Little Red Monkey | |
---|---|
Directed by | Ken Hughes |
Written by | James Eastwood Ken Hughes |
Based on | story by Eric Maschwitz |
Produced by | Alec C. Snowden |
Starring | Richard Conte Rona Anderson Russell Napier Sylva Langova |
Cinematography | Josef Ambor |
Edited by | Inman Hunter Geoffrey Muller |
Music by | Trevor Duncan |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors |
Release date |
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Running time | 71 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Little Red Monkey is a 1955 British thriller film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Richard Conte, Rona Anderson and Russell Napier. [1] Detectives from Scotland Yard investigate a series of murders of leading nuclear scientists, and are intrigued by strange reports received about the crimes. The film was released in the United States by Allied Artists as TheCase of the Red Monkey.
The film was an international hit, and along with Confession (1955) proved a breakthrough for Anglo-Amalgamated. After its success the company began making more expensive productions, often hiring American stars for international appeal. [2] [3]
The film was based on a 1953 BBC Television series of the same name, written by Eric Maschwitz and produced by Bill Lyon-Shaw, which ran for six 30-minute episodes. [4] It was made by Anglo-Amalgamated at Merton Park Studios, a co-production with Anglo Guild. [5] [6]
A contemporary review in The Monthly Film Bulletin said: "Some efficient photography and editing eke out the meagre excitements". [7]
Variety wrote: “Like many British-produced pictures, it lacks American-type pace and is a routine entry in the program market. Conte portrays a U.S. State Dept. officer ... but displays little of the dash and ingenuity such a part calls for." [8]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as “average” and wrote: “Conte and direction a cut above the rest in this moderately exciting thriller". [9]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Ken Hughes honed his skills as a director of thrillers working on the Scotland Yard B-movie series. Consequently, this quota quickie has a great deal more substance and style than many of its contemporaries. ... Hughes keeps the action on the boil, while Russell Napier and Rona Anderson are fine as a Scotland Yard detective and his niece." [10]
Rona Anderson was a Scottish stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in TV series and on the stage and films throughout the 1950s. She appeared in the films Scrooge and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and on TV in Dr Finlay's Casebook and Dixon of Dock Green.
Kenneth Graham Hughes was an English film director, writer and producer. He was the co-writer and director of the children's film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). He has been called "a filmmaker whose output was consistently interesting and entertaining, and deserved more critical attention than it has received."
Anglo-Amalgamated Productions was a British film production company, run by Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy, which operated from 1945 until roughly 1971. Low-budget and second features, often produced at Merton Park Studios, formed much of its output. It was the UK distributor of many films produced by American International Pictures (AIP), who distributed AA's films in the United States.
Russell Gordon Napier was an Australian actor.
Murder Anonymous is a 1955 British crime short film directed by Ken Hughes and featuring Edgar Lustgarten, Peter Arne and Jill Bennett.
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.
A Time to Kill is a 1955 British crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Jack Watling, Rona Anderson, John Horsley, Russell Napier, Kenneth Kent, and John Le Mesurier.
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Whispering Smith Hits London is a 1952 British mystery film directed by Francis Searle and starring Richard Carlson, Greta Gynt and Herbert Lom. It was released in the United States by RKO Pictures as Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard.
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Scotland Yard is a series of 39 half-hour episodes produced by Anglo-Amalgamated. Produced between 1953 and 1961, they are short films, originally made to support the main feature in a cinema double-bill. Each film focuses on a true crime case with names changed, and feature an introduction by the crime writer Edgar Lustgarten.
The Brain Machine is a 1956 British thriller film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Maxwell Reed, Elizabeth Allan and Patrick Barr.
Confession, released in the United States as The Deadliest Sin, is a 1955 British drama film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Sydney Chaplin, Audrey Dalton and John Bentley.
Sky Murder is a 1940 detective film starring Walter Pidgeon as detective Nick Carter in his third and final outing for MGM as Nick Carter. The film was part of a trilogy based on original screen stories starring the popular literary series character. In the heightened tensions prior to World War II, Hollywood produced many films in the spy film genre such as Sky Murder.
The Dark Stairway is a 1953 British short film. It was one of a series of shorts made for British cinemas as second features in the 1950s made by Anglo-Amalgamated at the Merton Park Studios as part of the Scotland Yard film series. They are narrated by crime writer Edgar Lustgarten, and were subsequently broadcast as television episodes.