Dead of Night is a British television anthology series of supernatural fiction, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in 1972 over seven 50-minute episodes.

History Dead of Night is considered by some to be a spiritual successor to an earlier horror anthology by the BBC, Late Night Horror. Like Late Night Horror, Dead of Night ran for a single series in the autumn of 1972.

Only the first, second and seventh episodes – "The Exorcism", "Return Flight", and "A Woman Sobbing" – are retained on their original 625-line PAL colour videotapes in the BBC Archives. The videotapes of "Bedtime", "Death Cancels All Debts", "Smith" and "Two in the Morning" were either erased for reuse or junked during the mid 1970s, and not even any 16mm black-and-white film telerecordings — made for overseas sales to countries not yet broadcasting in colour — are known to exist.

Another programme made by the Dead of Night production team under Innes Lloyd, The Stone Tape, running to 90 minutes and intended to be the eighth episode, also survives in the BBC Archives, but this was broadcast as a stand-alone story and not shown under the Dead of Night banner.

BBC Four rebroadcast "The Exorcism" on 22 December 2007.

The three surviving episodes of Dead of Night were released on DVD by the BFI in October 2013, with extras including a gallery of stills from the four missing episodes, the downloadable scripts for all episodes (surviving and missing); and a booklet featuring essays and biographies by Lisa Kerrigan, Oliver Wake, Derek Johnston and Alex Davidson.

Cast

"The Exorcism"

Anna Cropper: Rachel Sylvia Kay: Margaret Edward Petherbridge: Edmund Clive Swift: Dan Kenneth Kendall: Newsreader

"Return Flight"

Peter Barkworth: Captain Rolph Bernard Brown: Frank Warley Artro Morris: Samuels Diana Fairfax: Rosalind Warley Denis Lill: Froggat Anthony Dutton: Armstrong Karin MacCarthy: Zoe Barrie Fletcher: Arthur Shaw Christopher Denham: Radar controller Laurie Asprey: Ground controller Roger Avon: Police Inspector Candida Fawsitt: Linda Carl Bohen: Ernst Paul Bentley: Franz Hannah Kilpinen: Hilde

"Bedtime"

Sarah Badel: Lorna Terrence Hardiman: Piers Wickett Sidney Johnson: Antique dealer Jacqueline Pearce: Sarah Hopkirk James Smillie: Keith Hopkirk Neil Stacy: Geoffrey Hamilton Yutte Stensgaard: Gertrud Wickett

"Death Cancels All Debts"

David Baron: James Halt Lucy Griffiths: Florence Charles Lamb: Clockmender Graham Leaman: Mr. Simon Doris Littlewood: Mrs. Walter Frank Littlewood: Mr. Walter Preston Lockwood: Mr. Denfield Sebastian Shaw: Powys Jubb Gladys Spencer: Mrs. Simon Nora Swinburne: Mariella Jubb Marjorie Wilde: Mrs. Denfield Katya Wyeth: Vanessa

"Smith"

John Castle: Michael Christopher Hancock: Features editor Ruby Head: Mrs. Hunter Gwen Taylor: Tessa Stacey Tendeter: Anne John Gabriel: Scrutton Madi Head: Miss Blatch Gerald Cross, Denis McCarthy: Voices Peter Gilmore: (role unknown) Jason Fithian: Major Smith

"Two in the Morning"

Donald Douglas: Hazelhurst John Gregg: Partner Frederick Hall: Manager Peter Jeffrey: Wisbech John Nettleton: Grandman Ralph Nossek: Dr. Fortescue Andrea Allan: New secretary Vivienne Cohen, Pam Scotcher: Girls on bus Richard Dennis: Lofthouse Carrie Jones: Roberta Lois Kentish: Tea girl Annabelle Lee: Cashier Vivienne Martin: Jessie Judy Matheson: Tessa David Sinclair: Art teacher Bernice Spivack: Miss Levy Marianne Stone: Mrs. Firth Pauline Stroud: Mary

"A Woman Sobbing"

Anna Massey: Jane Pullar Ronald Hines: Frank Pullar Julian Holloway: Sandy Yokki Rhodes: Inge Tommy Boyle: Gas fitter John Lee: Priest Margaret John: Fay John Graham: Philip David Whitworth, Jan Edwards: In the church hallThis is actually how David Whitworth and Jan Edwards were credited on-screen. Denis Gilmore: Fitter's mate Donna Reading: Secretary Elaine Elder: Dutch au pair Nicky Cox: Robin Craig McFarlane: James

Episodes

External links Dead of Night at the BFI Film & TV Database

"The Exorcism" at BFI Screenonline

References