MovieChat Forums > Dead of Night (1946) Discussion > spoilers: ending theory

spoilers: ending theory

posted 21 years ago by shrapnel_k
17 replies | jump to latest

After watching this for the first time, I didn't really care much about the title. A lot of these old 40's 50's movies have titles with little in common with the subject matter of the films. Then, after I watched this again, I thought, what does 'dead of night', the middle of the night, have anything to do with this movie. Well, I believe that this recurring dream Walter Craig is having, is taking place in the very middle of the night. however, his dream ad to occur for a first time, because at the beginning, he is told by his host Foley that he will be staying in barn, but it has all the modern conviniences. Walter Craig cuts off his host and before he can say that and says it himself. The host Foley says he was just about to use those words, meaning Walter Craig must have heard them before. So, Walter Craig is having this recurring nightmare about going to a farm house, and murderin someone, only to wake up and be invited to the farm house again. This dream is looping itself in the very dead of night, when anything can happen. When he finally gets out of it, which may seem like forever, he will resume his life, which is most likely similiar to what is depicted at the end of the film. happily married, etc.
And remember, dreams only last a couple minutes, so his looped dream may be ocurring, however many times, only a few minutes. Or...is character is completely insane. haha
So, I believe the film is called Dead of Night because it is happening in the very middle of the night, witching hour, midnight, whatever. It's not such an ingenius theory, but I felt smart when I thought of it.
any thoughts?

[–] ogdread 21 years ago

are you saying you didn't realize it was a recuring dream when you first saw it?

[–] steve375 21 years ago

hehehehehehhe - who needs Basil Rathbone.

The little ditty below is just for you, for that outstanding deduction (NOT)

I went to the movies this morning last night
I got a front seat at the back
A woman she gave me some chocolate
I ate it and gave her it back

[–] ogdread 20 years ago

one dark night in the middle of the day
two dead boys got up to play
back to back they faced each other
drew their swords and shot eachother
a deaf policeman hearing the noise
beat the life out of those two dead boys
if you don't believe this story through
ask the blind man, he saw it too

[–] boxerrebellion 11 years ago

hadn't heard that in years....

[–] psychophile84 20 years ago

i saw this film a week ago without reading up on it first - you have to watch for those moments in the opening of the film that tell you he's experiencing a reoccurring dream, so its not that obvious!!

[–] Mister Seb 19 years ago

I think it may be a play on words, as he killed the psychiatrist at night.

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"A chicken is just an egg's way of making more eggs."

[–] pdmh48 19 years ago

To me, the re-occurring nightmare that Meryvn Johns is stuck in is the perfect ending. It must have dealt quite a shock to audiences when the movie was first released. Haven't we all experienced deja vu? I also like the fact the everyone gathered there has had an experience with the paranormal. Instead of dismissing Johns' characters fears, they proceed to share their scary tales (except for the golfing story- I agree with the character who said that it was inappropriate!) I really like this film, especially the Michael Redgrave segment.

[–] JoshAcid 19 years ago

I'd like to see a sequel to this where everything is exactly the same except for the individual stories...Does anything indicate that Craig knows what each person's story will be before they tell it? The implication would be that the "sequel/remake" is another version of the same recurring dream.

http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?id=joshacid37

[–] pdmh48 18 years ago

I think Craig's character says that everyone tells their strange psychic experiences, when he is recounting his dream to the doctor. I could be wrong... but isn't it a wonderful movie?

[–] moon-girl 18 years ago

This is most definitely a wonderful movie, my favorite supernatural flick. I remember I first saw it when I was ten years old and it has haunted me ever since. In particular, I love the segment with the haunted mirror--that whole storyline is so welldone and fantastic.

In response to the post two above--there is an indication that Craig knows what stories the others will tell him, although he doesn't remember. Let me explain. He says that the horror begins after Elliot tells him about the death of a man he's never heard of--which is the golfing story. So the implication is that the other guests tell the same stories every time, although Craig doesn't remember them.

[–] singsinthecar 16 years ago

The "death of the man he's never heard of" turns out to be not the suicide in the golfing story, but rather the homeowner's referring to the failure of his electrical generator by saying "George is dead." That coincides with the breaking of the psychiatrist's glasses.

[–] moon-girl 15 years ago

I never thought of that, although I do remember the line--I'll have to check it out again.

[–] Craptastica75 18 years ago

Ok, in his dream, Craig strangles the doctor,then hides, is found by Sally (who he promptly knocks out)((Sally left with her mother about halfway through the film, so it may be safe to say that there was a search party formed after the doctors murder)), and then is put in jail for murder and assault, but in his deranged mind all these things are playing through in the scenes of the other characters' stories. But then comes the part where he wakes up.
This can be interpreted in one of two ways.

1. He is stuck in a reoccuring dream, and it is beginning yet again.

2. He is ACTUALLY waking up, and the events are going to play out just like his precognitive dream (Murdering Dr. von Staaten, Assaulting Sally, etc.).

It all depends on what you think they are trying to say, and what the film is trying to get across. Considering the supernatural natures of the other character's stories, I'd personally go with #2.

[–] ccoutroulos 16 years ago

The events after the murder aren't supposed to be realistic. They obviously are part of the dream itself only (or are occurring in Craig's fevered imagination). How else could Craig find himself in the settings of the other characters' stories (the Kent house, the nightclub, the room with Peter and the mirror)?

[–] clive-ihd 16 years ago

He's in a coma.

[–] TheMaxRebo 15 years ago

I first saw this movie on ON-TV in the Detroit area one Halloween night in the 1980's. This was before cable was pervasive in the area. It was an over-the-air pay-tv service with one (?) channel that showed a few movies every evening. You needed a special antenna and receiver.

I recorded Dark of Night and it was a favorite on Sony Beta for quite a while after that.

One thing I noticed is the bells. At the end of the movie the nightmare ends with Craig frantically waking up with his hands around his neck while his alarm clock is ringing.

In each of the separate stories (near their individual climax) a bell rings. In the story with the party the bell is "replaced" by someone tinkling piano keys randomly. There are no bells in the golfing story because this story was "made up" and was also not part of the lead-out of the movie where Craig visits the separate universes.

Just an observation from watching the movie so many times.

[–] zaraath 11 years ago

at the beginning, he is told by his host Foley that he will be staying in barn, but it has all the modern conviniences.

That's not very hospitable, if that's where the generator was located. Noisy and noxious fumes to boot.