The Night My Number Came Up

Commander Michael Hordern has a detailed dream of 8 people in a plane crash which he relays to a group of travellers....due to fly the next day.

Interesting notion around whether destiny is preordained. A fine British cast deliver quite a theatrical piece with Redgrave, Knox and Elliott on fine form throughout this will they won't they fulfill the dream

This is a film which will stay with you for a long time. Its title sets the tone for what follows : a flight which, as it continues, looks more and more to be one that will end in disaster and thus, apparently, mean that a man's dream regarding it will come frighteningly true. The increasing sense of foreboding is alleviated at one time or another by a development that appears to be at odds with the dream, that is, until something else transpires which then sees the exact circumstances of the dream restored. It is a film which, not unnaturally, gives rise to tension-laden conversations about whether there is such a thing as fate, but that is not the main impact of this film, which is that one's attention is riveted from the opening scene to the final shocking end.

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On display is one of the greatest scenarios ever presented in film - a flight over the Orient of which an anonymous British officer has had a dream premonition of disaster. What is so great about this idea and how it was executed here is that the dream itself is simply a catalyst for a psychological probing of the behavior of the passengers once they learn one-by-one about the particulars of the dream and how these particulars are playing out in their real flight. The theme then becomes the old-as-Shakespeare literary idea of fate vs. free will, but the strength of the filmmakers is that it is never resolved conclusively in the end. Even when the characters do hint at not letting a particular passenger on board the plane because this passenger has been prophesized to be an integral part of the disaster, they take no serious action to remove him, instinctively realizing that even that may not give them greater control over the situation.

The contrast of a modern technological artifice such as an aircraft with an archaic-style premonition is so brilliant because it portrays the ultimate paradox of human technological evolution: the farther human beings advance in their technological feats of control, paradoxically, the greater their lives are placed in the hands of the gods (fate) with all the many ways in which that technology can go tragically awry. For a simple idea, the filmmakers were obviously thinking, and they have added multiple layers to the story. "Night My Number Came Up" is a film I hope to see many times to pick up some themes I missed the first time. Like paintings, writing, and other forms of art, I believe that it is this characteristic which distinguishes great art from all the rest.

A 1950's movie from the British studios. The basis of the plot is relatively simple, however, the outcome is never really obvious. It may not keep you on the edge of your seat biting your nails but it does keep you guessing till the end. A few lines at the very end by two of the lesser characters adds a finish not really seen till the advent of the "Twighlight Zone" TV series. Shakespeare used the use of dreams in many of his plays. This created his characters thoughts and actions. It seems that this method is used in this film for the same reason and pushes the movie along. The movie has a classic British cast such as Michael Redgrave and Denholm Elliott. Whilst the other actors names might not be easily recalled. They are readily identifiable and seen in numerous British movies of the 1940's and 50's. There is a small amount comic relief in the movie through the minor characters of two British soldiers. Australian viewers may even find hard to recognize one of them as being the local classic actor Bill Kerr. It is an old fashioned movie worthy of a watch.

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.