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poster of A Canterbury Tale
Rating: 6.9/10 by 110 users

A Canterbury Tale (1944)

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

Directing:
  • Michael Powell
  • Emeric Pressburger
  • Parry Jones Jr.
Writing:
  • Michael Powell
  • Emeric Pressburger
Stars:
Release Date: Mon, Aug 21, 1944

Rating: 6.9/10 by 110 users

Alternative Title:

Country:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Runtime: 02 hour 05 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0

Plot Keyword: england, world war ii, wartime, rural area, railroad, canterbury, home front
Subtitle   Wallpaper   Watch Trailer    

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
Edward Rigby
Jim Horton
Freda Jackson
Prudence Honeywood
Beresford Egan
P. C. Ovenden
Anthony Holles
Sergt. Bassett
Maude Lambert
Miss Grainger
Wallace Bosco
A. R. P. Worker
Charles Paton
Ernie Brooks
Jane Millican
Susanna Foster
Michael Golden
Sergt. Smale
John Slater
Sergt. Len
Graham Moffatt
Sergt. Stuffy
Judith Furse
Dorothy Bird
Jean Shepeard
Gwladys Swinton
Joss Ambler
Police Inspector
H.F. Maltby
Mr. Portal
Eric Maturin
Geoffrey's Father

CinemaSerf

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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