The blueprint for the Amicus anthology films of the ‘60s and ‘70s; this came from Ealing Studios, more famous for comedies like The Ladykillers and The Lavender Hill Mob. Featuring an excellent cast and some clever writing this manages to still feel creepy even 63 years on.
Most of the stories are effective to some extent, giving us tales of ghosts, premonition and a particularly good one featuring a cursed mirror. It’s only the silly golfing ghost story that alleviates the sense of dread, it’s intentionally funny but it does feel a little at odds with the rest of the film. It lulls you into feeling safe though, before the film hits you with the granddaddy of all ventriloquists’ dummy tales.
“The Ventriloquist’s Dummy” is the film’s most memorable story with Michael Redgrave giving as good a performance as you’re ever likely to see in a horror film. He’s the tortured ventriloquist in the thrall of his dummy, the creepy Mr Hugo Fitch. Is the dummy imbued with some kind of supernatural intelligence or is Redgrave just off his trolley? We never find out and it really doesn’t matter, the story is all the more effective for not spelling things out for the viewer.
The linking narrative may seem a little obvious and clichéd now but that’s only because it’s been ripped off by other, less worthy, films. Even allowing for that it still brings the film to an effective and suitably downbeat conclusion.
This is one of the best British horror films ever made and a must see for anyone interested in the history of the genre and creepy dummy fans in particular.
Horror and Western film buff, Marvel comic geek, music lover and occasional gamer. 
I first saw this years and years ago, on a late night double bill with American Werewolf in London. Both fantastic films in their own right, of course, but it’s still Dead of Night that stays with me, with its last half hour of pure, unadulterated scariness. Nothing to speak of in terms of special effects – just great acting and especially good use of lighting, it’s a masterclass in how to get this sort of thing just right.