Dead Men are Dangerous | |
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Directed by | Harold French |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | novel Hidden by H.C. Armstrong [1] |
Produced by | Warwick Ward |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Ernest Palmer |
Edited by | E. Richards |
Music by | John Reynders (uncredited) |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Pathé Pictures International (UK), StudioCanal (UK) |
Release date |
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Running time | 69 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Dead Men are Dangerous is a 1939 British noir crime film directed by Harold French and starring Robert Newton, Betty Lynne, John Warwick, and Peter Gawthorne. It was released in the U.S. as Dangerous Masquerade. [2] Its plot concerns an unsuccessful writer who is wrongly accused of a murder. [3]
Penniless and debt ridden writer Aylmer Franklyn happens upon a dead man lying under the branch of a tree, apparently killed during a violent storm. Swapping clothes and identities with the corpse seems like a way out of his troubles, and Franklyn even attends his own inquest; but little does he know the man had a criminal history and he soon finds the police on his trail.
In a contemporary review, The Leicester Daily Mercury found "Fast moving action, a goodly sequence of thrills, and some splendid acting by Robert Newton, characterises Dead Men are Dangerous, a film with a clever plot and a strong taste of the mysterious"; [4] while more recently, Vintage 45 wrote, "No great acting to speak of and no real depth to the story but it’s fun to watch it all unfold. Don’t expect anything exceptional and you’ll probably like it." [5]
Wilfred Van Norman Lucas was a Canadian American stage actor who found success in film as an actor, director, and screenwriter.
Robert Guy Newton was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for his hard-living life, he was cited as a role model by the actor Oliver Reed and the Who's drummer Keith Moon.
Robert Warwick was an American stage, film and television actor with over 200 film appearances. A matinee idol during the silent film era, he also prospered after the introduction of sound to cinema. As a young man he had studied opera singing in Paris and had a rich, resonant voice. At the age of 50, he developed as a highly regarded, aristocratic character actor and made numerous "talkies".
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Rochelle Hudson was an American film actress from the 1930s through the 1960s. Hudson was a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1931.
Kenneth Daniel Harlan was a popular American actor during the silent film era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer roles. His career extended into the sound film era, but during that span he rarely commanded leading-man roles, and became mostly a supporting or character actor.
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George Delbert "Dell" Henderson was a Canadian-American actor, director, and writer. He began his long and prolific film career in the early days of silent film.
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Robert Ellis Reel, known professionally as Robert Ellis, was an American film actor, screenwriter and film director. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1934. He also wrote for 65 films and directed 61.
David Torrence was a Scottish film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1913 to 1939. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was the brother of actor Ernest Torrence. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and died in Los Angeles.
Peter Gawthorne was an Anglo-Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in the films of Will Hay and other popular British comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-upon supporting actors during this period.
Inspector Hornleigh is a 1938 British detective film directed by Eugene Forde, starring Gordon Harker and Alastair Sim, with Miki Hood, Wally Patch, Steven Geray and Edward Underdown. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios in England. The screenplay was co-written by Bryan Edgar Wallace.
Allan John Jeayes was an English stage and film actor.
My Old Dutch is a 1934 British drama film directed by Sinclair Hill and starring Betty Balfour, Gordon Harker, Michael Hogan and Florrie Forde. The film portrays the lives of Londoners during the First World War. The film was made at Islington Studios by Gainsborough Pictures. The film's sets were designed by Peter Proud. Bryan Edgar Wallace contributed to the screenplay, adapted from the stage play written by Arthur Shirley and also based on Albert Chevalier's famous song.
Flying Fifty-Five is a 1939 British sports-drama film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Derrick De Marney, Nancy Burne, Marius Goring, John Warwick and Peter Gawthorne. It was made by Admiral Films at Welwyn Studios. The film is based on a 1922 novel of the same name by Edgar Wallace which had previously been made into a 1924 silent film The Flying Fifty-Five.
Paul Stanton was an American character actor and bit-part player in American films.
Betty Lynne (1911–2011) was a British film actress. During the late 1930s she played the female lead in a number of quota quickies, several of them for Warner Bros. at Teddington Studios. In 1939 she co-starred with Robert Newton in the thriller Dead Men are Dangerous.