Vitals

Roger Livesey as Dr. Frank Reeves, small-town neurologist

England, Spring 1945

Film: A Matter of Life and Death
Release Date: November 1, 1946
Directed by: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
Costume Designer: Hein Heckroth

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Powell and Pressburger’s Technicolor triumph A Matter of Life and Death premiered eighty years ago on November 1, 1946. It begins during World War II’s final days over Europe, specifically “the night of the second of May, 1945,” when poetic RAF Squadron Leader Peter David Carter (David Niven) is miraculously saved from an all-but-certain death when his afterlife conductor (Marius Goring) missed him in the fog. Though Peter had been ready to meet his end, his intense romance with USAAF technician June (Kim Hunter) complicates things. June contacts her friend, Dr. Frank Reeves (Roger Livesey), a brilliant neurologist who is fascinated by Peter’s case despite his scientific skepticism. Continue reading →