A Canterbury Tale

1944 2h 5m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 133

MysteryWarDrama

Synopsis

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Three modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Eric Portman
Thomas Colpeper, JP
Sheila Sim
Alison Smith
Dennis Price
Peter Gibbs
John Sweet
Bob Johnson
Charles Hawtrey
Thomas Duckett
Esmond Knight
Narrator / Seven-Sisters Soldier / Village Idiot
Hay Petrie
Woodcock
George Merritt
Ned Horton

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Powell
Writers: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

ERA

Did you know

82 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Powell, shot by Erwin Hillier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Allan Gray. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Seabourne Sr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

CAST

Did you know

Eric Portman and Sheila Sim and Dennis Price carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0036695 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Powell directs. Erwin Hillier behind the camera. Allan Gray scores. John Seabourne Sr. cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

182 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Michael Powell, shot by Erwin Hillier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Allan Gray. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor John Seabourne Sr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Eric Portman and Sheila Sim and Dennis Price carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0036695 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Classified under 9 themes, including "england", "world war ii", "wartime", "rural area".

The technical file

Cinematography: Erwin Hillier
Original score: Allan Gray
Editing: John Seabourne Sr.
Production design: Alfred Junge
Makeup / hair: George Blackler
Runtime: 125 min · 2h 5m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: A Canterbury Tale (1944)

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Michael Powell

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-03-28
★ 7/10
This is a curious film to describe. In the best traditions of Chaucer, from whom the title is borrowed - it is a bit of an English whimsy. Not whimsical, not in any light and fluffy sense, but a story that though rooted in characterisations has something more intangible about it. This tale centres around three strangers who meet at railway station near Canterbury. "Alison" (Sheila Sim) is a naive, but determined land girl, "Peter" (Dennis Price) a British solider on a few days leave and "Bob" (John Sweet) - a young GI who accidentally gets off at the wrong stop. On their way to report to the town hall, the young lass is attacked by the local peril that is the "glue man", a mysterious individual who tips glue over the heads of women out with soldiers late at night. When they arrive, the locals try to help and they are introduced to the rather imperious magistrate Eric Portman "(Mr. Colpeper) who pretty much runs the town. In the brief time that they have together, the three seek out this miscreant and the search turns into a modern day pilgrimage of their own as they are exposed, by degree, to the chequered history of their locale.. Each has their own journey to make, and they take us along for the enjoyable interesting ride. As we have come to expect from Messrs. Powell and Pressburger, the story has a richness to it. It interweaves their task with an evaluation of "Britishness" - a bucolic idyll that had largely bumbled along for centuries with little by way of profound development or intervention. Horse drawn carts, respect for the landed gentry - and the clergy - and for traditions that had long outlived their usefulness, but in which the population still had a certain faith. It's celebratory, not detracting of this society, no WWII jingoism or propaganda, just a delicately poised degree of introspection that isn't self indulgent, more evocative... The photography is superb, the acting - particularly from Sweet who epitomises the visiting forces with a mischief, a charm that is engaging and respectful; and from Price who really only wants to get back to his cinema organ. Eric Portman could be a difficult actor to appreciate - his demeanour and style frequently emotionless and staccato. Here that works, it gives him a solid base from which to evolve as his relationship with "Alison", herself charmingly and determinedly played by Sim - grows. It sort of has a narrative to it, but that's not really so important. Don't expect this to follow any established pattern - it's unique and a grand film to watch.

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