Four Days | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Directed by | John Guillermin |
Written by | Lindsay Galloway J. MacLaren Ross |
Based on | the play Four Days by Monckton Hoffe |
Produced by | Roger Proudlock |
Starring | Hugh McDermott Kathleen Byron |
Cinematography | Ray Elton |
Edited by | Robert Jordan Hill |
Music by | Peter D. Barker (musical adviser) |
Production company | Roger Proudlock Productions (as Vandyke Productions) |
Distributed by | Grand National Pictures (U.K.) |
Release date | October 1951 (U.K.) |
Running time | 55 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Four Days is a 1951 British drama film directed by John Guillermin. [1] It was based on a play of the same name by Monckton Hoffe. [2]
Businessman Francis Templar (Hugh McDermott) suspects his neglected wife Lucienne (Kathleen Byron) of having an affair with his business partner's son Johnny (Peter Reynolds). When the two of them confess, Templar refuses to give his wife a divorce and she retaliates by trying to poison him. Johnny however, intervenes, and manages to prevent the murder. During the next few days, Lucienne comes to realise she loves her husband after all; but Templar, believing his wife is about to leave him, attempts suicide by jumping off a cliff. He survives the fall, but loses all memory of the previous four days. Now an amnesiac, Templar is blissfully in love with his devoted wife. However, she fears their happiness is only temporary, and dreads the return of her husband's memory. To make matters worse, Johnny then reappears to blackmail Lucienne, threatening to reveal all to her husband.
The film was based on a play by Mockton Hoffe which debuted in 1945. [3]
TV Guide gave the film two out of five stars, noting "A ludicrous melodrama which manages to pull off a couple of gripping scenes." [4]
The MFB complained about "indifferent construction." [5]
Filmink said "It’s short, taut and lots of fun; Guillermin’s direction is energetic, and there are excellent performances from Kathleen Byron and Reynolds." [6]
Mary of Scotland is a 1936 American historical drama film starring Katharine Hepburn as the 16th-century ruler Mary, Queen of Scots. Directed by John Ford, it is an adaptation of the 1933 Maxwell Anderson play, with Fredric March reprising the role of Bothwell, which he also performed on stage during the run of play. The screenplay was written by Dudley Nichols. Ginger Rogers wanted to play this role and made a screen test, but RKO rejected her request to be cast in the part feeling that the role was not suitable to her image.
Dylan McDermott is an American actor. He is known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the legal drama series The Practice, which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama and a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
Tarzan Goes to India (1962) is the first film featuring Jock Mahoney as Tarzan. It was written by Robert Hardy Andrews and directed by John Guillermin, who also directed Tarzan's Greatest Adventure. The film also stars Indian Bollywood actors Feroz Khan, Simi Garewal and Murad in pivotal roles. It was followed by Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963) which was set in Thailand. It was one of two Mahoney films that took Tarzan out of Africa and sent him to the Far East. It was a co-production between Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Jock Mahoney had appeared as the villain in the previous Tarzan film, Tarzan the Magnificent.
The Adventures of Aggie is a black-and-white sitcom starring Joan Shawlee that was made by ME Films and broadcast on ITV.
Juno and the Paycock is a 1930 British tragicomedy film written and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Barry Fitzgerald, Maire O'Neill, Edward Chapman and Sara Allgood.
Felicity Ann Dahl is a British film producer who married the author Roald Dahl in 1983. She was previously married to Charles Reginald Hugh Crosland. The quietly spoken Dahl gave a rare interview in November 2008 to publicise the inaugural Roald Dahl Funny Prize and reflect on her years with the late author.
The Unsinkable Molly Brown is a 1960 musical with music and lyrics by Meredith Willson and book by Richard Morris. The plot is a fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Brown, who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and her wealthy miner-husband. A musical film version, also titled The Unsinkable Molly Brown, with screenplay by Helen Deutsch, was released in 1964.
Never Let Go is a 1960 British thriller film starring Richard Todd, Peter Sellers and Elizabeth Sellars. It concerns a man's attempt to recover his stolen Ford Anglia car. Sellers plays a London villain, in one of his rare serious roles.
Elizabeth Nichol was a 19th-century British abolitionist, anti-segregationist, woman suffragist, chartist and anti-vivisectionist. She was active in the Peace Society, the Temperance movement and founded the Darlington Ladies Anti-Slavery Society. In 1853 she married Dr. John Pringle Nichol (1804–1859), Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Glasgow. She was one of about six women who were in the painting of the World Anti-Slavery Convention of 1840.
Town on Trial is a 1956 British mystery film directed by John Guillermin and starring John Mills, Charles Coburn, Barbara Bates and Derek Farr. A whole town comes under suspicion when two grisly murders are carried out—particularly members of the local sports club.
Torment, is a 1950 British thriller film directed by John Guillermin and starring Dermot Walsh, Rona Anderson and John Bentley.
Smart Alec is a 1951 British crime film directed by John Guillermin and starring Peter Reynolds.
Two on the Tiles is a 1951 British comedy film directed by John Guillermin and starring Herbert Lom, Hugh McDermott and Brenda Bruce. It was made at the Walton Studios by the independent Vandyke Productions for release as a second feature. It was one of three back-to-back productions Guillermin directed for the company at Walton Studios, along with Smart Alec and Four Days,. It was released in the U.S. as School for Brides.
The Whole Truth is a 1958 British-American thriller film directed by John Guillermin and starring Stewart Granger, George Sanders, Donna Reed, Gianna Maria Canale and Peter Dyneley. It was based on the 1955 play of the same title by Philip Mackie.
Hugh Patrick McDermott was a British professional golfer turned actor who made a number of film, stage and television performances between 1936 and 1972. He specialised in playing Americans, so much so that most British film fans had no idea that he was actually Scottish.
A Girl Must Live is a 1939 British romantic comedy film directed by Carol Reed that stars Margaret Lockwood, Renee Houston, Lilli Palmer, Hugh Sinclair, and Naunton Wayne. Based on a 1936 novel by Emery Bonett with the same title, the plot features three chorus line girls competing for the affection of a wealthy bachelor.
John Guillermin was a French-British film director, writer and producer who was most active in big-budget, action-adventure films throughout his lengthy career.
Peter Reynolds was an English actor.
Kathleen Mavourneen is a lost 1919 American silent drama film directed by Charles J. Brabin and starring his wife Theda Bara. It was produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation. A much filmed story based on the poem, Kathleen Mavourneen, by Annie Crawford and play by Dion Boucicault.
Adventure in the Hopfields is a 1954 British children's film directed by John Guillermin and starring Mandy Miller. It was made for the Children's Film Foundation. Location filming took place in and around Goudhurst in Kent.