Dead of Night (1945)

96% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
86% of users liked it
(2,711 ratings)

Considered the greatest horror anthology film, the classic British chiller Dead of Night features five stories of supernatural terror from four different directors, yet it ultimately feels like a unified whole. The framing device is simple but unsettling, as a group of strangers find themselves… More Considered the greatest horror anthology film, the classic British chiller Dead of Night features five stories of supernatural terror from four different directors, yet it ultimately feels like a unified whole. The framing device is simple but unsettling, as a group of strangers find themselves inexplicably gathered at an isolated country estate, uncertain why they have come. The topic of conversation soon turns to the world of dreams and nightmares, and each guest shares a frightening event from his/her own past. Many of these tales have become famous, including Basil Dearden's opening vignette about a ghostly driver with "room for one more" in the back of his hearse. Equally eerie are Robert Hamer's look at a haunted antique mirror that gradually begins to possess its owner's soul, and Alberto Cavalcanti's ghost story about a mysterious young girl during a Christmas party. Legendary Ealing comedy director Charles Crichton lightens the mood with an amusing interlude about the spirit of a deceased golfer haunting his former partner, leaving viewers vulnerable to Cavalcanti's superb and much-imitated closing segment, about a ventriloquist (Michael Redgrave) slowly driven mad when his dummy appears to come to life. Deservedly acclaimed and highly influential, Dead of Night's episodic structure inspired an entire genre of lesser imitators. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Alberto Cavalcanti
Genres: Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

In Theaters: Sep 1, 1945 Wide
On DVD: Jan 27, 2009

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Producer Michael Balcon turned each individual episode over to a different director and, told via flashback, they're equally good.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Spasmodically effective.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Although the stories here related are probably familiar to all who are devotees of such mysticisms, they are tightly and graphically told.
Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl
Seldom has representation of a gay relationship been more efficiently smuggled under the radar of film censorship ...
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The narrative arc is bubbling over with some spooky nightmarish fervor.
Jamie Russell, BBC
A dead scary horror movie that skimps on the blood but not the goose bumps,
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
Still the greatest multi-story ghost/horror picture.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
The form was to be revived on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1960s. But Dead of Night is the best.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
A classic of English cinema.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Nearly 60 years on, Ealing's compendium of spooky tales remains scary as hell.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Absolutely one of the spookiest films ever made.
Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser
The anthology film's clever structure allows even the weakest of the sketches to be effective, because there is less of a need to balance the impact of each story.
Daniel Eagan, Film Journal International
First-rate British chiller
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Perhaps the best horror anthology film ever made.
John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Its scares are grounded in our suspicion that not every ghost is a trick of the light and not every goosebump can be explained by a drop in temperature...
Nell Minow, Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
One of the creepiest movies of all time and a great way to compare different directing styles.
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
Two classics of early British horror have been thoughtfully doubled-up on a DVD release that should be on any fright fan's shelf.
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
Cavalcanti's contribution might be the finest single episode to appear in any horror anthology film.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

familiar s

A super-psycho-natural flick. For a 1945 flick, the scripting seems quite advanced. Not the best, but definitely worth a watch (and maybe even more entertaining if you can resist looking for plot-holes).
Cassandra M

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… More
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.
AJ V

The best horror movie of 1945, maybe even of the whole decade! See it for yourself.
Randy T

Precursor to later episodic horror (i.e. TV's Night Gallery and The Twilight Zone). Five house guests recount their nightmares to each other with each one a little more sinister than the last. A spine-tingling horror classic that scared me… More
Precursor to later episodic horror (i.e. TV's Night Gallery and The Twilight Zone). Five house guests recount their nightmares to each other with each one a little more sinister than the last. A spine-tingling horror classic that scared me as a child and still today creeps me out.
Stella D

i really enjoyed the surreal ending. the comedy segment was fun but brought down the overall suspense alot. excellent performances and michael redgrave was outstanding in the famous ventriloquist's dummy segment
Cindy I

Spooky anthology film about a man's trip to a country house for a party and the stories he hears while he's there. One of the best (of many lesser) stories about a mad ventriloquist.
The S

The horror potmanteau that spwaned them all which, today, is still the best. Five short stories and a linking narrative, varying from dark to light to very dark. Many later British horror portmanteaus, particularly by Amicus, trace their roots back to this excellent picture. Ground… More
The horror potmanteau that spwaned them all which, today, is still the best. Five short stories and a linking narrative, varying from dark to light to very dark. Many later British horror portmanteaus, particularly by Amicus, trace their roots back to this excellent picture. Ground breaking.
Doctor S

Eerily reminiscent of a theatrical elongation of a 'Twilight Zone' installment, except that program hadn't been conceived yet! So I can only presume Rod Serling was a fan of 'Dead of Night.' This similarity results in familiarity, which unfortunately works… More
Eerily reminiscent of a theatrical elongation of a 'Twilight Zone' installment, except that program hadn't been conceived yet! So I can only presume Rod Serling was a fan of 'Dead of Night.' This similarity results in familiarity, which unfortunately works against the movie through no fault of its own. Still, the tales are almost all engaging and includes a neat paradoxial twist at the end - a trademark of that TV show.
Anthony V

Scares that hold up today. Some of the stories have been ripped up countless times, especially the Ventriloquist story towards the end.

Read all 9 featured audience ratings

Cast

            Mervyn Johns as Walter Craig

            Michael Redgrave as Maxwell Frere

            Sally Ann Howes as Sally O'Hara

            Mary Merrall as Mrs. Foley

            Roland Culver as Eliot Foley

            Frederick [Fritz] Valk as Dr. Van Straaten

            Basil Radford as George Parratt

            Judy Kelly as Joyce Grainger

            Barbara Leake as Mrs. O'Hara

            Naunton Wayne as Larry Potter

            Ralph Michael as Peter Courtland

            Allan Jeayes as Maurice Olcott

            Elisabeth Welch as Beulah

            Hartley Power as Sylvester Kee

            Anthony Baird as Hugh Grainger

            Magda Kun as Mitzi

            Michael Allan Bloom as Jimmy Watson

            Renée Gadd as Mrs. Craig

            Garry Marsh as Harry Parker

            John McGuire as Hugo

            Esme Percy as Dealer

            Googie Withers as Joan Courtland

            Robert Wyndham as Dr. Albury

            Miles Malleson as Hearse Driver

            Peggy Bryan as Mary Lee
See full cast

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