The Unknown Guest (1943 film)
{{short description|1943 film directed by Kurt Neumann}}
{{For|the German film|The Unknown Guest (1931 film)}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Unknown Guest
| image = The Unknown Guest.jpg
| caption =
| director = Kurt Neumann
| producer = Charles King
Maurice King
| based_on =
| writer = Philip Yordan
| narrator =
| starring = Victor Jory
Pamela Blake
Veda Ann Borg
| music = Dimitri Tiomkin
| cinematography = Jackson Rose
| editing = Martin G. Cohn
| studio = King Brothers Productions
| distributor = Monogram Pictures
| released = {{Film date|1943|10|22}}
| runtime = 61 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
The Unknown Guest is a 1943 American mystery film released by King Brothers Productions. It was written by Philip Yordan, directed by Kurt Neumann and stars Victor Jory, Pamela Blake and Veda Ann Borg.
Plot
{{noplot|date=January 2024}}
Cast
- Victor Jory as Charles "Chuck" Williams
- Pamela Blake as Julie
- Veda Ann Borg as Helen Walker
- Harry Hayden as George Nadroy
- Paul Fix as Fain
- Emory Parnell as Sheriff Dave Larsen
- Ray Walker as Swarthy
- Lee 'Lasses' White as Joe Williams
- Nora Cecil as Martha Williams
- Eddie Mills as Sidney
Production
Philip Yordan had written a script for brothers Charles and Maurice King titled Dillinger, but the Kings suggested that Yordan write something less expensive to produce.[http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft0z09n7m0&chunk.id=d0e17295&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e17295&brand=ucpress McGilligan, Patrick. Backstory 2: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1940s and 1950s. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1991.] Yordan took a course in budgeting from production manager George Moskov. Yordan later recalled:
Moskov’s advice was to avoid a gangster film. Action and gunfire was costly. He suggested a suspense melodrama with one set. I dreamed up an imitation Hitchcock idea, all taking place in a roadhouse closed for the winter. Frank King liked the script, especially the low cost with very few extras. He couldn’t pay more than the minimum and had to cajole and flatter the actors to get them. The brothers managed to get Victor Jory and Pamela Drake for almost nothing.{{Cite web | url=http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/PhilipYordan.pdf | title=The Philip Yordan Story | date=November 2009 | first=Alan K. | last=Rode}}
Reception
The film was the first from Monogram to screen at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0036480}}
- [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/94494/unknown-guest The Unknown Guest] at TCMDB
{{Kurt Neumann}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unknown Guest (1943 film), The}}
Category:American mystery films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:Films directed by Kurt Neumann
Category:Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin
Category:Monogram Pictures films
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