Editing A Canterbury Tale (section)

==Production==
===Writing===
Powell and Pressburger, who were known collectively as "The Archers", wrote the script together, linking the concepts of landscape and history (light and time) with the personal journey of three people—the pilgrims—to show a basis of common identity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/432-a-tribute-a-canterbury-tale|title=A Tribute: A Canterbury Tale|first=Peter|last=von Bagh|publisher=criterion.com|access-date=18 August 2021|archive-date=27 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927220613/https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/432-a-tribute-a-canterbury-tale|url-status=live}}</ref> Powell was said to have used the work of [[Chaucer]] as inspiration to create a film that showed "the love of his birthplace and all that he felt about England".<ref name=DT>{{cite news|title=A Canterbury Tale at 70: a ray of English sunshine|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/11059651/A-Canterbury-Tale-at-70-a-ray-of-English-sunshine.html|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=30 August 2014|access-date=6 April 2018|archive-date=20 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820092127/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/11059651/A-Canterbury-Tale-at-70-a-ray-of-English-sunshine.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Casting===
All three leads were unknowns.<ref name=DT/> Many local people, including a lot of young boys, were recruited as extras for the extensive scenes of children's outdoor activities such as river "battles" and [[Children's den|den]]s.<ref name=DT/>

===Filming===
The film was shot throughout the county of Kent not long after the [[Baedeker raids]] of May–June 1942 which had destroyed large areas of the city centre of Canterbury. Much of the film is shot on location in and around Canterbury Cathedral and the city's bomb sites, including the High Street, Rose Lane and the Buttermarket. The cathedral was not available for filming as the [[stained glass]] had been taken down, the windows boarded up and the organ, an important location for the story, removed to storage, all for protection against air raids. By the use of clever perspective, large portions of the cathedral were recreated within the studio by art director [[Alfred Junge]].<ref>{{cite book  | last =Powell  | first =Michael  | author-link =Michael Powell  | title =A Life in Movies: An Autobiography  | publisher =[[Heinemann (publisher)|Heinemann]]  | year =1986  | location =London  | isbn = 0-434-59945-X}}</ref>

Several Kent villages including [[Chilham]], [[Wickhambreaux]], [[Fordwich]] and [[Wingham, Kent|Wingham]] were used for scenes showing the fictional village of Chillingbourne. [[Selling, Kent|Selling Station]] appears in the film as Chillingbourne Station at the beginning of the film. Chilham Mill features in the film in the scene where GI Bob meets children playing in the river on a boat and later, with Peter, when they get the proof about Colpeper. The scene where soldiers gather for a lecture at the Colpepper Institute was filmed in [[Fordwich]]. As Bob and Alison ride on a cart through the village, [[Wickhambreaux#Landmarks|Wickham Mill]], Wickhambreaux, can be clearly seen. Colpeper's house was [[Wickhambreaux#Landmarks|Wickhambreaux Court]]. A local [[Wingham, Kent|Wingham]] village pub "The Red Lion" was used for some exterior shots of "The Hand of Glory" inn where Bob stays whilst in the village.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kent Film Office|url=http://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/1944/11/a-canterbury-tale-1944/|title=Kent Film Office A Canterbury Tale Film Focus|date=21 August 1944 |access-date=19 July 2013|archive-date=4 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204072703/http://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/1944/11/a-canterbury-tale-1944/|url-status=live}}</ref> Other exterior shots of "The Hand of Glory" were filmed at "The George and Dragon", [[Fordwich]].<ref Name="Tritton" />

Before the credits, the following acknowledgement appears over an image of the cathedral viewed from the Christ Church Gate,

{{blockquote|The Archers gratefully acknowledge the invaluable help and advice given to them by the [[Dean of Canterbury|Dean]] and ''Chapter of Canterbury'',<ref>[https://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/our-story/chapter-and-senior-leadership/ The Chapter of Canterbury comprises the Dean, the Residentiary Canons, and six additional non-executive lay persons appointed]</ref> the Very Reverend the [[Cuthbert Thicknesse|Dean of St Albans]], the Mayor and Corporation of Canterbury, the Women's Land Army, and by the United States Army. They also thank the citizens of Canterbury and men and women of Kent who helped to make the film.}}