Midnight Screenings 2008 / Dead of Night / United Kingdom 1945
Strange, nightmarish tales of terror are recounted by guests at a remote country cottage. The eerie story of an unhinged ventriloquist, driven mad by his dummy, is just one of the many highlights of this influential portmanteau horror, directed by four of Ealing Studios’ most gifted filmmakers.
An architect staying at a country cottage is chilled to find that the house and its guests all feature in his recurring nightmare. His companions, too, have strange tales to tell. Few British horrors were made between the Second World War and the genre’s Hammer-led re-emergence in the 1950s. This one was influential as a ‘portmanteau horror’ - it featured a number of short tales of terror within a linking narrative – and inspired many similarly structured horrors produced by Amicus decades later. A collaborative effort, the film showcases the skills of four talented directors. Some sequences work better than others, but the whole is beautifully shot and tightly constructed. A strong linking narrative creates an eerie sense of impending doom, moving towards a dream-like end. Best of all is Michael Redgrave as a ventriloquist tormented by his dummy. Twitching, moving stiffly, rolling his eyes and unexpectedly modulating his voice, his dark and disturbingly doll-like performance is not easy to forget.
104 min / Black & white, 35 mm
Director Alberto Cavalcanti, Robert Hamer, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden
/ Screenplay John Baines, Angus MacPhail, dodatečné dialogy / additional dialogue T.E.B. Clarke
/ Dir. of Photography Stan Pavey, Douglas Slocombe
/ Music Georges Auric
/ Editor Charles Hasse
/ Producer Michael Balcon
/ Production Ealing Studios
/ Cast Michael Redgrave, Googie Withers, Mervyn Johns, Ralph Michael
/ Contact BFI, Connaissance du cinéma
Basil Dearden (b.1911, Westcliffe-on-Sea, Essex; d.1971), director, producer, writer. Made comedies, then later ‘social problem’ dramas, including Victim (1961), the first British mainstream film about homosexuality.
Alberto Cavalcanti (b.1897, Rio De Janeiro; d.1982), art director, writer, director. Worked in Britain from the early ‘30s, on acclaimed documentaries and features, directing Went the Day Well? (1943).
Robert Hamer (b.1911, Kidderminster, Worcs; d.1963), film editor, writer, director; at Ealing Studios wrote and directed the classic comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949).
Charles Crichton (b.1910, Wallasey, Cheshire; d.1999), film editor, writer, director; at Ealing Studios made The Lavender Hill Mob (1951); later worked in television, returned to film comedy with A Fish Called Wanda (1988).
BFI
21 Stephen Street, W1T 1LN, London
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 207 255 1444
Fax: +44 207 436 7950
E-mail: [email protected]
Connaissance du cinéma
122 rue La Boétie, 750 08, Paris
France
Phone: +33 1 435 901 01
Fax: +33 1 435 964 41
E-mail: [email protected]
Vic Pratt
Film Institution Rep.
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