culver

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mervyn Johns	...	Walter Craig (segment "Linking Story")
Roland Culver	...	Eliot Foley (segment "Linking Story")
Mary Merrall	...	Mrs. Foley (segment "Linking Story")
Googie Withers	...	Joan Cortland (segment "Linking Story") / (segment "The Haunted Mirror")
Frederick Valk	...	Dr. Van Straaten (segment "Linking Story") / (segment "The Ventriloquist's Dummy")
Anthony Baird	...	Hugh Grainger (segment "Linking Story") / (segment "The Hearse Driver") (as Antony Baird)
Sally Ann Howes	...	Sally O'Hara (segment "Linking Story") / (segment "Christmas Party")
Robert Wyndham	...	Dr. Albury (segment "The Hearse Driver")
Judy Kelly	...	Joyce Grainger (segment "Linking Story") / (segment "The Hearse Driver")
Miles Malleson	...	Hearse Driver (segment "The Hearse Driver")
Michael Allan	...	Jimmy Watson (segment "Christmas Story")
Barbara Leake	...	Mrs. O'Hara (segment "Linking Story")
Ralph Michael	...	Peter Cortland (segment "The Haunted Mirror")
Esme Percy	...	Antique Dealer (segment "The Haunted Mirror") (as Esmé Percy)
Basil Radford	...	George Parratt (segment "Golfing Story")

Storyline

Architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns), seeking the possibility of some work at a country farmhouse, soon finds himself once again stuck in his recurring nightmare. Dreading the end of the dream that he knows is coming, he must first listen to all the assembled guests' own bizarre tales.

---

Plot Keywords:

dream | architect | psychiatrist | premonition | mirror | 

---

Taglines:

Even GREATER than "Seventh Veil"

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

15 February 1946 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Al morir la noche

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,919

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ealing Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Googie Withers, when interviewed on an Australian television midday show in the 1980s, revealed that only one take was possible in the mirror smashing scene as Ealing Studios' budget didn't extend to more than one mirror. So she gave it her best shot.

---

Goofs

As Peter Cortland stands looking into the mirror his wife-to-be has bought him, the stripes on his tie run from his left side, down to his right. A reverse shot shows the stripes on his tie running in the same direction; obviously not a mirror image.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Eliot Foley: Ah! Walter Craig?
Walter Craig: How do you do? You're Eliot Foley.
Eliot Foley: That's right. So glad you were able to come, let's have your bag.
[takes Craig's bag]
Eliot Foley: We'll put the car away afterwards. You know it struck me after I'd telephoned you, rather a cheek on my part asking a busy architect like yourself to come down and spend the weekend with a set of complete strangers.
Walter Craig: Not a bit.
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...
[...]

---

Alternate Versions

The UK release is 105 minutes long and features five stories (The Hearse Driver, The Christmas Party, The Haunted Mirror, The Golfing Story, and The Ventriloquist's Dummy). When originally released in the USA, two of the stories (The Christmas Party and The Golfing Story), were removed to shorten the film to 77-minutes. Later reissues and television version reinstated the missing segments.

---

Connections

Featured in The 100 Greatest Scary Moments (2003)

---

Soundtracks

The Hullalooba
Written and Composed by Anna Marly
Played by Frank Weir and his Sextet
Sung by Elisabeth Welch (uncredited)

User Reviews

Scared me nearly to death as a kid.

I saw Dead of Night when I was ten years old, and the horror stayed with me through most of my teen years. The mini-story about the antique mirror that showed the reflection of a totally different room than the one the man was in, made me afraid to be alone in a room with a mirror. Even to this day, as a grown man, I am a bit uncomfortable if I am alone at night in a room with a big, old mirror. Most of the mini-stories in this movie stayed with me for years, making me shudder whenever I would think about them. It is interesting, too, that the story of the ventriloquist's dummy that "comes to life," an oft-repeated theme in other movies and TV shows, originated with Dead of Night. I did not see the movie again until decades later. I was not as horrified, seeing it as an adult, but certain scenes still made me shudder. The main, underlying, weird idea of the movie, which becomes plain in the closing scene, leaves you with a spooky feeling and this thought: "could something like this be true of my life too?"