When it comes to Horror anthology movies or series, there’s several popular titles to highlight, including “Tales from the Crypt”, “Night Gallery”, “Creepshow”, “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”, and for us kids from the 90’s we had “Goosebumps” and “Are you Afraid of the Dark”. Perhaps my personal favorite is the original 1960’s series “The Twilight Zone”, which mainly had a lean toward Science Fiction, but is largely remembered for its spooky entries. However, for today’s topic, I wanted to spotlight one of the very first spooky anthologies ever made, the 1945 horror movie classic “Dead of Night”. While not as famous a title for modern viewers, it was one of the most influential original horror movies to come out of the 1940's decade, and provided a template to inspire many other projects in the decades to come, including some influence on “The Twilight Zone” series, which is how the movie first piqued my interest.
The 1940’s in general was a dry spell age for original horror movies, as most of the mainstream scarry films of the time focused on various sequels and crossovers of Universals classic monsters, which helped “Dead of Night” stand out. This was also a special British production that came out at a time when Britten was banned from producing anything horror related, largely due to the conditions of World War 2, and as such, it was kind of a miracle this film came out at all. So, let’s look back at this early horror classic to see what was significant for its time, and what still works all these decades later. As a quick note, I’ll do my best to avoid spoiling anything specific, including the ending … that’s something you’ll just have to see for yourself.
We open on a man named Walter Craig (played by Mervyn Johns), who’s just arrived at a farmhouse he’s never been to before, and filled with various people he’s never met …
yet swears he’s seen them all before, perhaps in a dream, and even suspects he knows what the outcome of the day will be. This opens up a lengthy conversation among all the different occupants, as each recalls a personal experience with a supernatural anomaly. Thus, we have five individual ghostly stories playout in front of us … all leading to a surprise at the end. Each segment has a different director, and each based on different stories from established authors, including H. G. Wells of “War of the Worlds” fame, and T.E.B. Clarke who wrote “Sons and Lovers”.
The wraparound segments at the farmhouse were directed by Basil Dearden, who after this would direct the 1946 War Drama “The Captive Heart”, and would direct a number of successful films in the decades to come, like 1960’s “The League of Gentlemen”. With the set-up established, let's look at the individual stories as presented.
The
Hearse Driver
Our first story revolves around a rase-car driver, who just had a brush with death on the track. As he slowly recovers in a hospital room, he sees a mysterious hearse driver outside the window, beckoning him to join, as there’s “room for one more”. Now he fears that death is immanent, and it will be coming to him soon in the form of a familiar face. This segment was also directed by Basil Dearden, and was based on a story by E. F. Benson called “The Bus-Conductor”, which would inspire further similar stories down the road.
One of the more memorable episodes of the original series “The Twilight Zone” had a similar episode titled “Twenty-Two”, which also had a set-up involving a person with premonitions of death coming in the form of a person stating there’s “room for one more”, leading to what could have been a fatal accident, had it not been for a familiar face. As for the short featured in the movie, it’s a good one to start things off, with some ominous build-up at the window, great use of shadows, and a decent payoff at the end.
The
Christmas Party
Next, we transition to the tight spaces of a Gothic Mansion, with a Christmas party in full swing, and a group of kids are playing hide-and-seek. We focus on a young teenage girl named Sally, who ventures off to find a good hiding spot, only to discover a secluded nursery, with a sad and lonely boy inside … who may or may not really be there at all. Having a supernatural encounter amidst a Christmas party is an effective concept, although, I feel the pay-off at the end could have been stronger, and it features some of the weaker acting in the film. With that said, the teenage girl Sally was played by a young Sally Ann Howes, who would later go on to portray Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 family musical “Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang”, which is a childhood staple of mine.
Also, I’m always
drawn to ghostly stories told in the confines of a mansion, as it immediately
brings to mind classics like “The Haunting” or “The Innocents”, and
while this short is actually kind of pleasant on the surface, it still has a
rather grim backstory. This segment was directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, and the
story was written by Angus MacPhail, who based it around a real murder case
from 1860, revolving around Francis Saville Kent, and his half-sister Constance
Kent, which for me makes this segment feel a little creepier.
The
Haunted Mirror
Now we come to my personal favorite segment of the film, which revolves around a newly married couple, and a mysterious mirror. While it seems rather ordinary on the surface, the mirror secretly has a history, and when the husband is alone, and peering at his reflection, he sees in the background a little glimpse of that history, which gradually unravels before him, and drives him insane.
This segment features some of the better performances, as well as a really sharp direction from Robert Hammer, who’d go on to write and direct the 1949 dark comedy “Kind Hearts and Coronets”. Something about cursed mirrors is very simple, yet so
intriguing, and this short executes its premise quite well. While I have no factual
proof, I’d like to think this segment helped inspire the 2013 horror movie “Oculus”,
which also revolved around a cursed mirror.
The
Golfer’s Story
Next, things take a turn for the goofy and comedic, and to get right to the point, this is my least favorite segment of the film. Two rivel golfers are eager to best the other in a round of Golf, and the winner takes the hand of a girl they’re both fond of. One man cheats his way to victory, while the looser drowns out his sorrows … by drowning himself. Sounds like a grim set-up, but things get very stilly very fast when the ghost of the golfer lingers around as a personal poltergeist to the gamer who was cheating. The interplay between the man and ghost feels like it would be right at home in a sitcom … “Just because a chap becomes a ghost, surely that doesn’t mean he ceases to be a gentleman”.
This segment was
directed by Charles Crichton, who’d go on to direct a number of successful
comedies, including 1951’s “The Lavender Hill Mob”, and more famously in
1988 “A Fish Called Wanda”. His distinct personality is on display, but
the segment as a whole just feels out of place when compared to the other
shorts. I should also note, this story was based on the H. G. Wells tale “The
Story of the Inexperienced Ghost” … but if you ask me, the better H. G.
Wells adapted film to be laced with comedy was the 1933 picture “The
Invisible Man”.
The
Ventriloquist’s Dummy
At last, we come to the most famous of the film’s segments, and arguably the one that made the biggest impact on our pop culture. We open on an entertainer named Maxwell Frere, and his wooden Dummy named Hugo, who’s quite good at amusing his audience … but someone is rather eager to split the act, and go separate ways … perhaps even a certain wooden dummy who’s taking on a life all his own. Whether it be “The Twilight Zone” or “Goosebumps”, a living ventriloquist dummy will always be a reliably scary mascot … and Hugo is arguably the one to put them on the map.
This was the second short to be directed by Alberto
Cavalcanti, following after “The Christmas Party”, and this time he
really gets to shine with the build-up, and use of heavy shadows. The
performances in this short are also some of the best, with Michael Redgrave
stealing the show as the beaten and unhinged performer Maxwell Frere. Hugo
naturally has his place in the hall of creepy dummy characters, and for me is quite
eerie, even when compared to our contemporary horror mascots.
Once we finish with the shorts, the scares still keep coming, as we get our big twist ending.
Again, I won’t go into specific details, but I will say that it’s a rare case of all the previous shorts (minus the golf segment) coming together at the end, which is very different for the horror anthology film format. The only other example I can think of was another British horror anthology that came later in 2017 called “Ghost Stories”, which also featured several shorts coming together in one creepy twist ending. In the case of “Dead of Night”, this ending is what made the whole film worthwhile and memorable, and features the film’s most striking imagery, and creative camera work. For a fun bit a trivia … one of the films main cinematographers was a young Douglas Slocombe, who’d go on to famously lens the original three “Indiana Jones” movies.
In the end, “Dead of Night” isn’t one of my all-time favorite classic horror films, but it is well worth checking out if you’re a fan of spooky anthologies, or old creepy black and white films. As a fan of “The Twilight Zone” series, I find the film immensely satisfying, and love seeing what might have inspired several classic episodes. In many ways, I view “Dead of Night” as a blueprint of sorts for what came to be “The Twilight Zone” TV show … honestly, it makes for a superior Twilight Zone movie then the actual film that came out in the 1980’s. Like I said, if you're a fan of old creepy movies, or the package movie format, then "Dead of Night" will deliver what you expect ... and perhaps even a little more.
Thanks for
reading my review of the 1945 Horror movie classic “Dead of Night” … and
continue to enjoy the movies you Love!
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