Dead of Night Blu-ray Review – 1945 Horror, The Perfect Anthology Film?

Having just reviewed the forgotten classic The Halfway House (1944) featuring Mervyn Johns it’s now time to look another film starring him from a year later. Dead of Night is a British horror anthology film from Ealing Studios. This film has also been restored and is also available to purchase on Blu-ray released by Studiocanal back in 2014. So let’s find out if it’s worth a look, here’s my Dead of Night blu-ray review.

• Dead of Night (1945)
• Genre: Horror
• Directed by Alberto Cavalcanti / Charles Crichton / Robert Hamer / Basil Dearden
• UK Rating PG
• Discs: 1
• Released By Studiocanal
• Blu-ray Released: 24 February 2014

Plot

The film is broken down into a framing sequence followed by five stories.

The Hearse Driver

Following an accident a racing driver is plagued by the sight of a hearse driver.

The Christmas Party

A young woman playing a game of hide and seek discovers a strange young boy who fears for his own safety.

The Haunted Mirror

A woman buys her soon to be husband an old mirror. However he soon begins to see a different room in the reflection.

The Golfer’s Story

Two golfers fall for the same woman who in turn cannot choose which one she prefers. The two men decide to play a round of golf to decide who should marry her.

The Ventriloquist’s Dummy

A ventriloquist struggles to control his dummy.

Style / Direction

The film is a horror anthology directed by several different directors. It all fits together nicely making this a worthy watch.

Music / Audio Effects

The music is provided by Georges Auric.

Acting / Characters

Good acting all-round makes this supernatural tale a compelling watch. Mervyn Johns is excellent as a man plagued by a reoccurring dream that turns into a nightmare. The other standout performance is that of Michael Redgrave as Maxwell Frere a ventriloquist that appears to be on the verge of madness.

Cast

• Mervyn Johns as Walter Craig
• Anthony Baird as Hugh Grainger
• Roland Culver as Eliot Foley
• Renée Gadd as Mrs. Craig
• Sally Ann Howes as Sally O’Hara
• Barbara Leake as Mrs O’Hara
• Mary Merrall as Mrs Foley
• Frederick Valk as Dr. van Straaten
• Googie Withers as Joan Cortland
• Peggy Bryan as Mary Lee
• Basil Radford as George Parratt
• Michael Redgrave as Maxwell Frere
• Allan Jeayes as Maurice Olcott

Conclusion: Dead of Night (1945) Film Review

Dead of Night is a highly entertaining British horror anthology that delivers a chilling end. If you loved The Halfway House then I’m pretty confident you are going to love this too.

If you enjoyed my Dead of Night blu-ray review so far you may want to check out the following films:

• The Halfway House (1944)
• Mystery Junction (1951)
• Footsteps in the Fog (1955)
• Asylum (1972)
• Don’t Open till Christmas (1984)
• Borley Rectory (2017)
• Ghost Stories (2017)

Conclusion: Dead of Night Blu-ray Review

The film has undergone a restoration and for the most part looks excellent. There are a couple of lines that couldn’t be removed but nothing that lasts for more than second of two. Overall the black and white picture quality is very good and I have no problems recommending purchasing it.

Furthermore the 76 minute documentary is filled with interesting information and opinions from various horror enthusiasts. I found it to be well worth a look and rather informative.

Extras

• Remembering Dead of Night Featurette (76 mins)
• Restoration Comparison
• Stills Gallery

On to my movie rating for Dead of Night (1945)

• Movie Rating: VERY GOOD
• Blu-ray Picture: VERY GOOD
• Extras: VERY GOOD

Amazon UK Links

Dead of Night (1945) is available out now on blu-ray.

Film Trailer

For those of you yet to see the film I’ll leave you with a little taster…

Clip may not be representative of the blu-ray version

That concludes my Dead of Night blu-ray review, I’m aiming to review more horror movies soon. What’s next? Check back soon…

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