Night Comes Too Soon
A 1948 British B-horror film with ghostly sequences.
Night Comes Too Soon (released in the United States as *The Ghost of Rashmon Hall* and also known as *A Ghost Story*) is a 1948 British B-movie horror film directed by Denis Kavanagh. The cast includes Valentine Dyall, Anne Howard, and Alec Faversham. Pat Dixon wrote the screenplay, adapting it from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1859 story *The Haunters and the Haunted*, and also weaving in the “changing picture” element from M. R. James’s *The Mezzotint*.
The plot follows Dr. George Clinton (Dyall), Phyllis (Howard), and John (Faversham), along with other characters such as Mrs. Paxton, Lionel Waddell, an estate agent, and the ghosts of Rinaldo and Marianna Sabata and a sailor.
Production took place at a manor house near Mill Hill, part of a postwar trend among low-budget producers to rent country houses instead of using studio space.
Critical reception was largely negative. *The Monthly Film Bulletin* found the film unlikely to frighten anyone, noting that those familiar with Lytton’s play would be unimpressed, while others would find it confusing; it praised the lighting in ghostly scenes. *Kine Weekly* said Dyall gave a theatrical performance but that Howard and Faversham lacked screen experience, with the rest of the cast merely filling roles. *Picturegoer* called the film heavy-handed and unclear, with Dyall theatrically effective but little else to commend. *The Daily Film Renter* described Dyall’s portrayal of the psychic as having “velvety arrogance.” In *British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959*, David Quinlan rated the film “mediocre” and called it a dreary chiller with no scares.
- release_year
- 1948
- country
- United Kingdom
- director
- Denis Kavanagh
- writer
- Pat Dixon
- starring
- Valentine Dyall, Anne Howard, Alec Faversham
- genre
- Horror
- based_on
- The Haunters and the Haunted by Edward Bulwer-Lytton; The Mezzotint by M. R. James
Lore & Background
The film was shot at a manor house near Mill Hill, part of a trend of renting country houses rather than studio space by low-budget producers after the Second World War. Its cast includes Valentine Dyall as Dr. George Clinton, Anne Howard as Phyllis, and Alec Faversham as John, alongside supporting actors such as Howard Douglas, Beatrice Marsden, Arthur Brander, Anthony Baird, Frank Dunlop, David Keir, Monti DeLyle, Nina Erber, and John Desmond. The plot adapts Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1859 story The Haunters and the Haunted and incorporates the 'changing picture' element from M. R. James's The Mezzotint.
Reader's Guide
Night Comes Too Soon is a minor entry in post-war British horror cinema, notable for its low-budget production methods and literary sources. The Monthly Film Bulletin noted that the story 'as filmed, is unlikely to chill any spines' and that those familiar with Lord Lytton's play would find it unimpressive. Kine Weekly observed that Valentine Dyall 'impresses in a theatrical sort of way' while the other leads lacked screen experience. Picturegoer called it 'heavy-handedly' treated and unclear in intention. The Daily Film Renter praised Dyall's 'velvety arrogance.' David Quinlan's British Sound Films rated the film as 'mediocre,' calling it a 'dreary chiller with no scares.' Its significance lies in representing the trend of using country houses as filming locations and in its adaptation of classic ghost stories, though critical consensus finds it ineffective as horror.
Did You Know?
- The film was shot at a manor house near Mill Hill, part of a post-WWII trend of renting country houses for low-budget productions.
- It adapts Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1859 story The Haunters and the Haunted and incorporates the 'changing picture' component from M. R. James's The Mezzotint.
- Valentine Dyall, who plays Dr. George Clinton, was described by The Daily Film Renter as investing 'the psychic with velvety arrogance.'
- The Monthly Film Bulletin stated the film's chief interest lies in 'the effective use of lighting in the ghostly sequences.'
More in British horror films 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record