 First edition | |
| Author | Alec Coppel |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Thriller |
| Publisher | Harrap |
Publication date | 1947 |
| Media type | |
A Man About a Dog is a 1947 thriller novel by the British-Australian writer Alec Coppel. [1] Driven to distraction by his wife's repeated affairs, her husband decides to kidnap her latest lover and commit the perfect murder, only to be thwarted by a dog.
In 1949 it was adapted into the British film Obsession directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Robert Newton, Sally Gray and Naunton Wayne. Coppel himself wrote the screenplay. [2]
Alec Coppel originally wrote the story as a play when he was living in Sydney during World War II. He adapted it into a novel while travelling to London. Coppel titled the play and the novel A Man About a Dog , [3] but in the United States, the novel was titled Over the Line.
The play opened in London in April 1946 [4] and the novel was published in 1948, although many critics commented that the novel felt similar to a play. [5] [6]
Another production of the play was staged in London in May 1949. [7]
Sir John Mills was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portrayed guileless, wounded war heroes. In 1971, he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ryan's Daughter.
Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film Brief Encounter (1945), followed by The Third Man (1949).
Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio.
John Gregson, born as Harold Thomas Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles.
Smithy is a 1946 Australian adventure film about pioneering Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his 1928 flight across the Pacific Ocean, from San Francisco, California, United States to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. This was the first-ever transpacific flight. Kingsford Smith was the pilot of the Fokker F.VII/3m three-engine monoplane "Southern Cross", with Australian aviator Charles Ulm as the relief pilot. The other two crew members were Americans James Warner and Harry Lyon.
William Percy Lipscomb was a British-born Hollywood playwright, screenwriter, producer and director. He died in London in 1958, aged 71.
Obsession, released in the United States as The Hidden Room, is a 1949 British crime film directed by Edward Dmytryk. It is based on the 1947 novel A Man About a Dog by Alec Coppel, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. Obsession was entered into the 1949 Cannes Film Festival.
The Broken Melody is a 1938 Australian drama film directed by Ken G. Hall and starring Lloyd Hughes, based on a best-selling novel by F. J. Thwaites.
I Killed the Count is a 1937 play by Alec Coppel. Its success launched Coppel's career.
Mr. Denning Drives North is a 1951 British mystery film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring John Mills, Phyllis Calvert and Sam Wanamaker. Alec Coppel wrote the script, adapted from his own 1950 novel of the same title. The plot concerns an aircraft manufacturer who accidentally kills his daughter's boyfriend and tries to dispose of the body.
Woman Hater is a 1948 British romantic comedy film directed by Terence Young and starring Stewart Granger, Edwige Feuillère and Ronald Squire. The screenplay concerns Lord Datchett, who, as a consequence of a bet with his friends, invites a French film star to stay at his house but pretends to be one of his employees while he tries to romance her with the help of his butler. When she discovers his subterfuge, she decides to turn the tables on him.
Alec Coppel was an Australian-born screenwriter, novelist and playwright. He spent the majority of his career in London and Hollywood, specialising in light thrillers, mysteries and sex comedies. He is best known for the films Vertigo (1958), The Captain's Paradise (1953), Mr Denning Drives North (1951) and Obsession (1949), and the plays I Killed the Count and The Gazebo.
Kenneth John Warren was an Australian actor.
Rex Rienits was an Australian writer of radio, films, plays and TV. He was a journalist before becoming one of the leading radio writers in Australia. He moved to England in 1949 and worked for a number of years there. He later returned to Australia and worked on early local TV drama.
Peter Reynolds was an English actor.
Alexander Mervyn Archdale was a British actor, manager and theatre producer. He had a very long career in both the theatre and in film, stretching from the 1930s to the 1980s. He spent the latter part of his life and career in Australia.
My Friend Lester is a 1947 farce play by Alec Coppel. It debuted at the Embassy Theatre in London on 14 April 1947 and later moved to St Martin's Theatre.
Mr. Denning Drives North is a 1950 thriller novel by the British-Australian writer Alec Coppel. When successful and happily married aircraft manufacturer Tom Denning attempts to commit suicide by crashing a plane, detectives uncover a murder in his past background that has driven him insane with guilt.
Mr Smart Guy' is a 1941 Australian play by Alec Coppel that was later filmed as Smart Alec (1951).
Believe It Or Not is a 1940 British play by Alec Coppel. It had a short run in Liverpool then London then Coppell directed the play in Australia in 1942 for Whitehall Productions.
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