Although it may not have the same notoriety as some others produced by Ealing Studios under the benevolent leadership of Sir Michael Balcon this one is certainly one of the most intriguing. That it is based on a dramatic incident in the life of Air Marshall Sir Vincent Goddard who happened to be a spiritualist with an interest in paranormal activity, makes it even more intriguing.
Eight passengers and five crew members take off on a routine flight from Hong Kong to Japan. Unfortunately, the night before, three of the passengers have a dream recounted to them by a fellow dinner guest in which their plane crash lands. As the flight progresses the coincidences start piling up and what seemed a dream fast becomes a terrifying reality........
This film really works because of its excellent, tightly knit construction, literate script by R. C. Sheriff, ominous score by Malcolm Arnold and restrained direction by Leslie Norman.
Superlative Michael Redgrave plays the Air Marshall and heads a first rate cast whose understated performances give the film its dramatic intensity. This is probably the finest hour of actor Nigel Stock as the pilot who inadvertently hears about the dream and wishes he hadn't!
The ancients set great store by the prophetic power of dreams. Those who staunchly advocate 'free will' as opposed to 'predestination' will no doubt find the plot to be a load of tosh but 'there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy'!
