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

Mervyn Johns (Walter Craig) and Miles Malleson (the hearse driver) also appeared in A Christmas Carol (1951), starring Alistair Sim. In that movie, Johns and Malleson played Bob Cratchit and Old Bob, respectively.

---

Goofs

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

---

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 WatchMojo: Top 10 Scary Movie Dolls (2014)

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

The Original British Horror Omnibus/Anthology

Dead of Night is responsible for so many films made in the horror genre, because it was the first that took a huge gamble and pieced several unconnected stories together within a narrative that loosely keeps them together. Tales From The Crypt, Vault of Horror, Tales That Witness Madness, The House That Dripped Blood, Torture Garden, The Monster Club, Creepshow, Tales From the Darkside: the Movie are just a few of the films that owe part of their existence to this little British film. The frame story details how a man goes to the country for a weekend only to say he has been there before and met the people there before in his recurring dream. He is thrust into a discussion between those that believe in his dream and one lone doctor(psychiatrist) who seems able to explain all phenomena in a scientific way. Each of the guests then in turn tells a story about their brush with the supernatural. Most of the stories are very inventive(although by modern standards cliched as they have been copied many times)and entertaining. Two of the stories really stand-out. The first is about a mirror that shows you a different room as you look into it, and the other about a ventriloquist with a split personality. The other stories are good, and one is humorous(perhaps out of place but fun nonetheless). Acting is solid throughout with Mervyn Johns as the man subjected to the same dream over and over again. Richard Valk excels as the doctor, and Michael Redgrave is outstanding as the man able to give the gift of speech to a "dummy." Also of interest is the pairing of Basil Radford and Naughton Wayne form Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes. They DO compliment each other so very nicely. A wonderful, eerie film.