A CANTERBURY TALE

Written and Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger. 
Stars Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price.
1944, 124 minutes, B&W, not rated.

Three people--A 'Land Girl', an American GI, and a British soldier--are travelling together and stop in a small town.  They are on their way to Canterbury. The town they stop in is being plagued by a mysterious "glue-man", who pours glue on the hair of girls dating soldiers after dark. The three band together and attempt to track him down.  They center their attentions on the local magistrate, an eccentric figure with a strange, mystical vision of the history of England in general and Canterbury in particular.

I loved this movie.  A slight tale, I suppose, but it's an intelligent and sentimental look at bucolic English life. Like most Powell & Pressburger films, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes this such a good experience, but it's undeniable that the film casts a magical spell.   The context makes it even more impressive--it was filmed in England during the War.  While there are soldiers and the war itself is ever present in the background, for the most part one forgets about it.  Which was, I guess, the point.  The Criterion DVD looks really good.