Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Cody One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

cmcastl This film has been undeservedly overshadowed by that other classic British film on the supernatural 'Dead of Night'.Efficiently directed by Leslie Norman, who gets good performances out of all the actors, it is that best of supernatural films, a film about ideas and characters caught up in an increasingly mysterious, ominous and threatening situation rather than a conventional ghost or horror story, or collection of such stories as in Dead of Night'. The scripting is excellent, as it should be from the pen of RC Sheriff who wrote the classic WWI story Journey's End. It is fascinating to learn that the inspiration for the film was an actual premonition recounted by a senior RAF officer Victor Goddard.The true film about the supernatural is my view a film not so much about ghosts or demons but about ideas and philosophical concepts as the characters find themselves locked into a supernatural drama of Fate over which they realise with mounting unease, even fear they have no control. That a dream which was recounted at a party with which they all become familiar - the gradual revelation to each of them is nicely paced - may be presaging the fatal air crash in which they may all perish.Most of the characters are the British at their most famously pragmatic; the Air Marshal (stolidly played by Michael Redgrave, for the most part, but who himself gives a marvellous suggestion of barely controlled hysteria towards the end of the film as he tries to order the captain of the doomed flight to go against the latter's better judgement as to how to handle a crash landing), the pilots, the young lady secretary, the aide to the Air Marshal (played by Denholm Elliott in a nicely judged performance subtly suggesting how his character, as a former Battle of Britain pilot, is suffering from what later would be called post-traumatic stress disorder). Underneath, however, you sense in each of them a backstory in which given sufficient prodding by fate as occurs in this story their characters would inevitably begin to betray doubts as whether to the world which they usually inhabit is quite as they would like to believe. That the British stiff upper lip and lack of imagination has its limits. There is a marvellous saying by the British scientist J.B.S. Haldane I would like to quote here. "I have a suspicion that the world is not only stranger than we conceive but stranger than we can conceive." Alexander Knox is particularly effective as the outwardly rational Civil Servant who is repressing inner demons, possibly created or exacerbated by his time as a POW, which increasingly cause him to feel, as the dream unfolds, that he is hardly in control of his own life. Michael Hordern is excellent value as the dreamer of the dream whose recounting of which at the party, sets the whole plot in motion. Hordern manages to slyly suggest something supernatural about his character, even though he is an officer in the British Navy, something of what they call in mythology 'the trickster spirit'.

GManfred Thrilling airplane picture, and I can't think of many other airplane pictures to compare it to. Much better than 'The High And The Mighty"(1954), and "Five Came Back"(1939), and different than "Lost Horizon"(1937). "The Night My Number Came Up" is a compelling and suspenseful film about differing conceptions of fate as presented in a dream - the dream of someone who was not a passenger on the trip.Briefly, a man at a party recounts a dream he had about an airline crash. He is talking to a group who are flying the next day, and some of the travelers are spooked. He then departs and the group discuss his dream; some dismiss it and others show great concern. But during the trip elements of the dream begin to fall into place.The acting is first-rate throughout the cast. The main character is seldom-seen Alexander Knox as a passenger flying for the first time. Stalwart Michael Redgrave is his flying companion, and Denholm Elliot and Sheila Sim lend strong support. The picture has a claustrophobic feel as most of it takes place in the passenger cabin, perhaps increasing the feeling of impending doom. This may be in the picture's favor, as it adds to the tension and heightens the suspense, the way many movies attempt but few succeed the way this one does.

Robert J. Maxwell Nicely done tale of an RAF officer, Redgrave, who hears of a dream that the airplane on which he and some others are flying will crash in snow and darkness -- then watches as the mosaic falls into place.The airplane on which there are eight passengers and five crewmen -- with characteristics specified in the dream -- is a two-engine Douglas Dakota, also known as a DC3 or R4D or C47. They're marvelously "forgiving" airplanes, as pilots say, meaning that you can make all kinds of mistakes without their falling out of the sky. They're not big, they're not fast, but they're functional and versatile. I flew in one from Edwards Air Force Base to Rome, New York, sharing an oxygen mask with a more than ordinarily attractive Navy nurse who was my seat mate. An entirely pleasant trip.These guys aren't so lucky. The dream is spelled out to the Air Marshall (Redgrave) but except for a few details, it's murky, like most dreams. When the airplane leaves Hong Kong for Tokyo, with a layover in Okinawa, some of the circumstances don't fit. There's a pretty woman, for instance, as in the dream, and at the last minute the number of passengers climbs to eight, but there's no brash, vulgar man who will blow his cork at the last moment.Gradually, the circumstances change until they are identical to those of the dream, as if a crossword puzzle had been filled in. The tension builds neatly as the Dakota flies through thunderstorms, its radio fails, ice builds up on the leading edges of the wings, fuel runs low, darkness closes in, snow begins to fall, the steward tries to calm everyone, and Alexander Knox, who has never flown before, grits his teeth and squirms with anxiety. I know how he feels, having spent five minutes in a silent airplane before its coincidental meeting with the Atlantic Ocean. Take the train.There is a good deal of chat about the dream and whether or not it has any relation to actual future events. Knox is convinced it does. Redgrave and his aid (Eliot), are uncertain but believe it's best not to think about it. These conversations slow the movie down. We know more about dreams now than we did in 1955. They don't mean anything except that some of the more primitive structures of the mid brain are trying to figure out what memories to store and they're working at it like nobody's business. Psychologists find that the vast majority of dreams -- more than 70 percent, if I remember -- are pretty lousy. If I get chased through that bog by a man-eating ogre one more time, I don't know what I'll do. The remaining 20 or 30 percent of dreams are kind of fun, especially the sex ones, except when they drag in that mechanical horse.Best performance in the most complex role: Michael Redgrave. And Denhold Elliott as the RAF officer ready to pop is pretty good too. His wild eyes seem to glisten with fear and a hint of insanity. Knox is confined to a gloomy role and doesn't do much with it. Redgrave had an even better part in an enthralling dream movie, "Dead of Night."

mezzipops The story begins to draw you in as commander Lindsay (Michael Hordern) relates a recent dream he has had about an air crash involving certain members of a dinner party he has cordially been invited to.Gradually, his dream starts to turn to a nightmarish reality as events start coming true. Even the Air Marshall played by Michael Redgrave, usually in control, finds his "stiff upper lip" starting to quiver as the dreaded dream of an air disaster looks like becoming a reality.Mr Robertson (Alexander Knox)gives a convincing performance as a man terrified of flying but more afraid of being seen to let his fear override his ideas of being dominated by superstition.This gripping story makes comparisons between the Eastern beliefs in dreams and omens and the Western culture's dismissive attitude to the same."There is no effect without cause" and this clever film has a way of persuading you that you are flying on the ill-fated Dakota instead of sitting comfortably in your armchair. An array of different characters and a fantastic supporting cast including the late Alfie Bass. Great story, superb direction from Leslie Norman, wonderful atmospheric music. In fact the perfect ingredients for a British classic thriller. Unforgettable film, a definite must watch. 10 stars. from Meryl Heasman (songwriter) CATFLAP MUSIC Kent England.