A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
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- PG
- 1h 44min
- Drama, Fantasy
- Mar 1947 (USA)
- Movie
A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.
Directors:
Writers:
Stars:
Awards:
- 1 win & 2 nominations.
- See more »
Photos and Videos
Cast verified as complete
| David Niven | ... |
Peter Carter
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| Kim Hunter | ... |
June
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| Robert Coote | ... |
Bob Trubshaw
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| Kathleen Byron | ... |
An Angel
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| Richard Attenborough | ... |
An English Pilot
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| Bonar Colleano | ... |
An American Pilot
(as Bonor Colleano)
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| Joan Maude | ... |
Chief Recorder
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| Marius Goring | ... |
Conductor 71
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| Roger Livesey | ... |
Dr. Frank Reeves
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Robert Atkins | ... |
The Vicar
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Bob Roberts | ... |
Dr. Gaertler
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| Edwin Max | ... |
Dr. McEwen
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Betty Potter | ... |
Mrs. Tucker
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| Abraham Sofaer | ... |
The Judge
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| Raymond Massey | ... |
Abraham Farlan
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Robert Arden | ... |
GI Playing Snout (uncredited)
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| Robert Beatty | ... |
US Crewman (uncredited)
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Eric Cawthorne | ... |
Goatherd (uncredited)
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Tommy Duggan | ... |
Patrick Aloyusius Mahoney (uncredited)
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| Leslie Dwyer | ... |
ARP Warden (uncredited)
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Erik | ... |
Spaniel (uncredited)
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John Huntley | ... |
Extra in Celestial Courtroom (uncredited)
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Charles Lattimer | ... |
RAF Pilot (uncredited)
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| John Longden | ... |
Narrator of Introduction (uncredited) (voice)
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Howard Marshall | ... |
Cricket Commentator on Radio (uncredited) (voice)
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| Lois Maxwell | ... |
Actress (uncredited)
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Richard Neilson | ... |
Minor Role (uncredited)
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Wally Patch | ... |
Civil Defence, Stretcher Party (uncredited)
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| Laurence Payne | ... |
Prosecuting Council (uncredited)
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| Robert Rietty | ... |
Man on Stairway (uncredited)
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Frank Schock | ... |
Man in Court (uncredited)
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Roger Snowdon | ... |
James Monahan (uncredited)
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Spangle | ... |
Spaniel (uncredited)
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Emile Stemmler | ... |
British Serviceman (uncredited)
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Wendy Thompson | ... |
Nurse (uncredited)
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| Frederick Valk | ... |
RAF Chaplain (uncredited)
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Geoff van Rijssel | ... |
Extra in Celestial Courtroom (uncredited)
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| Joan Verney | ... |
Girl (uncredited)
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Directed by
| Michael Powell | ||
| Emeric Pressburger | ||
Written by
| Michael Powell | ... | (written by) and |
| Emeric Pressburger | ... | (written by) |
Produced by
| George R. Busby | ... | assistant producer (as George Busby) |
| Michael Powell | ... | producer |
| Emeric Pressburger | ... | producer |
Music by
| Allan Gray | ||
Cinematography by
| Jack Cardiff | ... | (photographed by) |
Editing by
| Reginald Mills | ||
Editorial Department
| Joan Bridge | ... | associate color control |
| Natalie Kalmus | ... | color controller |
| David Powell | ... | assistant editor (uncredited) |
Casting By
| Pat MacDonnell | ... | (uncredited) |
| Adele Raymond | ... | (uncredited) |
Production Design by
| Alfred Junge | ||
Costume Design by
| Hein Heckroth | ... | (costumes) |
| Joseph Bato | ... | (uncredited) |
Makeup Department
| George Blackler | ... | makeup artist |
| Ida Mills | ... | hair stylist |
Production Management
| Robert C. Foord | ... | unit manager |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
| Parry Jones Jr. | ... | assistant director |
| Paul Kelly | ... | second assistant director (uncredited) |
| Laurie Knight | ... | third assistant director (uncredited) |
| Pat Marsden | ... | third assistant director (uncredited) |
Art Department
| Arthur Lawson | ... | assistant art director |
| Joseph Bato | ... | assistant painter (uncredited) |
| William Hutchinson | ... | draughtsman (uncredited) |
| William Kellner | ... | draughtsman (uncredited) |
| Terence Morgan II | ... | assistant property maker (uncredited) |
| Don Picton | ... | draughtsman (uncredited) |
| Roger Ramsdell | ... | assistant art director (uncredited) |
Sound Department
| C.C. Stevens | ... | sound recorder |
| Michael Colomb | ... | assistant boom operator (uncredited) |
| Peter Davies | ... | dubbing sound camera (uncredited) |
| Roy Day | ... | sound maintenance (uncredited) |
| John Dennis | ... | pre-dubbing (uncredited) |
| Desmond Dew | ... | dubbing crew (uncredited) |
| David Hildyard | ... | boom operator (uncredited) |
| Harold Rowland | ... | sound camera operator (uncredited) |
| G. Saunders | ... | assistant boom operator (uncredited) |
| Alan Whatley | ... | dubbing crew (uncredited) |
Special Effects by
| W. Percy Day | ... | additional effects (as Percy Day) |
| Henry Harris | ... | special effects |
| Douglas Woolsey | ... | special effects |
| William C. Andrews | ... | special effects (uncredited) |
| George Blackwell | ... | additional effects (uncredited) |
| Stanley Grant | ... | additional effects (uncredited) |
Visual Effects by
| Peter Ellenshaw | ... | assistant matte artist (uncredited) |
| Stanley Grant | ... | special photographic effects (uncredited) |
| Jack Whitehead | ... | back projection (uncredited) |
Camera and Electrical Department
| Geoffrey Unsworth | ... | camera operator |
| Bill Wall | ... | chief electrician (as William Wall) |
| Dick Allport | ... | clapper loader (uncredited) |
| Eric Besche | ... | focus puller (uncredited) |
| Jim Body | ... | focus puller (uncredited) |
| Christopher Challis | ... | second assistant camera (uncredited) |
| Fred Daniels | ... | still photographer: portraits (uncredited) |
| Eric Gray | ... | still photographer (uncredited) |
| George Minassian | ... | assistant camera (uncredited) |
| Johnnie von Klotze | ... | assistant camera (uncredited) |
Music Department
| Walter Goehr | ... | conductor |
| Lambert Williamson | ... | assistant conductor (as W.L. Williamson) |
Script and Continuity Department
| Ainslie L'evine | ... | assistant continuity (uncredited) |
| Bunny Parsons | ... | continuity (uncredited) |
| Maggie Unsworth | ... | continuity (uncredited) |
Additional Crew
| Michael C. Chorlton | ... | motor-bike shots (as Michael Chorlton) |
| J. Arthur Rank | ... | presenter (as J.Arthur Rank) |
| John Seabourne Jr. | ... | liaison editor |
| Alan Brook | ... | advisor: table tennis (uncredited) / trainer: table tennis (uncredited) |
| Andrew Donally | ... | support team (uncredited) |
| Bernard Kaplan | ... | technical advisor: operating theatre (uncredited) |
| Vivienne Knight | ... | publicist (uncredited) |
| Bill Paton | ... | assistant: Mr Powell (uncredited) |
Production Companies
Distributors
- General Film Distributors (GFD) (1946) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Nikkatsu (1946) (World-wide)
- Universal Pictures (1946) (United States) (theatrical)
- 20th Century Fox Australia (1946) (Australia) (theatrical)
- Eagle Lion Film (1947) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
- Eagle-Lion Film (1947) (Sweden) (theatrical)
- Paramount-Films (1947) (Finland) (theatrical)
- Eagle-Lion Films (1948) (Italy) (theatrical)
- Gaumont-Eagle Lion (1948) (Belgium) (theatrical)
- Paramount Japan (1948) (Japan) (theatrical)
- J. Arthur Rank Film (1948) (Germany) (theatrical)
- American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1956) (United States) (tv)
- Yleisradio (YLE) (1966) (Finland) (tv)
- Katholieke Radio Omroep (KRO) (1979) (Netherlands) (tv)
- Columbia Pictures Industries (1994) (United States) (restored version)
- Pickwick Video (1995) (United Kingdom) (VHS)
- Carlton Visual Entertainment (2001) (United Kingdom) (DVD)
- PVB Editions (2003) (France) (DVD)
- Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2005) (United States) (DVD) (restored version)
- Epix Media (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
- EuroVideo (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
- Atlantic Film (2010) (Finland) (DVD)
- Elephant Films (2013) (France) (video)
- Premium Cine (2021) (Spain) (video)
- Pidax Film (2022) (Germany) (Blu-ray)
- Pidax Film (2022) (Germany) (DVD)
- Sony Pictures Television (United States) (tv)
Special Effects
- Technicolor (special effects)
Other Companies
- Western Electric (sound recording)
Storyline
| Plot Summary |
Returning to England from a bombing run in May 1945, pilot Peter Carter's plane is damaged and his parachute ripped to shreds. He has his crew bail out safely, but figures it is curtains for himself. He gets on the radio, and talks to June, a young American woman working for the U.S. Army Air Forces, and they are quite moved by each other's voices. Then he jumps, preferring this to burning up with his plane. He wakes up in the surf. It was his time to die, but there was a mix-up in heaven. They couldn't find him in all that fog. By the time his "Conductor" catches up with him twenty hours later, Peter and June have met and fallen in love. This changes everything, and since it happened through no fault of his own, Peter figures that heaven owes him a second chance. Heaven agrees to a trial to decide his fate.
Written by John Oswalt |
| Plot Keywords | |
| Taglines | Neither Heaven nor Earth could keep them apart! See more » |
| Genres | |
| Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
| Certification |
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Additional Details
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Box Office
| Budget | GBP320,000 (estimated) |
Did You Know?
| Trivia | The huge escalator linking this World with the Other, called "Operation Ethel" by the firm of engineers who constructed her under the aegis of the London Passenger Transport Board, took three months to make, and cost three thousand pounds sterling (in 1946). "Ethel" had one hundred six steps, each twenty feet wide, and was driven by a twelve horsepower engine. The full shot was completed by hanging miniatures. See more » |
| Goofs | After Peter's second encounter with the Heavenly Messenger, this time in Frank's library, the doctor and June desperately attend to Peter's condition. June kneels in front of Peter and begins to giggle uncontrollably, then expertly hides herself behind Frank to avoid the camera. See more » |
| Movie Connections | Featured in The Story of Making the Film They're a Weird Mob (1966). See more » |
| Soundtracks | Scherzo See more » |
| Crazy Credits | Foreword (Scrolled up the screen at the start of the film): This is a story of two Worlds the one we know and another which exists only in the mind of a young airman whose life & imagination have been violently shaped by war [Pauses, then scrolls up to reveal] Any resemblance to any other world known or unknown is purely coincidental. See more » |
| Quotes |
Doctor Frank Reeves:
A weak mind isn't strong enough to hurt itself. Stupidity has saved many a man from going mad. See more » |