Stranger in Town (1957 film)
{{Short description|1957 British film by George Pollock}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Stranger in Town
| image = Stranger_in_Town_(1957_film).jpg
| caption = U.S. lobby card
| director = George Pollock
| producer = Robert S. Baker
Monty Berman
Sidney Roberts
| writer = Edward Dryhurst
Norman Hudis
| based_on = {{based on|The Uninvited
1954 novel|Frank Chittenden}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yyqc0Qa6b60C&q=stranger+in+town+1957+literary+sources+in+film&pg=PA968|title=The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film|first=Alan|last=Goble|date=8 September 2011|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=9783110951943|via=Google Books}}
| starring = Alex Nicol
Anne Paige
Mary Laura Wood
| cinematography = Geoffrey Faithfull
| editing = Henry Richardson
| music = Stanley Black
| studio = Tempean Films
| distributor = Eros Films (UK)
Astor Pictures Corporation (U.S.)
| released = {{Film date|1957|05| |UK}}
| runtime = 74 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
}}
Stranger in Town is a 1957 British second feature ('B'){{Cite book |last=Chibnall |first=Steve |title=The British 'B' Film |last2=McFarlane |first2=Brian |publisher=BFI/Bloomsbury |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-8445-7319-6 |location=London |pages=89}} crime film directed by George Pollock and starring Alex Nicol and Anne Paige.{{Cite web |title=Stranger in Town |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150047554 |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b6c59e2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129154732/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b6c59e2|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 November 2020|title=A Stranger in Town (1957)|website=BFI}} The screenplay was by Edward Dryhurst and Norman Hudis, based on the 1954 novel The Uninivited by Frank Chittenden.
Plot
An American composer, lodging in a quiet English village is found shot dead. A journalist, also from America probes the death on behalf of the pianist’s only relative in America. His trail leads to the local gossip who is later found gassed and debunks the official theory that it was suicide, finding that many people seem to have had reason to commit the crime, as he eventually discovers the truth.
Cast
- Alex Nicol as John Madison
- Anne Paige as Vicky Leigh
- Mary Laura Wood as Lorna Ryland
- Mona Washbourne as Agnes Smith
- Charles Lloyd-Pack as Captain Nash
- Bruce Beeby as William Ryland
- John Horsley as Inspector Powell
- Colin Tapley as Henry Ryland
- Betty Impey as Geraldine Nash
- Peggy Ann Clifford as Mrs Woodham
- Arthur Lowe as jeweller
- Willoughby Goddard as publican
Production
The film was made by Tempean Films at Alliance Film Studios.
Reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "As a novel, this story may have made an efficient thriller, but it has been so clumsily adapted that the plot has become utterly incoherent; and neither direction nor editing help to clarify it. Only Alex Nicol, among the large cast, plays with integrity and conviction."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1957 |title=Stranger in Town |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305817822/8895DA3BEF8D4D60PQ/1 |journal=The Monthly Film Bulletin |volume=24 |issue=276 |pages=75 |via=ProQuest}}
Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture is a modest affair, but even so it contains quite a few thrills, shrewdly punctuated by apt comedy touches. Alex Nicol makes a manly Madison and Anne Paige, Colin Tapley, Bruce Beeby, Mona Washbourne and Charles Lloyd Pack have their moments in direct support. Its rural scenes are most refreshing and the person responsible for the pianoforte accompaniment works overtime to good effect."{{Cite journal |date=2 May 1957 |title=Stranger in Town |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2826279110/99FAC4BBABBA4525PQ/2 |journal=Kine Weekly |volume=481 |issue=2594 |pages=19 |via=ProQuest}}
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "'Clumsy and incoherent' or 'sharp and sound', according to which magazine you chose – this split the critics."{{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=381}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0221592}}
{{George Pollock}}
Category:British crime drama films
Category:Films directed by George Pollock
Category:Films shot at Southall Studios
Category:Films with screenplays by Edward Dryhurst
Category:Films with screenplays by Norman Hudis
Category:1950s English-language films
Category:1940s English-language films