Dead Man's Evidence
{{Short description|1962 British film by Francis Searle}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Dead Man's Evidence
| image = Dead_Man's_Evidence_film_poster_(1962).png
| caption = Film poster
| director = Francis Searle
| producer = Francis Searle
| screenplay = Arthur La Bern
| based_on =
| starring = Conrad Phillips
Jane Griffiths
Veronica Hurst
| music = Ken Thorne
| cinematography = Ken Hodges
| editing = Jim Connock
| studio = Bayford Films
| distributor = British Lion Film Corporation
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1962|09|03|UK}}
| runtime = 67 min
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
}}
Dead Man's Evidence is a 1962 British black-and-white crime thriller "B" film directed by Francis Searle, starring Conrad Phillips and Jane Griffiths.{{Cite web |title=Dead Man's Evidence |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150013023 |access-date=5 November 2023 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}} The screenplay was by Arthur La Bern. A British spy is sent to Ireland to investigate the death of a former colleague who defected.
Cast
- Conrad Phillips as David Baxter
- Jane Griffiths as Linda Howard
- Veronica Hurst as Gay Clifford
- Ryck Rydon as Mark Fallon
- Godfrey Quigley as Superintendent O'Brien
- Bruce Seton as Colonel James Somerset
- Harry Webster as Andy
- Maureen Halligan as Mrs Mac
- Laurie Leigh as Pat
- Tommy Duggan as Mr Casey
- Alex Macintosh as Paul Kay
- Frank Sieman as barman
- Middleton Woods as Kim
- Fergus O'Kelly as night porter
- Gordon Waine as hotel waiter
- Sonia Fox as hotel receptionist
Production
The film was made at MGM British Studios, Borehamwood.
Critical reception
In a contemporary review Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Though the mystery is too tangled to unravel itself satisfactorily in the limited running time, Arthur La Bern's script scatters its red herrings ingeniously, and the acting is entirely adequate to its demands, with Alex Mackintosh and Veronica Hurst giving especially adroit performances as an astute reporter-photographer team. Essentially light-weight, it does not discredit the new effort to raise the quality of second features that is one of the more encouraging signs in the British cinema these days."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1962 |title=Dead Man's Evidence |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305830157 |journal=Monthly Film Bulletin |volume=29 |issue=336 |pages=140 |via=ProQuest}}
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "This provides a sobering insight into how the rest of the British film industry was handling espionage thrillers while Terence Young was making Dr No [1962]. With his heyday as TV's William Tell already behind him, Conrad Phillips stars as a spy sent to investigate when the body of a defector is washed up on an Irish beach. The direction is as perfunctory as the script."{{Cite book |title=Radio Times Guide to Films |publisher=Immediate Media Company |year=2017 |isbn=9780992936440 |edition=18th |location=London |pages=233}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0055896}}
{{Francis Searle}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dead Man's Evidence}}
Category:British crime thriller films
Category:Films directed by Francis Searle
Category:Films scored by Ken Thorne
Category:Films shot at MGM-British Studios
Category:1960s English-language films
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