Intent to Kill (1958 film)

Last updated

Intent to Kill
Intenttokill.jpg
Directed by Jack Cardiff
Written by Jimmy Sangster
Brian Moore (novel)
Produced byAdrian D. Worker
Starring Richard Todd
Betsy Drake
Herbert Lom
Cinematography Desmond Dickinson
Music by Kenneth Jones
Distributed by Twentieth-Century Fox
Release dates
  • 16 July 1958 (1958-07-16)(UK)
  • 31 March 1959 (1959-03-31)(U.S.)
Running time
88 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Intent to Kill is a 1958 British film noir thriller directed by Jack Cardiff and starring Richard Todd, Betsy Drake and Herbert Lom. [1] The film was based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Brian Moore (as Michael Bryan). It was shot on location in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with an international cast of European and North American actors.

Contents

Plot

Having previously survived an assassination attempt, Juan Menda, president of an unspecified South American country, is moved to Montreal under an anonymous pseudonym for treatment of a potentially fatal cranial blood clot. His political opponents have got wind of his whereabouts and hire a trio of Canadian hitmen to finish the job. Menda's aide Francisco is also in town, and unknown to Menda he is actually a prime-mover in the assassination plot, keeping close to Menda while duplicitously passing on information to the would-be killers. Not only is Francisco an unsuspected political arch-rival, but he is also keeping an eye on Menda's glamorous wife Carla, with whom he fancies his chances once Menda is out of the way.

Meanwhile, British surgeon Bob McLaurin is under pressure from nagging, dissatisfied wife Margaret , who wants him to give up his job in Canada and move back to London to open a private cosmetic surgery for the wealthy, where he could at least double his income. Margaret claims to know of an (imaginary) affair of Bob with fellow surgeon Nancy Ferguson, and is threatening to go public with the information. The worry causes Bob to lose concentration during Menda's operation, and he almost makes a fatal slip-up. However, in the end the operation is a complete success.

As Menda recovers, he grows uneasy about Carla's apparent lack of interest as she makes no effort to visit. He also starts to suspect that there is more to Francisco than meets the eye. Eventually he comes to the conclusion that the two of them are in league in some way or another, at best to dally romantically behind his back, at worst to be working with his enemies to plot his demise. Fearing for his safety, he demands to be moved to a different hospital room.

The hitmen make their move on what they believe to be Menda's room, only to find they have killed a completely innocent man in the hospital for surgery on a slipped disc. Bob, Nancy and the police all believe the unfortunate dead man was mistaken for Menda, and a policeman is detailed to provide Menda with a 24-hour guard until he is ready to return home. The hitmen, determined not to lose their payoff, end up acting rashly and their carelessness leads to a confrontation in the hospital corridors, shooting it out with the police while Bob is caught up in the middle. The hitmen start to turn on each other. The wounded Bob tackles one, and during a struggle the two crash out of a window and fall to the ground. The unconscious assassin is arrested.

As confusion and chaos rages in the hospital, one of the hitmen manages to slip away and takes the opportunity to enter Menda's temporarily unguarded room to perform a quick hit. He discovers that Menda is far more ready for him than he could have anticipated.

Cast

[2]

Production

Richard Todd claims he was forced to make the film under his contract with Fox. He called it "a stinker. It was a melodramatic, unbelievable thriller" which "had all the merits of a run-of-the-mill TV drama." [3] He says it was shot over eight weeks at Elstree, saying it was "a totally forgettable picture, and I don’t think I ever saw the finished product. I can’t even recall the story." [4]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "'The most distinguished of British lighting camermen, here turned director, provides a lively and inventive action thriller, whose best and tensest moments adequately compensate for any improbabilities in the plot. The operation scene, incidentally, might be slightly too harrowing for the squeamish." [5]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Cinematographer Jack Cardiff turned director with this B-thriller, set in Montreal. Critics at the time wondered why he bothered." [6] Leslie Halliwell said: "Solidly entertaining suspenser." [7]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "good", writing: "Fast-moving, tense thriller, with unexpected developments." [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

Cast a Dark Shadow is a 1955 British suspense film noir directed by Lewis Gilbert and written by John Cresswell, based on the 1952 play Murder Mistaken by Janet Green. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kay Walsh, Kathleen Harrison and Robert Flemyng. The film was released on 20 September 1955, distributed by Eros Films Ltd. in the United Kingdom and Distributors Corporation of America in the United States. The story concerns a husband who murders his wife.

<i>Hell Drivers</i> 1957 British film by Cy Endfield

Hell Drivers is a 1957 British film noir crime drama film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins and Patrick McGoohan. It was written by Endfield and John Kruse, and produced by the Rank Organisation and Aqua Film Productions. A recently released convict takes a driver's job at a haulage company and encounters violence and corruption.

<i>The Good Die Young</i> 1954 British film by Lewis Gilbert

The Good Die Young is a 1954 British crime film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, Joan Collins, Stanley Baker, Richard Basehart and John Ireland. It was made by Remus Films from a screenplay by Vernon Harris and Gilbert based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Richard Macaulay. It tells the story of four men in London with no criminal past whose marriages and finances are collapsing and, meeting in a pub, are tempted to redeem their situations by a robbery.

<i>Danger Within</i> 1959 British film by Don Chaffey

Danger Within is a 1959 British war film directed by Don Chaffey and starring Richard Todd and Bernard Lee. It was written by Bryan Forbes and Frank Harvey, based on the 1952 novel Death in Captivity by Michael Gilbert, who had been a prisoner of war held by the Italians at PG 49 in Fontanellato. A combination of POW escape drama and whodunit, the film set in a prisoner of war camp in Northern Italy during the summer of 1943.

<i>Time Without Pity</i> 1957 British film by Joseph Losey

Time Without Pity is a 1957 British film noir thriller film directed by Joseph Losey and starring Michael Redgrave, Ann Todd, Leo McKern, Paul Daneman, Peter Cushing, Alec McCowen and Renee Houston. It is about a father trying to save his son from execution for murder.

<i>Grand National Night</i> 1953 film

Grand National Night is a 1953 British second feature ('B') thriller film directed by Bob McNaught and starring Nigel Patrick, Moira Lister and Beatrice Campbell. It was produced by George Minter and Phil C. Samuel, and written by Val Valentine and Bob McNaught based on the 1945 play of the same title written by Campbell and Dorothy Christie.

<i>The Blue Parrot</i> 1953 British film by John Harlow

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.

<i>Chase a Crooked Shadow</i> 1958 British film by Michael Anderson

Chase a Crooked Shadow is a 1958 British suspense film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Richard Todd, Anne Baxter and Herbert Lom. It was the first film produced by Associated Dragon Films, a business venture of Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

<i>Night Boat to Dublin</i> 1946 film

Night Boat to Dublin is a 1946 British thriller film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Robert Newton, Raymond Lovell, Guy Middleton, Muriel Pavlow and Herbert Lom. It was written by Huntington and Robert Hall.

<i>The Green Scarf</i> 1954 British film by George More OFerrall

The Green Scarf is a 1954 British mystery film directed by George More O'Ferrall and starring Michael Redgrave, Ann Todd, Leo Genn, Kieron Moore, Richard O'Sullivan and Michael Medwin. The film's plot concerns a man who is accused of a seemingly motiveless murder. The film was shot at Shepperton Studios with sets designed by the art director Wilfred Shingleton. It was written by Gordon Wellesley based on the 1951 Guy des Cars novel The Brute.

<i>No Trees in the Street</i> 1959 British film by J. Lee Thompson

No Trees in the Street is a 1959 British crime thriller directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Sylvia Syms, Herbert Lom and Melvyn Hayes. It was written by Ted Willis, from his 1948 stage play of the same name.

<i>Mr. Denning Drives North</i> 1951 film by Anthony Kimmins

Mr. Denning Drives North is a 1951 British mystery film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring John Mills, Phyllis Calvert and Sam Wanamaker. Alec Coppel wrote the script, adapted from his own 1950 novel of the same title. An aircraft manufacturer accidentally kills his daughter's boyfriend and tries to dispose of the body.

<i>The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery</i> 1950 mystery film by Paul L. Stein

The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery, also known as Murder on the Air, is a 1950 British second feature comedy crime film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Robert Beatty, Rona Anderson, and Clifford Evans. The screenplay was by Victor Katona and Patrick Kirwan. The film is a hybrid: the Twenty Questions sections take place in a studio recording of the BBC radio programme with the regular panellists and presenter. This is threaded into the plot as the clues trigger a series of murders, each linked to the clue.

<i>Whispering Smith Hits London</i> 1952 British film

Whispering Smith Hits London is a 1952 British second feature ('B') mystery film directed by Francis Searle and starring Richard Carlson, Greta Gynt and Herbert Lom. The screenplay was by John Gilling. It was released in the United States by RKO Pictures.

<i>No Time for Tears</i> (film) 1957 British film by Directed by Cyril Frankel

No Time for Tears is a 1957 British drama film directed by Cyril Frankel in CinemaScope and Eastman Color and starring Anna Neagle, George Baker, Sylvia Syms and Anthony Quayle. It was written by Anne Burnaby and Frederix Gotfurt. The staff at a children's hospital struggle with their workload.

<i>Snowbound</i> (1948 film) 1948 film

Snowbound is a 1948 British thriller film directed by David MacDonald and starring Robert Newton, Dennis Price, Stanley Holloway, Herbert Lom, Marcel Dalio and Guy Middleton and introducing Mila Parély. Based on the 1947 novel The Lonely Skier by Hammond Innes, the film concerns a group of people searching for treasure hidden by the Nazis in the Alps following the Second World War.

<i>Alias John Preston</i> 1955 British film by David MacDonald

Alias John Preston is a 1955 British 'B' thriller film directed by David MacDonald and starring Christopher Lee, Betta St. John and Alexander Knox. A mysterious and wealthy man moves to a small village where he outwardly appears to be a friendly figure but nurses a dangerous secret.

<i>Kill Her Gently</i> 1957 British film by Charles Saunders

Kill Her Gently is a 1957 British second feature thriller film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Griffith Jones, Maureen Connell and Marc Lawrence. It was written by Paul Erickson.

Escape Route is a 1952 British black-and-white second feature thriller film, directed by Seymour Friedman and Peter Graham Scott, and starring George Raft, Sally Gray and Clifford Evans.

<i>The Hostage</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film by Harold Huth

The Hostage is a 1956 British crime film directed by Harold Huth and starring Ron Randell, Mary Parker and John Bailey. It was written by Alfred Shaughnessy,

References

  1. ↑ "Intent to Kill". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  2. ↑ "Intent to Kill (1958)". BFI . Archived from the original on 5 July 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Todd, Richard (1989). In camera : an autobiography continued. Hutchinson. p. 136.
  4. ↑ Todd p 139
  5. ↑ "Intent to Kill". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 25 (288): 114. 1 January 1958. ProQuest   1305818741 – via ProQuest.
  6. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 467. ISBN   9780992936440.
  7. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 516. ISBN   0586088946.
  8. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 328. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.