Don't Talk to Strange Men

Last updated

Don't Talk to Strange Men
Don't Talk to Strange Men (1962 film).jpg
British quad poster
Directed by Pat Jackson
Screenplay by Gwen Cherrell
Produced byDerick Williams
Starring
Cinematography Stephen Dade
Edited by Helen Wiggins
Production
company
A Derick Williams Production
Distributed by Bryanston Films (UK)
Release date
  • 1962 (1962)(UK)
Running time
65 min
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£21,690 [1]

Don't Talk to Strange Men is a 1962 black and white British 'B' [2] crime thriller film directed by Pat Jackson and starring Christina Gregg, Janina Faye, Cyril Raymond and Gillian Lind. [3] The screenplay was by Gwen Cherrell.

Contents

Plot

A driver gives a lift to a woman. He attacks her. Her body is later discovered by children playing in a hay shed.

Meanwhile, Jean Painter, a teenage schoolgirl, waits for a bus on a quiet country lane. She has been baby-sitting at The Chequers, the pub owned by her uncle Ron. The telephone in a nearby phone box rings and, curious, she answers it. She is fascinated by the conversation with an unknown man and agrees to chat again the next day. At home, she tells her younger sister Ann of the phone call, romantically envisaging what the caller might look like.

The next day at the same time and place the phone rings again and Jean eagerly answers. She falls in love with the man, but gives him a false name: Samantha.

On the third day the man does not call at the normal time. She does not take the bus when it comes, hoping that he will still call. However, she misses his eventual call when a passerby uses the phone box.

On the fourth day, the man calls, and is annoyed about her missing the previous day. He chats her up and says how much he loves her voice. They arrange to meet in person the next day. Worried about the newspaper report of the murdered girl, Jean's father bans her from going to The Chequers on the following night, and also bans Ann from attending a dance.

The next evening, Jean pretends to go into town with Ann to go to the cinema, but instead takes the bus to the rendezvous. Seeing a drunk wandering up the lane, she is scared. She runs into a field and hides in a shed. She daydreams about the man's voice.

Meanwhile, a man goes into The Chequers and orders a drink. He is the phone box man.

Realising how stupid she has been, Jean runs to The Chequers where she hears the man's voice and sees his face. She watches as he calls the phone box. Worried about Jean, Ann has left the cinema early and arrived at the phone box looking for her. When the phone rings, Ann answers but says little. She then phones for the police. Jean tells Ron the story and calls the phone box, telling Ann to hide, but it is too late – the man has arrived, and he opens the phone box door. Thinking that Ann is Samantha, he drags her to his car and races off. Moments later, Ron arrives in his car, gives chase and forces the man's car off the road. As Ron and the man fight, the police arrive.

Cast

Production

The film was produced at Marylebone Film Studios and on location in Buckinghamshire. [4]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The film takes an unconscionable time over the preliminaries and establishing the cloyingly cosy domestic background. But Pat Jackson creates an eerie feeling of suspense by playing up the susceptibility of the romantic girl (breathlessly played by Christina Gregg) and the remoteness of the rural setting. The climax is genuinely nerve-racking, though the cornering of the villain is an implausible rush job. The final scene has a nice touch of irony, and the approach to the subject is the more effective for being deliberately unhysterical." [5]

In The Radio Times Guide to Films Tony Sloman gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "This worthy little feature with a social message is more interesting now for its depiction of early 1960s Britain, but still has relevance today. Christina Griegg is the young girl in trouble after disobeying the instruction of the title, while Gilian Lind and Cyril Raymond are her very middle-class parents." [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Gay Divorcee</i> 1934 film by Mark Sandrich

The Gay Divorcee is a 1934 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It also features Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, and Eric Blore. The screenplay was written by George Marion Jr., Dorothy Yost, and Edward Kaufman. It is based on the Broadway musical Gay Divorce, written by Dwight Taylor, with Kenneth Webb and Samuel Hoffenstein adapting an unproduced play by J. Hartley Manners.

<i>Grand Theft Auto</i> (film) 1977 American film by Ron Howard

Grand Theft Auto is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring and directed by Ron Howard, in his feature film directorial debut. Howard also wrote the screenplay with his real-life father Rance Howard, who also co-starred in the film. As of 2023, this is the only film that Howard has both directed and starred in. The film takes its title from the crime grand theft auto, which is committed a number of times by several different characters.

<i>Raw Deal</i> (1948 film) 1948 film by Anthony Mann

Raw Deal is a 1948 American film noir crime film directed by Anthony Mann and starring Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor and Marsha Hunt. It was shot by cinematographer John Alton with sets designed by the art director Edward L. Ilou. An independent production by Edward Small, it was distributed by Eagle-Lion Films.

<i>Amateur</i> (1994 film) 1994 film by Hal Hartley

Amateur is a 1994 crime comedy-drama film written and directed by Hal Hartley and starring Isabelle Huppert, Martin Donovan, Elina Löwensohn and Damian Young. The story revolves around a former nun who becomes embroiled in pornography, violence and international crime.

<i>Wonderland</i> (2003 film) 2003 American crime and drama film by James Cox

Wonderland is a 2003 American crime drama film, co-written and directed by James Cox and based on the real-life Wonderland Murders that occurred in 1981. The film stars Val Kilmer, Kate Bosworth, Dylan McDermott, Carrie Fisher, Lisa Kudrow, Josh Lucas, Christina Applegate, Tim Blake Nelson, and Janeane Garofalo. Kilmer plays the role of John Holmes, a famous pornographic film star and suspected accomplice in four grisly murders committed in a house at 8763 Wonderland Avenue, in the Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles. The film uses a nonlinear Rashomon-style narrative structure to present conflicting accounts of the murders from differing perspectives.

<i>Magic Town</i> 1947 film by William A. Wellman

Magic Town is a 1947 American comedy film directed by William A. Wellman and starring James Stewart and Jane Wyman. The picture is one of the first films about the then-new practice of public opinion polling. The film was inspired by the Middletown studies. It is also known as The Magic City.

<i>LEclisse</i> 1962 Italian film

L'Eclisse is a 1962 Italian romantic drama film written and directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Alain Delon and Monica Vitti. Filmed on location in Rome and Verona, the story follows a young woman (Vitti) who pursues an affair with a confident young stockbroker (Delon). Antonioni attributed some of his inspiration for L'Eclisse to when he filmed a solar eclipse in Florence. The film is considered the last part of a trilogy and is preceded by L'Avventura (1960) and La Notte (1961).

<i>Cookies Fortune</i> 1999 film by Robert Altman

Cookie's Fortune is a 1999 American black comedy film directed by Robert Altman and starring Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler, Patricia Neal, Charles S. Dutton, and Chris O'Donnell. It follows a dysfunctional family in small-town Mississippi and their various responses to the suicide of their wealthy aunt, some of them turning criminal. Musicians Lyle Lovett and Ruby Wilson have minor supporting parts in the film.

<i>Vacancy</i> (film) 2007 American horror film by Nimród Antal

Vacancy is a 2007 American slasher film directed by Nimród Antal and written by Mark L. Smith. It stars Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson as a married couple who book at the motel after their car breaks down and are soon stalked by masked killers for their snuff films. It was released April 20, 2007, by the distributor Screen Gems.

"The Cost" is the tenth episode of the first season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by David Simon from a story by David Simon and Ed Burns and was directed by Brad Anderson. It originally aired on August 11, 2002.

<i>Beyond the Clouds</i> (1995 film) 1995 Italian-French-German romance film

Beyond the Clouds is a 1995 Italian-French-German romance film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, with contributions by Wim Wenders, and starring John Malkovich, Sophie Marceau, Vincent Perez, Irène Jacob, Fanny Ardant, Jeanne Moreau, Peter Weller, Marcello Mastroianni, and Jean Reno. The film consists of four stories of romantic love and illusion told from the perspective of a wandering film director. In the first story, two beautiful young lovers are unable to consummate their passion because the young man desires impossible perfection. In the second story, the director makes love to a young woman who reveals that she murdered her father. In the third story, a man makes an effort to appease both his wife and his mistress. In the fourth story, a young man is infatuated with a girl who is about to enter a convent. This was the final feature-length film by Antonioni before his death in 2007.

Janina Faye Smigielski is an English actress and director.

<i>Neil Simons I Ought to Be in Pictures</i> 1982 film by Herbert Ross

I Ought to Be in Pictures is a 1982 American comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross and based on Neil Simon's 1980 play of the same name. The film stars Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, and Dinah Manoff. Other actors who have supporting roles are Lance Guest, Eugene Butler, David Faustino, Martin Ferrero and Michael Dudikoff.

<i>The Candidate</i> (2008 film) 2008 Danish film

The Candidate is a 2008 Danish film, the first shot in the 2-perf format. Its original Danish title is Kandidaten. The film tells the story of Jonas Bechmann who believes the car accident that killed his father was no accident. When he goes in search of the facts behind his father's death, he finds himself set up for murder.

<i>Never Take Sweets from a Stranger</i> 1960 British film by Cyril Frankel

Never Take Sweets from a Stranger is a 1960 British thriller drama film, directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Patrick Allen, Gwen Watford, Janina Faye and Felix Aylmer. The screenplay was by John Hunter based on the 1954 play The Pony Cart by Roger Garis. It was produced by Hammer Films. The twin themes of the film are paedophilia and child sexual abuse, and the way in which those with sufficient pull can corrupt and manipulate the legal system to evade responsibility for their actions. The film is regarded as bold and uncompromising for its time.

<i>One-Eyed Monster</i> 2008 American film

One-Eyed Monster is a 2008 sci-fi/horror comedy film directed by Adam Fields about the cast and crew of an adult film having an encounter with a different kind of monster while filming in the Northern California mountains.

<i>Act of Vengeance</i> (1974 film) 1974 American exploitation film by Bob Kelljan

Act of Vengeance, also known as Rape Squad and The Violator, is a 1974 American exploitation film. It was directed by Bob Kelljan and stars Jo Ann Harris, Peter Brown, Jennifer Lee, Connie Strickland, Lisa Moore, Tony Young, Steve Kanaly and Anneka Di Lorenzo.

<i>Any Body...Any Way</i> 1968 American film

Any Body...Any Way is a 1968 sexploitation "roughie" film directed by Charles Romine and starring Eve Reeves, Joyce Denner and Daniel Garth.

Gillian Lind was a British stage, film and television actress. In 1930 she starred in Edgar Wallace's play On the Spot in the West End. In 1936 she was in the play Green Waters by Max Catto. She went on to enjoy a long career in film and television. Initially appearing onscreen as a female lead, she later transitioned into character roles. In 1957 she appeared in the BBC Dickens adaptation Nicholas Nickleby as the protagonist's mother. She featured on the 1964 series Ann Veronica based on a novel by H. G. Wells.

<i>Disconnected</i> (1984 film) 1984 American film

Disconnected is a 1984 American psychological slasher film produced and directed by Gorman Bechard, written by Bechard and Virginia Gilroy, and starring Frances Raines, Mark Walker, and Carl Koch. Its plot follows Alicia, a young video rental store clerk in a small Connecticut town who is tormented by bizarre, unearthly phone calls. Meanwhile, a string of violent serial killings are occurring amongst locals.

References

  1. Petrie, Duncan James (2017). "Bryanston Films : An Experiment in Cooperative Independent Production and Distribution" (PDF). Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: 7. ISSN   1465-3451.
  2. Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 150. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  3. "Don't Talk to Strange Men". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  4. "Don't Talk to Strange Men". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  5. "Don't Talk to Strange Men". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 29 (336): 154. 1 January 1962 via ProQuest.
  6. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 264. ISBN   9780992936440.