Dead of Night (1945) User Reviews

Trapped in a Nightmare

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 1 October 2014]

The architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) drives to a farmhouse in the countryside of London and he is welcomed by the owner, Eliot Foley (Roland Culver), who introduces him the psychiatrist Dr. Van Straaten (Frederick Valk), his friend Joan Cortland (Googie Withers), his young neighbor Sally O'Hara (Sally Ann Howes) and the race car driver Hugh Grainger (Antony Baird). Craig tells that he has the sensation of Déjà vu since he had had a nightmare with them in that house but one lady is missing. However Mrs. Foley (Mary Merrall) arrives completing the characters of his dream.

The skeptical Dr. Van Straaten does not believe in supernatural but the guests tell supernatural events that they have lived. Grainger had a car accident and then a premonition that saved his life; Sally had met a ghost during the Christmas; Eliot and his wife had lived an evil experience with a haunted mirror; two golfers that loved the same woman and decide to dispute her in a game, but one of them dies and haunt the other; and Dr. Van Straaten tells the story of a ventriloquist with double personality that is dominated by his dummy. But when Dr. Van Straaten accidentally breaks his classes and the power goes out, the nightmare begins.

"Dead of Night" is an original horror tale that is certainly the source of inspiration to "The Twilight Zone", "Tales From The Crypt", "Vault of Horror", "Creepshow", "Tales From the Darkside: the Movie" where the screenplay discloses a main story and many segments. The final twist is totally unexpected and a plus in this little great movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Na Solidão da Noite" ("In the Solitude of the Night")

"Christmas Party" Episode

[christinekay · 9/10 · 30 May 2005]

Many of the reviews I've read over the years of "Dead of Night" seem to sideline the "Christmas Party" episode as being less successful and effective than the other stories involved. At first, I tended to agree with them; however, after a while it dawned on me that there was something rather unusual about the sequence that I couldn't quite place my finger on. Normally, in a ghost story, any part of the story containing the appearance of the ghost looks rather unreal in comparison with the everyday part to underline the supernatural aspect of the spectre's apparition. However, in this particular story, it's the (real) children's party that looks unreal, and the (supernatural) ghost that looks real. The party shows a massive house, with a roaring log fire, loads of toys, food, etc, and the children enjoying themselves enormously, without any adults present. It has the look of a fantasy of the perfect party any child would want. However, the meeting with the young boy seems more rooted in reality, and this is the irony of the story - that Constance Kent, the sister he mentions, actually did exist and did admit to killing her younger brother. In real life, the boy was actually a baby when he was murdered, but his age has obviously been changed so that Sally could talk to him. This gives an extra poignancy to the story, in that he likes Sally and presumably would have wanted her for his real sister, but instead had Constance, who killed him - the worst crime she could have committed against a helpless child.

I think it would be wrong to overlook this sequence as unworthy of comment, and reassess its value in "Dead of Night". It may not be as frightening as the famed ventriloquist story, but it does carry an emotional power which is perhaps its strongest point.

What a wonderful thought provoking creepy film!

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 17 December 2017]

I watched this again after a too-long gap of about six years. Were there many anthology films made during this time? "Flesh and Fantasy" (1943) comes to mind but "Dead of Night" is superior. The plot involves an architect who arrives at a country house for work, in a recurring nightmare, and he's terrified because he knows how this nightmare is going to end... At the house there are a number of guests and they soon fall into talking about their own horrifying supernatural tales. The stories of each of the guests range from semi-comical (the "golfing" episode was my least favorite, although there was one chilling moment even in that one) to the terrifying (the best of the lot, imho, is the 'ventriloquist' episode). Some have speculated that Rod Serling probably drew heavily on "Dead of Night" when writing a number of scripts for "The Twilight Zone" (as just one example, the scene where the dummy bites the hand of the ventriloquist is copied almost exactly in the TZ ep "The Dummy"). I'm not sure if this movie was a blockbuster at the time, but I think it was ahead of its time in terms of depth of concepts, in that there is more than meets the eye.

The Original British Horror Omnibus/Anthology

[BaronBl00d · 27 May 2001]

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.

Scared me nearly to death as a kid.

[cweed06 · 10/10 · 12 March 2001]

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?"

Most of the Stories Are Pretty Good

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 10 November 2020]

A creepy and atmospheric anthology film that finds a man invited to a country house realizing that the assembled guests, all strangers, are people who he's seen in a recurring dream. From there, each guest recounts a run-in with the supernatural, and it's these little stories that make up the bulk of the film. The first is short and sweet, one about a cursed mirror goes on forever, and one about a golfing buddy who refuses to stop haunting his friend is funny but won't satisfy those looking for something spooky. For that, look to the story about a hidden room in a rambling country estate that hosts a child ghost and, most effectively and famously, the last episode about a ventriloquist and his psychotic dummy. Michael Redgrave gives a truly fantastic performance in this one, probably a better performance than the film really needs, and creates a short little film that's the stuff of nightmares. It alone makes the whole movie worth the price of admission.

Grade: B+

Mervyn Johns Nightmares

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 31 October 2009]

Mervyn Johns a quite ordinary architect is summoned for a job by Roland Culver. As he drives up to Culver's house it's in the words of a great 20th century philosopher, deja vu all over again.

Culver's entertaining and Johns comes in and seems to know the people there. When Johns relates what he thinks is happening to him, the others start telling some paranormal tales of their own.

With Mervyn Johns's introductory story unifying the film, Dead Of Night now goes into five very engrossing short stories of some weird experiences that the guests have had. I'm not sure the introductory tale is needed, all five can certainly stand on their own as Gothic drama.

Although all the stories are good, by far the outstanding one involves Michael Redgrave as a ventriloquist whose dummy seems to be taking on a life of its own. One of Culver's guests is psychiatrist Frederick Valk and he contributes this story as he was a consultant on this case. Is it schizophrenia or is that dummy really alive?

I also liked the episode with Sally Ann Howes as a young teenager at a costume party who befriends a young boy whom she sings to sleep with a lullaby. The boy played by Michael Allan had a perfect right to be in that house, but he's a most unwelcome guest at the party.

I might not have even had the linking story included in the film and let the stories stand on their own. But either way Dead Of Night is an engrossing Gothic drama.

An Interesting Anthology

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 8 June 2015]

An architect (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.

British anthologies really took off in the 1970s with my favorite studio, Amicus. But here we have Ealing, not known for their horror films, making an anthology in the 1940s. That is way ahead of the pack (excluding earlier German films like "Waxworks" and "Eerie Tales").

For the most part, this is a really good one. It runs a bit long, and perhaps one of the weaker segments could have been cut. But some of the scenes (such as the haunted mirror) are really good and can almost stand on their own. And then when we get the big reveal, it is terrifying, both for us and our protagonist.

While I still prefer the Cushing-Lee anthologies of the 70s, this is well worth checking out for those who are not familiar.

It's Deja Vu all over again

[theowinthrop · 10/10 · 18 September 2005]

This is one of those horror stories that just does not diminish over the years. An architect (Mervyn Johns, in his best dramatic role) is invited to the country home of a wealthy man (Roland Culver) and from the moment he drives up, he is aware that something familiar, and evil, is involved in this visit. Yet nothing bad is going on - it should be a routine visit. Still if it is a business visit, from the start it is not treated as a business visit. For one thing there is a set of guest at the home, including a psychiatrist (Frederick Valk), a young girl (Sally Ann Howe), a female family friend (Googie Withers), and a racing car driver (Anthony Baird). Johns acts nervously when he enters (he recognizes the interior of the house as well as it's outside surroundings), and he explains the situation to Culver and the others. They reassure him nothing is wrong, and proceed to give him a drink and discuss unexplained occult phenomenon they have all experienced (even the skeptical voice of reason Valk). It is these five experiences that take up the bulk of the film.

Although it is a well known horror movie, I will avoid explaining the moment of horror and how it expands, involving all the stories in a fierce conclusion. This is the best "Chinese Box" story that has ever been put on screen, in that everything does fall into place. The irony (for the viewer - and for Walter Craig, the nervous architect - is that we find at the end that the whole nightmare is about to begin all over again.

The best of the sequences (although a matter of taste) are the racing driver's, the female friend's, and the psychiatrist's. The driver, recovering from a crash in a hospital, keeps having a nightmare where he sees a hearse outside his window at a certain time, with a driver (Miles Malleson) who repeats, "Just room for one inside sir." This actually is a classic occult urban legend, as the face of the figure of doom reappears later at a key moment to scare the dream bearer into not proceeding with a normal act. The female friend's story is about how she and her husband barely manage to survive the acquiring of a Victorian mirror from an antiques dealer (Esme Percy). The mirror, it seems, has a life and evil spirit of it's own, and nearly makes history repeat itself.

The moment that raised this film to it's heights was the psychiatrist's tale. It deals with a ventriloquist (Michael Redgrave) who shoots a rival (Hartley Power) for trying to steal the affections of his dummy Hugo. Besides the obvious homosexual overtones of the story, the story has Redgrave's best film performance (unless one counts his Jack Worthing in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST or his Andrew Crocker-Harris in THE BROWNING VERSION) as the insane Maxwell Freer. It also has a chilling unexpected conclusion when Valk, trying to get to the heart of Redgrave's psychosis, unleashes a demon that nobody expected.

The other two stories are less frightening - one (Sally Howes' story about a personal ghost experience, probably when she was visiting the English town of Road) concerning an actual 1860 murder of a little boy, Francis Saville Kent. The murderer who was eventually punished (his sister Constance) survived a twenty year incarceration after her confession - and lived to be 101 in Australia. Nowadays, recent studies of that case suggest that Constance was not the killer - her father Samuel, or his mistress, the family nurse, may have killed Francis to keep him from talking to his mother about seeing a tryst. Constance loved her father, and may have taken the rap to protect him. However, Francis was her step-brother, not a full brother, and the originally investigation by the brilliant Scotland Yard Detective Jonathan Whicher in 1860 pointed to Constance as the killer.

The least of the stories (told by Culver) is based on an amusing golf - ghost tale by H.G. Wells. It is a pleasant diversion (it stars Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne as rival golf players), and allows the segment with Redgrave greater effect by coming just before it.

The film has had effects ever since it came out. For instance, Danny Kaye (who slightly resembles Redgrave) played a ventriloquist with psychological problems (or an independent dummy) in KNOCK ON WOOD a few years later. A troublesome dummy named "Gabbo" (also a reference to Eric Von Stroheim's THE GREAT GABBO) briefly replaced "Crusty the Clown" in the rating of Springfield in THE SIMPSONS. But for the best effect it is Redgrave's moment of madness here, and the wonderful climax of this frightening movie. Are there better deja vu films? Just room for one sir!

Delicious creepshow

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 20 February 2008]

Memorable British thriller with an eerie premise: man is invited to a country estate, only to find that he's met all the 'strangers' staying there before--in his recurring dream. Story splits into separate parts from there (practically too soon), as each of the guests recount similar experiences. The tale of the demented ventriloquist played by Michael Redgrave is justifiably famous, however my favorite was the episode with the haunted mirror. A very good movie, slow in spots and heavy with talk, but extremely well-made and nicely performed. Too bad more time wasn't spent on the prologue, which offers a feast of spooky possibilities not really explored. **1/2 from ****

Grandfather of the multi-horror story film genre

[henrywooten · 9/10 · 19 May 2002]

Dead of Night is one of those movies that actually started a genre. Tame to today's standards many of its short stories can be traced to horror plots today; most notably the ventriloquist dummy come to life (Michael Redgrave sequence). This movie takes horror where it should remain...the suspense film. We can see all the blood and gore today but why do films like The Six Sense (1999) or What Lies Beneath (2000) remain a success? Everyone has their own fears and thoughts of horror; and the thought of that fear and horror adds to the suspense film in all ways more thansay the breed of horror slasher films...probably best portrayed by Psycho, Halloween and the Scream Films. Dead of Night isn't a Hitchcock film but it uses the same actors of his England days and uses the same suspense techniques seen in his tv series. Check this film out and watch it from the perspective of the 1940s viewers eyes and see why it was popular. Also check out Cat People (1942)and M (1931)

Cigarette anyone?

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 18 March 2017]

An early entry in the horror anthology sub-genre, Dead of Night is an important and highly influential offering from Ealing Studios, one that has provided inspiration for numerous later scary movies, including the popular Amicus portmanteau films of the '60s and '70s.

But as noteworthy as it undoubtedly is, Dead of Night is also somewhat over-rated, the film suffering from that frequent horror anthology handicap, the comic relief story, and just a little too much of the wraparound tale, which begins as architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) arrives at the country home of Eliot Foley (Roland Culver) and his wife (Mary Merrall), having been invited to stay the weekend.

As Walter is introduced to the other guests in the house, he experiences a sense of déjà vu, recognising the names and faces from a recurring nightmare, which he proceeds to divulge. This, in turn, leads to each person recounting their own experience of the supernatural.

Tale number one, The Hearse Driver, is short but sweet, telling of how race car driver Hugh Grainger, injured in a crash, is saved from certain death by a haunting vision of a creepy hearse driver. The shock ending is memorable enough that one can easily forgive the unconvincing miniature model effect.

Story two is traditional ghost story Christmas Party, with Sally O'Hara (Sally Ann Howes) befriending a small boy, unaware that he is in fact the spirit of a murdered child. The twist in the tale is not at all surprising, a disappointment considering the wonderfully melancholy atmosphere that had been so carefully established.

The third tale to be recounted, The Haunted Mirror, is one of the best, and sees Peter Cortland (Ralph Michael) slowly becoming possessed by the spirit of a murderer after his wife (Googie Withers) buys him a haunted mirror. Extremely creepy and well played by Michael and Withers, this one would provide the inspiration for a chapter in the excellent From Beyond The Grave (1974).

Golfing Story stars Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne as sporting and love rivals George and Larry, who play a round of golf to decide who shall win the hand of the woman they both adore. Loser Larry kills himself and winds up haunting George, who had cheated during the game. Played for laughs, this one is out of place and could have been left on the cutting room floor (the shorter American version of the film did just that, along with Christmas Party).

The last segment is about a ventriloquist (Michael Redgrave) who believes that his doll is alive. If that sounds familiar, it's could be because the same idea was used for the Anthony Hopkins film Magic (1978). Like Magic, this one is supremely creepy—there's something that is inherently unsettling about a ventriloquist doll, and this one wastes no opportunity to freak out the viewer.

With its five tales told, Dead of Night wraps things up by revealing that everything we have seen thus far has been part of Walter Craig's recurring dream. The architect wakes up and receives a phone call: it's Eliot Foley inviting him to stay for the weekend. The cyclical dream ending might seem trite these days, but was probably considered rather clever back in 1945.

With more killer than filler, the film is still a neat package of spooky stories, one that will no doubt please most fans of the multi-story format. If anything, it's worth seeing just to see quite how many of the characters light up a cigarette during the entire film: it's almost like smoking was mandatory in the '40s.

The Grandfather of Anthologies

[dagonseve · 3/10 · 4 June 2010]

This black and white classic is considered the grandfather of British anthology films, even serving as an influence to Rod Sterling - the creator of The Twilight Zone that ran for five seasons from 1959 to 1964. In past reviews you've seen me mention Amicus Productions; a British film company that released various anthologies throughout the 1960's and early '70's and even they felt the effects. So what is an anthology? Well, it's a film sometimes referred to as a portmanteau, compendium, or omnibus in which several short stories share a unified theme. Dead of Night is widely recognized for having laid the groundwork behind this concept on the big screen.

An architect by the name of Walter Craig is summoned to a country farm house to discuss a new project on behalf of his client. When he arrives he is greeted by a room full of guests in which he claims he's met before but only in a dream. A doctor by the name of Van Straaten attempts to scientifically explain this strange dream-to-reality phenomenon and how it is possible for Craig to foresee events before they happen. In the midst of diagnosing the issue several guests entertain Craig with odd or unsettling tales that they've either experienced or heard about.

This film is broken down into 5 different segments - all of which vary in the intensity of their delivery. Since this was produced in 1945 one could excuse the mild tone of some of the tales involved but despite the more innocent outlook on horror in the '40's, they could have been more memorable. After all, certain films in the silent era still have an impact today! Easily the most disturbing story in Dead of Night is about a dummy and the mad ventriloquist who controls him. The amount of times this idea has been replicated is intriguing. The earliest film rendition of this idea is 1929's The Great Gabbo - you can go even further and recognize that the Great Gabbo was parodied by The Simpsons back in the '90's. I know of one Tales From the Crypt episode that borrowed from this theme that starred Bobcat Goldthwait. In addition, there were two The Twilight Zone episodes that followed it closely. If you really want to get obscure, there was a short entitled The Dummy that originally aired on USA's Night Flight back in 1981 - not really a play-for-play copy of what you see in Dead of Night, but certainly influenced nonetheless.

A great deal of anthology films exercise a twist ending and Dead of Night is no exception. It's a satisfactory way to close the film and it should be considered a point of interest. It's true that this film was there in the early days of film-making. Sadly, the tales lacked consistency, whether intentional or not, and remains a big flaw among many anthologies.

A prime example of a well-made horror-anthology

[Camera-Obscura · 27 July 2006]

Anthology n.: a collection of selected literary pieces or passages of works of art or music.

This classic horror-anthology from Britain's Ealing Studios is composed of four separate stories, composed around a group of strangers that is mysteriously gathered at a country estate where each reveals their chilling tale of the supernatural. But even after these frightening tales are told, does one final nightmare await them all?

The horror-anthology has proved a difficult sub-genre, usually made with only limited success, because it's notoriously difficult to get it right. If only one of the stories fails to deliver, the whole piece is dragged down. But this multi-part horror effort from Britain's Ealing Studios still proves to be very effective and justifiably still is one of the most revered and successful horror anthologies ever made. It features appearances by many of the best British actors of it's day, including Mervyn Johns, Ralph Michael, Basil Radford and Michael Redgrave. With four different directors at the helm, not all four segments are equally effective and are quite different in tone, but they are all good in their own right. The standout for me, not judged in terms of the best, but certainly the most frightening story of the four, is "The Ventriloquist Dummy" by Brazilian born Alberto Cavalcanti (he's simply billed as Cavalcanti), the only non-British director involved in DEAD OF NIGHT. Michael Redgrave plays a renowned ventriloquist who descends into an abyss of madness and murder, when his dummy takes on a life of his own. One of the most unsettling stories I've ever seen.

The somewhat less effective (if only slightly) mirror sequence by Robert Hamer shows something very scary can be achieved with very basic means. When Ralph Michael looks in the mirror, to his horror he keeps seeing the reflection of a dark Gothic room lit with candles, completely different from the room he's standing in and slowly, he begins to loose his mind. Ultimately, it is the extremely unsettling music score that makes it work. Basic but very effective.

As with most anthologies, it's difficult to keep track of the main interwoven storyline, because between the different stories we're told, your mind is still very much trying to grasp what you've just seen. This is probably why the genre became increasingly unpopular over the years. With the exception of "The Ventriloquist Dummy", don't expect anything particularly scary, but it did leave me quietly disturbed. The peerless British cast and the witty, slightly old-fashioned tongue-in-cheek dialog makes this very pleasant and appropriately unsettling viewing.

Camera Obscura --- 8/10 --- 10/10 for "The Ventriloquist Dummy"

An uncommonly creepy film, and Hugo's DNA has infected dummies for years and years

[Terrell-4 · 9/10 · 8 March 2008]

Dead of Night remains, sixty years after it was made at Ealing Studios, one of the creepiest and most intelligent of supernatural films. No, it doesn't have creaking coffins, or pale hands edging through a doorway, or Ruritanian vampires. It has a country home set in the warm Kentish countryside, civilized house guests with excellent manners, five stories of unhinged supernatural happenings, and one guest who suffers from nightmares. This is an anthology film, with the stories ranging from ghosts to premonitions to savage possession. They are told by the people who experienced them, and they are all wrapped around by the one guest who knows the house, knows the host and knows the other guests even though he has never seen any of them before. He knows them in his nightmare, a nightmare he has had over and over. "It always starts exactly the same as when I arrived, just now," architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) says. "I turn off the main road into the lane. At the bend in the lane, the house comes into view, and I stop as I recognize it. Then I drive on again. And Foley meets me at the front door. I recognize him, too. And then, while I'm taking off my coat, I have the most extraordinary feeling. I nearly turn and run for it, because I know I'm going to come face-to- face with the other six." Four of the guests and the host, we learn, have stories of their own.

There's the race car driver's story, directed by Basil Dearden. Hugh Grainger (Anthony Baird) survives a crash but sees from his hospital window a horse-drawn hearse. The driver looks up at him. "Just room for one more, sir," he says with a smile. That's just the beginning.

There's the schoolgirl's story, directed by Alberto Calvalcanti. Sally O'Hara (Sally Ann Howes) plays hide-and-seek at a party and discovers a hidden room, a small boy crying...and an older sister.

There's the wife's story, directed by Robert Hamer. Joan Cortland (Googie Withers) buys an antique mirror for her fiancée. It's not long before he sees in the mirror another room from another age, and we learn of a crippled, jealous husband and a strangled wife.

For a chance to exhale and smile, there's the story of two golf fanatics, directed by Charles Crichton, who decide how to have the woman they both love. Elliot Foley (Roland Culver), our host, tells us this story.

And there is undoubtedly one of the most unnerving of horror tales, the story of ventriloquist Maxwell Frere (Michael Redgrave) and his dummy, Hugo, directed by Calvalcanti. Redgrave gives a tour de force performance as the dominated ventriloquist...but is he dominated by Hugo or by a separate personality. All we know for sure is that Hugo bites.

Weaving through these stories is the dread of Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns), who insists he has met the other guests. He knows that he will slap one, that another will break his glasses, that a sixth guest will soon appear. He knows he will do something terrible to someone who has never harmed him. One of the guests, Dr. van Straaten (Frederick Valk), is a psychoanalyst who has a reasonable explanation for all the stories. As the stories are told and as Craig's forecasts happen, van Straaten's rationales become shakier. This connecting story, directed by Dearden, reaches a climax in a psychedelic nightmare of leering faces emerging from the stories, of madly off-balance staircases and dark windows...and of a terrified Walter Craig.

And then a telephone rings. It's morning and we're in Walter Craig's bedroom. He wakes, realizes this was another nightmare and takes the phone. He's invited to spend the weekend looking over a house that needs an addition built. His wife asks who was calling. "Eliot Foley, Pilgrim's Farm...I wonder why that sounds so familiar," he says. "A weekend in the country? I should go." she says. Craig takes a coin and says, "I'll toss for it. Heads I go, tails I don't." Mrs. Craig looks at the coin. "Heads." He smiles and says, "I go." She gives him a hug. "That's just what you need, darling. It'll help you get rid of those horrible nightmares." But was it a nightmare? Or is it still?

Despite there being five tales, the linking narrative and four directors, Dead of Night works as one unified story. Everything fits seamlessly. Even after all these years the stories hold up, particularly those of Frere and Craig. Coming in a respectable second, for me, are the stories of the race driver and the wife. But even the weakest, the schoolgirl's story, is well done. The golfer's story is there to provide some eased tension and it serves it's purpose. The acting is all of a high order, with Michael Redgrave just about extraordinary. I've always been fond of Roland Culver's brisk competence. He's very good as the host. If you watch this movie, bear in mind that up until Dead of Night, ventriloquists' dummies in the movies had always been seen as charming, funny and harmless. Hugo's DNA changed all that forever.

Masterpiece

[South62 · 10/10 · 2 June 2005]

I watched Dead of Night for the first and (unfortunately) for the last time on TV when I was 10 or 11 years old but I still remember it like one of most fearful experience of my life. Later, like a mature person I realized that my fear was nothing but the mirror image of geniality of this movie. The best horror ever made. Without effects, without computers, without trivial editing. Just with immense psychological sophistication. Something what good horror should always be: a kind of social and psychological criticism, story about dark side of our lives and souls. I just cannot find the words to express my respect to this monument. Dead of Night should never be forgotten. Never.

Witty, fun, seminal, imperfect...a great time, though!!

[secondtake · 7/10 · 29 October 2010]

Dead of Night (1945)

Almost by definition this is a potpourri, with four directors, four writers, and a series of individual flashbacks loosely worked together into a psychologically spooky master structure. It's a product of the very English Ealing Studios, soon to be producing a series of famous comedies with a thoroughly English sensibility in great contrast to the film noir high drama of Hollywood of the same period.

And the best of these are really great--all a hair lighthearted or canned enough we aren't scared to death, but all clever and stylish enough to never drag. The core of it is a kind of British (seeming) contrivance a la Agatha Christie--a small group of people are caught up in something together, and each has a different story or fear or problem they bring to the mix. And while people are giving their individual parts, the whole is gradually assembling in the present tense, too. Vincent Price movies, even the later "Murder by Death" in its parody of the format, all work this out well. I suppose in a way even "Lifeboat" is similar, or going back to "Stagecoach," a ship of fools scenario, tightly packed and with growing suspicions between the players.

It isn't total brilliance for sure, and some of what seemed fresh at the time has been replayed so much it's not easy to see its freshness any more. But it still has some consistent acting, great archetypes, and a few surprises, including the inclusion of a gag (comic) narrative as one of the flashbacks. All very realistic, on that level, compensating for the exaggerations of the ideas otherwise. Check it out.

By the way, a parallel Hollywood film (not for its series of flashbacks, but because it was made the same year and it uses psychological horror in a contrived, non-Hitchcock sense), is "Spiral Staircase." Check that out, too.

Classic horror movie

[preppy-3 · 10/10 · 16 January 2007]

Scary British horror film with a bunch of people in a beautiful British country house sitting around and telling horror stories.

A man in a hospital has a horrific vision that later saves him; a young girl has a ghostly experience at a Christmas party; there's a haunted mirror sequence; a purportedly humorous ghost story involving two golfers and a downright terrifying sequence. This has Michael Redgrave playing a ventriloquist whose dummy seems to have a life of its own. The dummy is terrifying and Redgrave is superb--he actually became a ventriloquist for the role! It all has a framing story which ends with a somewhat predictable ending. However, back in 1945, this ending was probably brand new and must have jolted audiences.

I caught this on TV back in the 1970s. It was on LATE at night (about 1 am) and I was only 13 but I stayed up to watch it. I was fine with it until the Redgrave sequence and the one following it--those two scared me silly and I couldn't get to sleep--Hugo's face kept appearing in front of me! Seeing it now, all these years later, it STILL works on me. The stories have all been redone as episodes of "Twilight Zone" or "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"...but none have matched this movie. It's well-acted and has multiple directors doing separate sequences. There's next to no violence and no sudden shocks--it scares you but it sort of creeps up on you. A perfect example of subtle horror. The only misstep this makes is the stupid golfer story--it's not funny and pretty dumb--but this is a small complaint. A true horror classic.

The DVD print is in pretty poor condition. The picture is clear but somewhat faded and the audio drops in and out (music especially). Still it is watchable and that's what counts. A 10 all the way.

Well-remembered Ealing ghost anthology

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 20 June 2016]

DEAD OF NIGHT is the first horror anthology film and a well-remembered classic courtesy of Ealing Studios. The first story is a short but sweet tale of precognition and a spooky omen. Although it's a simply-told story, the presence of the ever-cheerful Miles Malleson as the chirpy hearse driver certainly enlivens the segment a lot, while the haunted performance from narrator Antony Baird also keeps things interesting. The best thing about this tale, though, is the subtle chill that ensues after Baird realises that the bus is on its way to doom and backs away; both he and the viewer stare on in horror at the inevitable, a climax which isn't ruined by some rather unconvincing model work.

The second story is largely disappointing, and any chills are dissipated by the overacting of the youthful cast. The story is of a Christmas party at an old mansion. While playing hide-and-seek, a girl finds herself in a remote attic bedroom where she befriends a frightened young boy. Later on that evening, she discovers that the boy was murdered by his sister decades ago. The figure she was with turns out to be a ghost. Sadly, the female lead in this story is terrible with her clumsy over-emphasising which makes her performance an embarrassing one. The old-fashioned dialogue and plot points also make this one less than inspiring.

Thankfully, the third story returns some credibility to the film, with an interesting tale telling of a man haunted by a possessed mirror which witnessed murder and suicide decades before. The man finds himself becoming possessed by the spirit of the murderer and attempts to kill his wife. This is a clever and disturbing tale, with some good, understated acting from the male lead and an imaginative plot. It was reworked in 1973's FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE with David Warner in a more gruesome fashion.

The fourth is an incongruous comedy which is at odds with the rest of the subtlety-filled chills and hauntings. It concerns two rival golfing companions who both fall for the same girl. To decide who gets her, the pair embark on a tournament together, with one of the men winning through cheating. His rival promptly walks into a lake and drowns himself, but the winner finds himself haunted by his companion. Although this episode is mildly amusing, the comedy aspects have dated in the worst way and the whole story is treated as one big 'joke'. See AN American WEREWOLF IN London for a better film about a man being haunted by his dead friend.

The fifth and final story is a case of saving the best till last. This classic and well-remembered yarn concerns a ventriloquist who becomes possessed by his own dummy. It turns out that he is actually a schizophrenic who personifies his dummy, Hugo, as an evil, living being and who eventually causes him to attempt murder. Thanks to some fantastic acting from a twitchy Michael Redgrave (plus the narrator, a disbelieving doctor) and a really spooky story, this is classic stuff and inspired at least two full-length movies, DEVIL DOLL and MAGIC. There's just something inherently sinister about a wooden dummy's grinning and this intelligent story exploits that to the full.

Subtle and spooky, Dead of Night is an effectively chilling ghost film and a minor classic of the genre. While not explicitly frightening today, most of the episodes still pack a punch and the film is well worth watching for the story lines, the performers, and the circular ending.

Nightmares, recurring dreams, deja vu - something we can all relate to

[PudgyPandaMan · 8/10 · 6 February 2009]

This is a great horror classic.I think what makes it so great is it contains something that we can all relate to. Many horror films are so far fetched, that we can't imagine anything like that happening to us. Today's horror pictures equate fear with blood, gore and shock value. But I think the things that scare us the most are the things that are subtle, which makes it more believable.

We've all had feelings of deja vu at some point - or had recurring dreams or similar experiences. This movie takes very ordinary objects we all have in our homes, like a mirror, and makes us think twice about them. And what child hasn't played hide and seek and worried that they might not get found by the others. But in this case, the girl gets lost in a secret area of a home only to discover something ghastly.

There is an expected lighthearted touch in the middle with the golfing story. I found the part where the ghost couldn't remember the hand-signal sequence to "disappear" to be absolutely hilarious. Some have commented they felt it was out of place. But I think the comedy relaxes you enough so that when the next scary sequence begins, it really comes as a shock.

I found shadings of Hitchcock, The Twilight Zone, and even Shyamalan ( the circular nature and premonition of SIGNS). I loved the circular nature in this tale especially. I found the cinematography to be intriguing, especially some of the close-ups. I think the "Christmas Party" sequence was especially beautifully filmed. And the creepy music score throughout does quite a good job of adding to and creating tension.

Any fan of classic Horror will love this little gem. This is one that will stick with you for some time (and make you double-check your mirrors). And remember...all it takes is a weekend in the country to cure those recurring nightmares!! HAPPY DREAMS!

Spoilers follow ...

[parry_na · 6/10 · 10 February 2017]

Ealing films, the warm and cosy home of lovingly crafted British comedies, branched out into slightly more unnerving territory with this early anthology. At a country house, in an age where, following communal afternoon tea, the local doctor likes to offer round the cigarettes, Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) turns up and recognises the ensemble (none of whom he has ever met) from his recurring dreams.

In this world, where everyone speaks in the clipped tones of racing horse commentators, ("I can't leave. This is Mr Craig and I'm a character in his dream." "Oh how do you do? Such fun, charades!") the anecdotal stories everyone tells merely confirm Craig's suspicions. He can see their future: he knows what is going to happen.

I cannot knock a 72 year old production for being dated, so I won't. But it is. The extreme politeness and styles are often difficult to get past, even harder to take seriously. To begin with, such chills as there are are very tame and wholesome. The segment featuring the malevolent mirror is where things pick up, giving the impression 'Dead of Night' is unveiling its frights in a measured way. Until the following dreadful golfing farce sequence lets things down. "Totally incredible and decidedly improper," to quote Mrs Foley (Mary Merrall).

If you can sit through that segment, the best and most widely remembered is saved till last. Maxwell Frere (Michael Redgrave) is a ventriloquist, performing and popular with packed audiences every night. So when it becomes apparent that the dummy Hugo appears to be the controlling element of the partnership, initially amusing music-hall scenes become genuinely tense. This is partly due to the writing, in which Hugo's comedy jibes to his partner become increasingly spiteful, and Redgrave's performance, in which the showbiz charade slips and he becomes edgy whilst still continuing with the act.

The Director for this final segment is Alberto Cavalcanti, who eschews the brightly lit jollity of the other stories and coaxes an intense performance from Redgrave. To say this finale is the best of the bunch is understating things. In its way, it is a masterpiece.

In case Walter Craig's plight has been forgotten in all this, the twist ending gives the film's climactic moments a nice sense of closure.

Clever imaginative classic horror

[betyouaint · 10/10 · 1 August 2006]

"They just don't make them like they used to", is one of those clichéd sayings spouted by older folk and ignorantly dismissed by the young. However, "Dead of Night" is a shining example of where these words may be applied without fear of being misplaced.

From my youth, I remember several episodic horror films, made up from short stories and cleverly linked together but this was by far the best. Although I can't remember the age at which I first saw it I can definitely remember being really quite terrified at times. There's no grotesque blood spilling, or horrific undead monsters, CGI special effects or anything that todays horror filmmakers seem to have on their "must include" list. In fact, it's the charm of the film that gives the horror aspect such a contrast to work against.

Think of it as the spookiest episodes of The Twilight Zone merged into one terrific movie and you won't be far off.

Grandfather of Horror Anthologies

[SJBUSHELL · 7/10 · 23 March 2008]

I remember seeing this as a child (on TV I add and NOT the original release!) and it made a lasting impression on me. I rented this to see if it my recollection of the film matched the reality. So did it? Well yes and no. This anthology, which is the forerunner of all those Technicolor Amicus productions in the 70's like Asylum and Tales from the Crypt, has its moments of creepiness and some moments of cringing 1940's acting. It's a UK PG rating which means you are not going to get blood soaked visceral scenes of dismemberment (indeed what 1940's film would?) and as I said before you will get received pronunciation with characters in the scenes. However that means that the film has to rely on the writing and the set up of the scenes themselves to install the creepiness I mentioned before – creepiness but not terror!

There may be spoilers from now on as I talk about the stories themselves so beware!

The stories are all linked to the central character (Walter Craig played by Mervyn Johns) who turns up at a cottage in the country where he has been asked to come by a friend. Walter enters the house and has snatches of Déjà Vu and then starts to predict what happens before things do. He then starts to recall a nightmare he has where all the people in the room appear just as they are now. However it's a nightmare that doesn't stay with him once he is awake. This then gives the opportunity for the all the other characters who have been invited there to relate stories of strange things that have happened to them.

We have the first two stories given in quick succession with no real depth to them – a Man who predicts an accident and a girl who meets the ghost of a child. Then we have the weakest story in the anthology – the comic one – written by H.G. Wells no less, about two love lorn golfers.

Then we get to the last two stories which are the best and it's always good to save the best till last. We have one story of a mirror that seems to possess a murderous influence over the person who looks in it. The mirror is brought for a man (Peter Cortland played by Ralph Michael) by his wife (Joan Cortland played by Googie Withers) who is the one relating the story. He then starts to briefly glimpse images in the mirror of another room, fleetingly at first but more permanent later on. This starts to drive Peter mad and so Joan goes to find out the history of the mirror – a history that seems to be repeating itself.... All these stories are all explained away by another guest at the 'party' - a doctor (Dr. Van Straaten played by Frederick Valk). He then gives an account of a case he was involved in one, he said, almost changed his mind about the supernatural.

This story is the most famous and the one everyone recalls who has seen the film –the segment about a man who believes his Ventriloquist's Dummy is actually alive! This segment is indeed the best and has Sir Michael Redgrave in the lead and so gives the whole performance some credibility. The creepiness of a Ventriloquist's Dummy is bad enough but when we see the dummy appear to speak with no one else in the room... well that is creepy. Yet we do not see the dummy move on its own and we only hear the dummy talk unless the Ventriloquist is with it where we see the lips move. So indeed is the dummy alive or is the Ventriloquist mad? The doctor leaves the story open.

Then comes the twist in the whole tale – Walter Craig predicts that something evil will happen when the Doctor breaks his glasses. Everything gone before can be explained away as coincidence and mass hysteria or madness but rooted in reality. The Doctor then beaks his glasses and the whole thing turn surreal. Walter Craig murders the doctor and then starts to appear in all the stories gone before always being chased and hunted by the characters and being murdered in all. Then in the last flashback we see Walter Craig in a prison cell trapped with the Ventriloquist's Dummy with all the other characters peering through the bars at unnatural angles. The Dummy then slowly turns its head and under its own influence starts to walk towards him and grasps its hands around his neck and.......Walter Craig wakes up in bed. It's all been a dream!

Getting dressed he takes a phone call from his friend. He wants him to come down to his country cottage for the weekend.........

The last 15 minutes of the film will stay with you – if not because you were terrified by it because the story was told so well and the surreal feeling coupled with the black and white photography will get into your mind!

A rather mediocre anthology

[Tanuccoon · 3/10 · 14 January 2008]

Dead of Night more than shows its age. All of the stories, excluding the wrap-around, are weak by today's standards (and quite possibly also the standards of the day) and, for the most part, exceedingly predictable.

Of the five stories (which doesn't include the story used as a framework), "Hearse Driver" is by far the weakest. Most horror fans (or even readers) will instantly deduce the ending just by looking at the title. This folk tale was old even back in the 40s, but luckily it's also one of the shortest stories. "The Haunted Mirror" and "Christmas Party" are both lackluster tales, although Mirror has some creepy shots. "Golfing Story" is one of the stronger entries, as it's somewhat unusual and has a good deal of humor. "The Ventriloquist's Dummy" is the most frightening of the bunch, but the ending is sure to disappoint.

These five stories detract from their frame, an unusually strong wrap-around story about an architect who arrives at a party out in the country. It's a fairly atmospheric tale that should keep the viewer rooted even through some of the more abysmal entries. However, here, too, the very end is predictable and the story, in all, isn't good enough to redeem the three weakest tales.