Man with a Gun (1958 film)
{{Short description|1958 film by Montgomery Tully}}
{{distinguish|text = the 1955 Robert Mitchum film Man with the Gun}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Man with a Gun
| image = "Man_with_a_Gun"_(1958).jpg
| caption = Original British quad poster
| director = Montgomery Tully
| producer = Jack Greenwood
| screenplay = Michael Winner
| narrator =
| starring = Lee Patterson
Rona Anderson
John Le Mesurier
Glen Mason
| music = Ron Goodwin
| cinematography = John Wiles
| editing = Geoffrey Muller
| studio = Merton Park Studios
| distributor = Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (UK)
| released = {{Film date|1958|08||UK}}
| runtime = 60 minutes
| country =
| language = English
| budget =
}}
Man with a Gun is a low-budget 1958 British second feature ('B'){{Cite book |last1=Chibnall |first1=Steve |title=The British 'B' Film |last2=McFarlane |first2=Brian |publisher=BFI/Bloomsbury |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-8445-7319-6 |location=London |pages=100}} crime film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Lee Patterson, Rona Anderson and John Le Mesurier.{{Cite web |title=Man with a Gun |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150039896 |access-date=17 June 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/82775/man-with-a-gun|title=Man With a Gun (1958) - Overview - TCM.com|work=Turner Classic Movies}} The screenplay was by Michael Winner.{{cite web |title=Man with a Gun |url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6afe6e0b |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712003242/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6afe6e0b |archive-date=2012-07-12 |work=BFI}}
Plot
Insurance investigator Mike Davies looks into a suspicious fire that burned down a nightclub. He initially suspects the club's manager, Harry Drayson, but after Davies meets Drayson's niece Stella, she helps him uncover a mob protection scheme responsible for the arson.
Cast
- Lee Patterson as Mike Davies
- Rona Anderson as Stella
- John Le Mesurier as Harry Drayson
- Bill Nagy as Joe Harris
- Marne Maitland as Max
- Glen Mason as Steve Riley
- Carlo Borelli as Carlo
- Harold Lang as John Drayson
- Cyril Chamberlain as Superindendent Wood
- Dorinda Stevens as club receptionist
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This crime melodrama is a routine British second feature competently made and efficiently acted. Although it has few distinctive features it fulfils its purpose in a workmanlike way."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1958 |title=Man with a Gun |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305819167 |journal=The Monthly Film Bulletin |volume=25 |issue=288 |pages=129 |id={{ProQuest|1305819167}} |via=ProQuest}}
Picturegoer wrote: "This British thriller pegs its plot on a real oldie idea – gangsters muscling in on a nightclub. But it still packs some punch. [Lee] Patterson, who has become number-one raincoat hero of "B" thrillers, deserves better vehicles for his rough-cut sex appeal than this weakly scripted story. However, as a whodunit the film is a neat, briskly paced job. For the disc fans, Glen Mason weighs in with two pop numbers."{{Cite journal |date=6 November 1958 |title=Man with a Gun |volume=36 |issue= |pages=13 |id={{ProQuest|1771191276}} |magazine=Picturegoer}}
Picture Show wrote: "Well portrayed, it has a slight romantic interest and some suspenseful action."{{Cite journal |date=1 November 1958 |title=Man with a Gun |volume=71 |issue=1857 |pages=10 |id={{ProQuest|1879627930}} |magazine=Picture Show}}
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Embryo director's first script not a winner, but direction keeps brisk pace."{{Cite book |last=Quinlan |first=David |title=British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 |publisher=B.T. Batsford Ltd. |year=1984 |isbn=0-7134-1874-5 |location=London |pages=345}}
TV Guide called it a "so-so crime story. Despite some fast pacing in the direction, the script is too simplistic for the fare."{{cite web |title=Man With A Gun |url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/man-with-a-gun/review/105535/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413235241/https://www.tvguide.com/movies/man-with-a-gun/review/105535/ |archive-date=13 April 2015 |work=TVGuide.com}}
References
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