A CANTERBURY TALE (1944)

Cast

Plot

Three characters: a land girl, a US and a UK sergeant, all arrive on the same train in a small wartime Kent village and set out to catch the local malcontent, the 'glue man'. The three of them start to explore the area to discover and expose him but then they get engrossed in the history of the area and the tales of The Pilgrim's Way. The local magistrate is a regional historian, and a very mysterious character, who leads them further into the mystery. A superb depiction of the tensions that arise in a small community when the arrival of outsiders upsets the status quo. Though infuriatingly difficult to categorise, the film is bold, inventive, bizarre, stimulating and extremely entertaining. One of the master's all time greats.