Mantrap (1953 film)

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Mantrap
Mantrap 1953 film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Terence Fisher
Written byTerence Fisher
Paul Tabori
Based onthe novel "Queen in Danger" by Trevor Dudley-Smith
Produced by Michael Carreras
Alexander Paal
Starring Paul Henreid
Lois Maxwell
Kieron Moore
Hugh Sinclair
Kay Kendall
Cinematography Reginald H. Wyer
Edited by James Needs
Music by Doreen Carwithen
Production
company
Distributed by United Artists (USA)
Exclusive Films (UK)
Release date
  • 10 March 1953 (1953-03-10)(UK)
Running time
73 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Mantrap, released in the United States as Man in Hiding, is a 1953 British second feature [1] whodunit directed by Terence Fisher, starring Paul Henreid and Lois Maxwell. [2] It was written by Fisher and Paul Tabori based on the 1952 novel Queen in Danger by Trevor Dudley-Smith.

Contents

Plot

A falsely convicted murderer escapes prison to seek out the real killer and to clear his name.

Cast

Production

The film was made by Hammer Films and shot at the Bray Studios and on location in London, mostly near St Paul's Cathedral.[ citation needed ]

Paul Henreid previously starred in Stolen Face (1952), also directed by Fisher, for similarly low salary and royalties. [3]

Critical reception

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Good cast adrift in an archly contrived thriller." [4]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Paul Henreid, that oily smoothie from Casablanca [1942] and Now, Voyager [1942], here washes up in the torrid, tawdry, cheapskate world of the British quota quickie. Lois Maxwell plays a wife who changes her name and begins a new life after her husband is convicted of murder. When he escapes, she goes to private detective Henreid for help. Maxwell later found fame as Miss Moneypenny in the Bond films." [5]

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References

  1. ↑ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 80. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ↑ "Mantrap". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Henreid, Paul; Fast, Julius (1984). Ladies man : an autobiography. St. Martin's Press. p. 200.
  4. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 344. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
  5. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 590. ISBN   9780992936440.


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