One of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s few box-office flops, this film was unsuccessfully recut and rereleased in the USA – though many now claim it to be a masterpiece. Its propaganda element centres on a land girl’s friendship with an American soldier. Casting a non-actor lead (a real hero) is its biggest failing, although his lack of charisma is curiously harmonious with the film’s tempo and Chaucerian view of Britain.
A Canterbury Tale (1944)
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s tale of the mysterious ‘glue man’ is one of their most gently moving films.
- 1944 United Kingdom
- Directed by
- Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- Produced by
- Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- Written by
- Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- Featuring
- Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price
- Running time
- 124 minutes
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