| Night Comes Too Soon | |
| Director: | Denis Kavanagh |
| Producer: | Harold Baim |
| Cinematography: | Ray Densham |
| Editing: | Dorothy Elliot |
| Distributor: | Butcher's Film Service |
| Runtime: | 52 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
Night Comes Too Soon (U.S. tite: The Ghost of Rashmon Hall; also known as A Ghost Story) is a 1948 British second feature ('B')[1] horror film directed by Denis Kavanagh and starring Valentine Dyall, Anne Howard and Alec Faversham.[2] It was written by Pat Dixon based on the story The Haunters and the Haunted by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, and also incorporates the "changing picture" component from The Mezzotint by M. R. James.
It 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.
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The story, as filmed, is unlikely to chill any spines, and those who have read or seen Lord Lytton's play The Haunted and the Haunters, of which this is an adaptation, will scarcely consider it an impressive piece of work. Those who have not will wonder what it is all about. The film's chief interest lies in the effective use of lighting in the 'ghostly' sequences."[3]
Kine Weekly wrote: "Valentine Dyall impresses in a theatrical sort of way as George Clinton, but Anne Howard and Alec Faversham lack screen experience as Phyllis and John. The rest are merely stooges."[4]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Dreary chiller with no scares."[5]