| Blind Spot | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Peter Maxwell |
| Written by | |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Arthur Graham |
| Edited by | Jim Connock |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Butcher's Film Service |
Release date |
|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Blind Spot is a 1958 British drama film directed by Peter Maxwell and starring Robert MacKenzie, Delphi Lawrence, Gordon Jackson, John Le Mesurier, and Michael Caine. [1] [2]
Laid up in a military hospital waiting for an operation, U.S. Army Captain Dan Adams, has lost his sight due to a head injury. While his doctors are waiting for his injury to heal before proceeding, Adams is driven off the base to a party but is dropped off at the wrong address.
Entering the house, he stumbles over a body and startles the killers Rushford and Schrieder. Realising Adams is blind, they knock him out and throw him down a flight of stairs. When Adams revives back in the same hospital, his tale of murder seems implausible, as no evidence of a crime is found, not even the distinctive tie pin he says he found beside the body.
After an operation to regain his sight, Adams finds the tie pin in the lining of his jacket. He sets out to track down the killers, starting with visiting the house he had accidentally been taken to. There he meets June Brent and her father, and learns that the tie pin belonged to June's brother Johnny, who had died in a plane crash a year earlier. Although Mr Brent is antagonistic to any investigation, having suffered a nervous breakdown after Johnny's death, June wants to find out the truth. She introduces Adams to a friend of Johnny's, aircraft mechanic Chalky White, and they start to investigate. Dan becomes even more determined to find the truth when an attempt is made on his life. He begins to suspect that Johnny might have stumbled on a smuggling racket, and perhaps did not die in the crash after all. After another attempt on his life, and June's kidnapping, Adams finally finds the truth about the mysterious death and the smuggling operation.
Principal location photography for Blind Spot took place at Majestic Hotel, Kensington, London, England. Studio shots were completed at Walton Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England.[ citation needed ]
Blind Spot is a remake of Blackout , a 1950 British crime drama by the same producers, but a different director.c
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Limp and long-drawn-out, this is a highly improbable thriller. Robert Mackenzie makes Dan an unnecessarily unattractive character, and the rest of the cast are quite unable to overcome a feeble script." [3]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Thriller is briskly paced and intriguing, but limply written and acted. A remake of Blackout (1950)." [4]
TV Guide gave Blind Spot one out of four stars, and wrote, "A few good turns, including the final chase, can't pep up a tired script." [5]
The Radio Times rated the film two out of five stars, calling it a "stolid British crime yarn." [6]
The Movie Scene gave the film three out of five stars, noting "Robert MacKenzie appeared to make only three movies yet going on what he does as Dan Adams in Blind Spot makes me think he could have had a solid movie career ... after a decent set up Blind Spot quickly unravels into an ordinary 1950s crime drama with nothing to make it stand out except that it features a young Michael Caine." [7]
Lee Patterson was a Canadian film and television actor.
Gordon Cameron Jackson was a Scottish actor. He is best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and as George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals. He also portrayed Capt Jimmy Cairns in Tunes of Glory, and Flt. Lt. Andrew MacDonald, "Intelligence", in The Great Escape.
On Dangerous Ground is a 1951 film noir directed by Nicholas Ray, starring Robert Ryan and Ida Lupino, and produced by John Houseman. The screenplay was written by A. I. Bezzerides based on the 1945 novel Mad with Much Heart by Gerald Butler.
Indiscreet is a 1958 British romantic comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant.
The Last Page, released in the United States as Man Bait, is a 1952 British film noir directed by Terence Fisher, starring George Brent, Marguerite Chapman and Diana Dors. The film was also known as Murder in Safety and Blonde Blackmail.
Too Many Crooks is a 1959 British black comedy film directed by Mario Zampi and starring Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Brenda De Banzie, Sidney James, Bernard Bresslaw and Vera Day. It was written by Michael Pertwee and Christiane Rochefort from a story by Jean Nery.
The Magnet is a 1950 British comedy film directed by Charles Frend and starring Stephen Murray, Kay Walsh, and in his first starring role James Fox. It was written by T. E. B. Clarke. A young Wallasey boy obtains a magnet by deception, leading to much confusion. When he is acclaimed as a hero, he is shamed by his own sense of guilt.
Nowhere to Go is a 1958 British crime film directed by Seth Holt in his directorial debut. It stars George Nader, Maggie Smith, Bernard Lee, Harry H. Corbett and Bessie Love. It was written by Kenneth Tynan and Holt, based on the 1956 novel of the same title by Donald MacKenzie.
The Blue Parrot is a low budget 1953 British "B" crime film directed by John Harlow and starring Dermot Walsh, Jacqueline Hill, Ballard Berkeley, Richard Pearson, and John Le Mesurier. The film was produced by Stanley Haynes for Act Films Ltd. The screenplay is by Alan MacKinnon from a story by British crime reporter Percy Hoskins.
The Bank Raiders is a 1958 British second feature crime film directed by Maxwell Munden and starring Peter Reynolds, Sandra Dorne and Lloyd Lamble. It was written by Brandon Fleming.
Face the Music is a 1954 British crime drama film directed by Terence Fisher, and starring Alex Nicol, Eleanor Summerfield and Paul Carpenter. It was released in the United States by Lippert Pictures.
Strangers' Meeting is a 1957 crime drama film directed by Robert Day and starring Peter Arne and Delphi Lawrence.
The Spaniard's Curse is a 1958 British thriller film directed by Ralph Kemplen and starring Tony Wright, Lee Patterson, Michael Hordern, Susan Beaumont and Henry Oscar. It was based on the 1958 novella The Assize of the Dying by Edith Pargeter.
Tread Softly Stranger is a 1958 British crime drama film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Diana Dors, George Baker and Terence Morgan. The screenplay was written by George Minter adapted from the stage play Blind Alley (1953) by Jack Popplewell. The film was shot in black-and-white in film noir style, and its setting in an industrial town in northern England mirrors the kitchen sink realism movement coming into vogue in English drama and film at the time.
One Jump Ahead is a 1955 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Paul Carpenter, Diane Hart, Jill Adams and Freddie Mills. The screenplay was by Doreen Montgomery based on the 1951 novel of the same name by Robert H. Chapman.
Police Dog is a 1955 British second feature ('B') crime film directed and written by Derek Twist and starring Charles Victor, Nora Gordon, Cecil Brock, John Le Mesurier, James Gilbert, and Christopher Lee.
The Betrayal is a low-budget 1957 British film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Philip Friend and Diana Decker. The screenplay was by Brian Clemens and Eldon Howard.
Blackout is a 1950 British second feature ('B') crime drama film directed by Robert S. Baker and starring Maxwell Reed and Dinah Sheridan. The screenplay was by John Gilling from a story by Carl Nystrom.
Six Gun Gospel is a 1943 American Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by Adele Buffington and Ed Earl Repp. This is the third film in the "Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie" series, and stars Johnny Mack Brown as Jack McKenzie and Raymond Hatton as his sidekick Sandy Hopkins, with Inna Gest, Eddie Dew, Kenneth MacDonald and Edmund Cobb. The film was released on August 3, 1943, by Monogram Pictures.
Undercover Girl is a 1958 British second feature crime film directed by Francis Searle and starring Paul Carpenter, Kay Callard, and Bruce Seton. A photographer combats a ruthless extortionist.