| Landslide | |
|---|---|
 Opening titles | |
| Directed by | Donovan Pedelty |
| Written by | Donovan Pedelty David Evans |
| Produced by | Victor M. Greene |
| Starring |
|
Production company | Crusade Films |
| Distributed by | Paramount British Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 67 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Landslide is a 1937 British drama film directed by Donovan Pedelty and starring Jimmy Hanley, Dinah Sheridan and Jimmy Mageean. [1] It was written by Pedelty and David Evans.
Just after a performance by a visiting theatre troupe, when the audience has left, a murder victim is found in a Welsh theatre. A local policeman tells the remaining people that they must stay in the theatre while he summons help, but the torrential rain causes a landslide, trapping the actors and stage crew inside, along with the police officer and a local woman. They are trapped there for days with their only food what the local woman had in her bag – a small piece of cheese and her fish and chips. Then one of the people is attacked, and they realise that the murderer is still in the building.
The film was made at Wembley Studios as a quota quickie for release by Paramount Pictures. [2]
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The story, direction and production are all by Donovan Pedelty. This is too great a task for one man, and the film has suffered in consequence. In spite of this, and an uneasiness on the part of the players in becoming hysterical, the film manages to be entertaining in its own harrowing way. Dinah Sheridan and Jimmy Hanley promise well for the future and the support is quietly competent." [3]
Kine Weekly wrote: "Pathological crime drama, original in theme and atmosphere, but less than third rate in acting, treatment and presentation." [4]
Picturegoer wrote: "Donovan Pedelty has written an ingenious story dealing with murder of the cashier of a stranded travelling show. ... Unfortunately, neither treatment nor presentation does justice to the psychology of the theme. The acting, too, is generally weak and, instead of becoming strong drama, the picture turns into unconscious burlesque." [5]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Promising but muffed thriller." [6]
Dinah Sheridan was an English actress with a career spanning seven decades. She was best known for the films Genevieve (1953) and The Railway Children (1970), the long-running BBC comedy series Don't Wait Up (1983–1990), and for her distinguished theatre career in London's West End.
The Huggetts Abroad is a 1949 British comedy drama film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Petula Clark and Susan Shaw. It was written by Gerard Bryant and Ted Willis from a story by Keith Campbell.
Guy Newall was a British actor, screenwriter and film director in a career that encompassed the silent era of film-making to the early years of sound films.
Inquest is a 1939 British crime film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Elizabeth Allan, Herbert Lomas, Hay Petrie and Barbara Everest. It was based on the play Inquest by Michael Barringer which had previously been adapted as Inquest in 1931. The film was a quota quickie made at Highbury Studios to be used as a supporting feature.
Shot in the Dark is a 1933 British mystery film directed by George Pearson and starring Dorothy Boyd, O. B. Clarence, Jack Hawkins and Michael Shepley. It was written by Gerard Fairlie and Terence Egan and shot at Twickenham Studios in London as a quota quickie for release by RKO Pictures.
House of Blackmail is a 1953 British second feature drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Mary Germaine, William Sylvester and Alexander Gauge. It was written by Allan MacKinnon. The plot follows a soldier and his girlfriend, who become mixed up with a blackmailer.
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.
The Luck of the Irish is a British drama film directed by Donovan Pedelty, who also co-wrote the screenplay, and starring Richard Hayward and Kay Walsh. It is based on a novel by Victor Haddick.
Irish and Proud of It is a 1936 British-Irish comedy film directed and co-written by Donovan Pedelty and starring Richard Hayward, Dinah Sheridan and Liam Gaffney. In the film, a popular London-based Irish singer announces one evening how much he would love to go home to his home village in rural Ireland. For a prank, some of his friends take him up on this offer. He is kidnapped and deposited on a wild moor. He returns to the village of his youth, slightly disorientated, and battles an American gangster who has taken control of the settlement.
No Trace is a 1950 British second feature crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Hugh Sinclair, Dinah Sheridan and John Laurie. A crime writer murders a blackmailer, and is then asked to help solve the case by the police.
Deadly Nightshade is a 1953 British second feature ('B') crime drama film directed by John Gilling and starring Emrys Jones, Zena Marshall and John Horsely. The screenplay was by Lawrence Huntington. A convict on the run switches identities with a lookalike, only to find himself in even deeper trouble.
The Early Bird is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Donovan Pedelty and starring Richard Hayward, Jimmy Mageean and Charlotte Tedlie.
Donovan Pedelty (1903–1989) was a British journalist, screenwriter and film director.
Operation Murder is a 1957 British 'B' crime film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Tom Conway, Patrick Holt and Sandra Dorne. It was written by Brian Clemens and produced by the Danzinger brothers.
Once in a New Moon is a 1935 British science fiction film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring Eliot Makeham, René Ray and Morton Selten. It is a quota quickie, made at Shepperton Studios. It was written by Kimmins based on the 1929 novel Lucky Star by Owen Rutter.
Night Ride is a 1937 black and white British drama film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Julian Vedey, Wally Patch and Jimmy Hanley.
Behind Your Back is a 1937 British drama film directed by Donovan Pedelty and starring Jack Livesey, Dinah Sheridan and Betty Astell. It was made at Wembley Studios as a quota quickie.
First Night is a 1937 British drama film directed by Donovan Pedelty and starring Jack Livesey, Rani Waller and Sunday Wilshin. It was made at Wembley Studios as a quota quickie.
Mrs. Pym of Scotland Yard is a 1939 British comedy-drama film directed by Fred Elles starring Mary Clare in her only title role and Nigel Patrick in his film debut. It is based on the Mrs Pym novels by Nigel Morland, and written by Morland, who re-used the title for a 1946 book.
The Gorbals Story is a 1950 British second feature ('B') film directed by David MacKane and starring Howard Connell, Marjorie Thomson and Betty Henderson. It was written by MacKane based on the 1946 play The Gorbals Story by Robert McLeish. The film is a melodrama about a young man desperate to escape the slums of Glasgow.
 | This article related to a British film of the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |