At the Stroke of Nine

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At the Stroke of Nine
"At the Stroke of Nine" (1957).jpg
Original British lobby card
Directed by Lance Comfort
Written by Harry Booth
Brian Clemens
Michael Deeley
Jon Penington
Produced byHarry Booth
Michael Deeley
Jon Penington
Starring Patricia Dainton
Stephen Murray
Patrick Barr
Dermot Walsh
Cinematography Gerald Gibbs
Music by Edwin Astley
Production
company
Towers of London Productions
Distributed by Grand National (UK)
Release date
  • June 1957 (1957-06)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£20,000 [1]

At the Stroke of Nine is a 1957 British crime film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Patricia Dainton, Stephen Murray, Patrick Barr and Dermot Walsh. [2] A female journalist is kidnapped by a madman who forces her to write articles about him and threatens to kill her.

Contents

Plot

When reporter Sally Bryant chases a major scoop, she is captured by concert pianist Stephen Garrett, who says he will murder her within the next five days. He forces her to send daily reports of her ordeal to her newspaper. The typeface of the reports gives a clue to the police, who reach Garrett's house in time to prevent him from strangling Sally. Garrett falls out of a window to his death.

Cast

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This implausible melodrama has little to recommend it. The villain has no virtues and the hero no vices; the heroine registers suitable cold terror: and the script calls for little more from them." [3]

TV Guide wrote, "the frantic search for the loonie by police offers some interesting scenes with fair suspense." [4]

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References

  1. Michael Deeley, Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies, Pegasus Books, 2009 p 20
  2. "At the Stroke of Nine". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  3. "At the Stroke of Nine". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 24 (276): 86. 1 January 1957 via ProQuest.
  4. "At The Stroke Of Nine Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.