The Gaunt Stranger: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 06:40, 6 February 2016
| The Gaunt Stranger | |
|---|---|
 British poster for The Gaunt Stranger | |
| Directed by | Walter Forde |
| Screenplay by | Sidney Gilliat |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Starring | Sonnie Hale Wilfrid Lawson Louise Henry Alexander Knox |
| Cinematography | Ronald Neame |
| Edited by | Charles Saunders |
| Music by | Ernest Irving |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | ABFD (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 74 minutes [2] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Gaunt Stranger (released as The Phantom Strikes in the US) is a 1938 British mystery thriller film directed by Walter Forde and starring Sonnie Hale, Wilfrid Lawson and Alexander Knox.
Production and release
The film was made by and at Ealing Studios,[4] and was the company's first release after Michael Balcon's appointment as head of production. It was based on the 1925 novel The Gaunt Stranger by Edgar Wallace, which had been renamed The Ringer in 1926, and which Forde had previously adapted as The Ringer in 1931. So the 1939 film used the original novel title, although the opening credits state that it is based on Wallace's novel The Ringer.[3] The film was screened by the censors on 4 October 1938,[2] but didn't premier until 10 January 1939, when it opened at Gaumont Haymarket as second film in a double bill with The Cowboy and the Lady.[1] It was, however, popular enough in Britain to be re-released in 1945.
Plot summary
A notorious killer, long believed to have died in Australia, returns to England seeking revenge for the death of his sister. The "Ringer" threatens to murder the criminal mastermind Maurice Meister. Detective Inspector Alan Wembury is assigned to the case and despite his strong dislike for Meister attempts to protect him with the reluctant assistance of another criminal, Sam Hackett, who has been released from prison as he is the only man able to identify the "Ringer". Even with his help Wembury struggles to unmask their target before the time at which Meister is due to be killed.
Main cast
- Sonnie Hale as Samuel Cuthbert "Sam" Hackett
- Wilfrid Lawson as Maurice Meister
- Louise Henry as Cora Ann Milton
- Alexander Knox as Dr Lomond
- Peter Croft as John Lenley
- George Merritt as Police Station Sergeant
- Patrick Barr as Det. Insp. Alan Wembury
- John Longden as Inspector Bliss
- Patricia Roc as Mary Lenley
- Arthur Hambling as Detective Sergeant Richards
- Charles Eaton as Colonel Walford
References
- ^ a b The Times, 10 Jan. 1939, page 10: Picture Theatres - Gaumont Linked 2015-04-27
- ^ a b BBFC: The Gaunt Stranger Linked 2015-04-27
- ^ a b As stated in the opening credits
- ^ Wood p.98
Bibliography
- Low, Rachael. Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.
- Perry, George. Forever Ealing. Pavilion Books, 1994.
- Wood, Linda. British Films, 1927–1939. British Film Institute, 1986.
External links
- Template:BFI Explore
- The Gaunt Stranger at IMDb
- The Gaunt Stranger is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- 1939 films
- 1938 films
- 1930s crime films
- 1930s mystery films
- 1930s thriller films
- British films
- British crime films
- British thriller films
- British mystery films
- British black-and-white films
- Films based on works by Edgar Wallace
- Films based on plays
- Ealing Studios films
- English-language films
- Films directed by Walter Forde
- Films set in London