''The Night My Number Came Up'' is a 1955 British supernatural

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Leslie Norman with the screenplay written by R. C. Sherriff. The plot is based on a real incident in the life of British Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard; his journal was published in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' of 26 May 1951. The film stars

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elec ...

Sheila Sim Sheila Beryl Grant Sim, Baroness Attenborough (5 June 1922 – 19 January 2016) was an English film and theatre actress. She was also the wife of the actor, director and peer Richard Attenborough. Career Sheila Beryl Grant Sim was born in ...

and

Alexander Knox Alexander Knox (16 January 1907 – 25 April 1995) was a Canadian actor on stage, screen, and occasionally television. He was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for his performance as Woodrow Wilson in the film '' Wilson'' (1944). ...

. This was Sim's final film before her retirement from acting.

Plot

A senior

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

officer is at a dinner party in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

at which one of those present, a naval commander, talks about a dream he had in which the air marshal and seven companions were flying in a

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...

which crashed on a rocky shore. The air marshal is due to fly to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

the following day, but is not disturbed because many of the details differ from his planned voyage, including that a different aircraft is scheduled: a

Consolidated Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models de ...

. However, when problems ground the planned aircraft, it is replaced by a

Douglas Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

- like the one in the dream. Then a number of additional passengers arrive, making up the total number of people on board to 13 (eight passengers and five crew members) - the same number of people as in the dream. As the flight proceeds, other circumstances occur so that eventually most of the details correspond to the dream. The Dakota has to climb to avoid bad weather, but then starts to ice up. The pilot puts it into a steep dive to shake off the ice and unfreeze the undercarriage. This succeeds, but they are now in heavy cloud and the plane has lost its guidance and radio. They believe they are heading for Yokohama Bay in Japan, but having to fly on visuals alone they need to land before sunset. They get lost and fly around in circles. Events increasingly unfold just as in the dream, and the pilot, who knows of the premonition, starts to panic. The senior officer demands that they ditch in the sea, but the pilot wants to attempt an emergency landing on the beach. Then they run out of fuel and glide towards the mountains, but, instead of crashing as in the dream, the pilot manages to bring the aircraft down in a controlled emergency landing in deep snow on a flat section of the mountainside and all on board survive.

Cast

as Air Marshal Hardie *

as Mary Campbell *

as Owen Robertson *

Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott, (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor, with more than 125 film and television credits. His well-known roles include the abortionist in '' Alfie'' (1966), Marcus Brody in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (19 ...

as Mackenzie *

Ursula Jeans Ursula Jean McMinn (5 May 1906 – 21 April 1973), better known as Ursula Jeans, was an English film, stage, and television actress. Biography Jeans was born in Simla, British India, to English parents, and brought up and educated in London. S ...

as Mrs Robertson *

Ralph Truman Ralph du Vergier Truman (7 May 1900 – 15 October 1977) was an English actor, usually cast as either a villain or an authority figure. He possessed a distinguished speaking voice. He was born in London, England. Truman originally studied at t ...

as Lord Wainwright *

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online e ...

as Commander Lindsay * Nigel Stock as Pilot *

Bill Kerr William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian actor, comedian, and vaudevillian. Born in South Africa, he started his career as a child actor in Australia, before emigrating to Britain after the Second Wor ...

as Soldier *

Alfie Bass Alfie Bass (born Abraham Basalinsky, 10 April 1916 – 16 July 1987) was an English actor. He was born in Bethnal Green, London, the youngest in a Jewish family with ten children; his parents had left Russia many years before he was born. He a ...

as Soldier * George Rose as Bennett *

Victor Maddern Victor Jack Maddern (16 March 1928 – 22 June 1993) was an English actor. He was described by ''The Telegraph'' as having "one of the most distinctive and eloquent faces in post-war British cinema." Life and career Born in Seven Kings, ...

as Engineer * David Orr as Co-Pilot * David Yates as Navigator * Richard Davies as Wireless Operator * Doreen Aris as Miss Robertson *

Hugh Moxey Hugh Vincent Moxey (27 September 1909, Somerset, – 9 March 1991, Wandsworth), was a British film and television actor. Moxey spanned his career for 40 years, where he was best remembered in supporting roles in 1950s British war films, incl ...

as Wing Commander * Percy Herbert as R.E.M.E. Sergeant *

Stratford Johns Alan Edgar Stratford Johns (22 September 1925 – 29 January 2002), known as Stratford Johns, was a British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for his starring role as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the long-running ...

as Sergeant (uncredited)

Production

''The Night My Number Came Up'' was made by J Arthur Rank at the

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

. Leslie Norman said he found the original magazine article and suggested it become a film. He wrote a synopsis and sent it to

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British fil ...

, who agreed to make the film - although he refused to let Leslie Norman write the script (which Norman wanted to do) and insisted R.C. Sheriff get the job. Norman later said "I don't think R.C. Sheriff added anything to it."McFarlane 1997, p. 440. Part of the film was shot in Hong Kong, particularly

Kai Tak Airport Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply Ka ...

. Norman said he was "pretty pleased with" the film but felt "Ursula Jeans was a weak link".

Reception

Film critic and historian

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

said ''The Night My Number Came Up'', was a "... first-rate suspense film

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

will have you holding your breath as it recounts tale of routine military flight, the fate of which may or may not depend on a prophetic dream." In the ''Time Out'' review, Trevor Johnston saw ''The Night My Number Came Up'' as, "Clever plot construction, a plane-load of top British thesps, and smooth handling from director Leslie Norman (Barry's dad) all give good value."Johnston 2004, p. 834. ''The Night My Number Came Up'' was nominated for four 1956 BAFTA Awards: Michael Redgrave as Best British Actor, R.C. Sherriff for Best British Screenplay and for Best Film from any Source as well as Best British Film.

References

Notes Bibliography * Johnston, Trevor. "The Night My Number Came Up." ''Time Out Film Guide''. London: Time Out Guides Limited, 2004. . * McFarlane, Brian. ''An Autobiography of British Cinema''. London: Methuen, 1997. .

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Night My Number Came Up, The 1955 films 1950s thriller drama films British aviation films British thriller drama films Films set in Hong Kong Films set in Japan Ealing Studios films Films directed by Leslie Norman Films produced by Michael Balcon Films scored by Malcolm Arnold 1955 drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films British black-and-white films