Stolen Assignment

{{Short description|1955 British film by Terence Fisher}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}

{{Use British English|date=October 2014}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Stolen Assignment

| image = Stolen_Assignment_film_Theatrical_release_poster_(1955).png

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Terence Fisher

| producer = Francis Searle

| writer = Kenneth Hayles

| starring = John Bentley

| music =

| cinematography = Walter J. Harvey (as Jimmy Harvey)

| editing = John Pomeroy

| studio = Association of Cinema Technicians (A.C.T.)

| distributor = British Lion Film Corporation {{small|(UK)}}

| released = {{Film date|1955|08||UK}}

| runtime = 62 min.

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Stolen Assignment is a 1955 British comedy '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=109}} film directed by Terence Fisher and starring John Bentley and Hy Hazell.{{Cite web |title=Stolen Assignment |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150050326 |access-date=31 January 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}} It was produced by Francis Searle for Act Films LtdAction! Fifty Years in the Life of a Union. Published: 1983 (UK). Publisher: ACTT. {{ISBN|0 9508993 0 5}}. ACT Films Limited - Ralph Bond p81 (producer listed as Francis Searle) and was a sequel to Fisher's Final Appointment (1954), featuring sleuthing journalists Mike Billings and Jenny Drew.{{cite web |url=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/films/Final-Appointment_1954/ |title=Final Appointment 1954 {{!}} Britmovie {{!}} Home of British Films |website=www.britmovie.co.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825233531/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/films/Final-Appointment_1954 |archive-date=2012-08-25}}

Cast

{{div col}}

  • John Bentley as Mike Billings
  • Hy Hazell as Jenny Drew
  • Eddie Byrne as Inspector Corcoran
  • Patrick Holt as Henry Crossley
  • Joyce Carey as Ida Garnett
  • Kay Callard as Stella Watson
  • Violet Gould as Mrs. Hudson
  • Jessica Cairns as Marilyn Dawn
  • Charles Farrell as Percy Simpson
  • Michael Ellison as Danny Hudson
  • Desmond Rayner as John Smith
  • Graham Stuart as coroner
  • Frank Forsyth as Dr Roberts
  • Clement Hamelin as Seth Makepeace
  • John Watson as plain clothes detective
  • Raymond Rollett as desk sergeant

{{div col end}}

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Comedy thriller with a fragile plot and a rather heavy-handed line in humour. To their credit, the players do what they can with the undemanding material to hand."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1955 |title=Stolen Assignment |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305818139 |journal=The Monthly Film Bulletin |volume=22 |issue=252 |pages=156 |id={{ProQuest|1305818139}} |via=ProQuest}}

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "poor", writing: "Comedy-thriller would have done better to stick to the thrills; pretty bad."{{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=379}}

References

{{Reflist}}