Murder Anonymous | |
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Directed by | Ken Hughes |
Screenplay by | James Eastwood Roy H. Lewis |
Produced by | Alec C. Snowden |
Starring | Edgar Lustgarten Peter Arne Jill Bennett |
Narrated by | Edgar Lustgarten |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Anglo-Amalgamated (UK) |
Release date |
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Running time | 31 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Murder Anonymous is a 1955 British crime short film directed by Ken Hughes and featuring Edgar Lustgarten, Peter Arne and Jill Bennett. [1] [2]
It was made by Anglo-Amalgamated as part of the Scotland Yard film series, as support for feature film screenings in cinemas . [3] [4]
The death of a playboy points the finger of suspicion at Bowman, in whose divorce suit the dead man had been named.
Kine Weekly wrote: "This taut mystery featurette, the latest of the highly popular real life Scotland Yard series, shows how the police unravelled a particularly tricky muider case, involving a blind man and a woman Judo expert. Edgar Lustgarten, the BBC authority, explains salient issues, and the Right Honourable Sir Travers Humphries, a former judge, gives his opinion on the finer points of law. Their contributions underline the thrills realistically presented, and put the seal on first-class crime reporting. Very good quota." [5]
Sky Movies noted "Another dip into the Merton Park Studios filing cabinet that housed their short Scotland Yard mysteries, hosted by mournful-faced criminologist Edgar Lustgarten. The director is Ken Hughes, who briskly illuminates the case in question and was later to go to on bigger - if not better – subjects, including The Trials of Oscar Wilde and Mae West's last picture, Sextette ." [6]
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.
Peter Ewen Solon was a New Zealand-born actor, who worked extensively in both the United Kingdom and Australia.
Edgar Marcus Lustgarten was a British broadcaster and noted crime writer.
Merton Park Studios, opened in 1929, was a British film production studio located at Long Lodge, 269 Kingston Road in Merton Park, South London. In the 1940s, it was owned by Piprodia Entertainment, Nikhanj Films and Film Producers Guild.
Frederick Porter Wensley served as a British police officer from 1888 until 1929, reaching the rank of chief constable of the Scotland Yard Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Serving in Whitechapel for part of his career, he was involved in street patrols during the investigation of the Jack the Ripper murders, details of which he would later publish in his memoirs in 1931. He was one of the 'Big Four', a nickname given to the four Superintendents in charge of the Metropolitan Police CID, with his murder investigations regularly published in the press. The leading prosecuting barrister Sir Richard Muir referred to him as "the greatest detective of all time".
The Drayton Case is a 1953 British short crime film produced by the Anglo-Amalgamated production company as part of their Scotland Yard film series. It was directed by Ken Hughes and is hosted by Edgar Lustgarten. It stars Hilda Barry and John Le Mesurier.
Town on Trial is a 1957 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.
The Long Dark Hall is a 1951 British mystery, suspense, courtroom-drama, crime film directed by Reginald Beck and Anthony Bushell and starring Rex Harrison, Lilli Palmer and Raymond Huntley. It was based on the 1947 novel A Case to Answer by Edgar Lustgarten. It was made at Walton Studios.
Timeslip is a 1955 British black-and-white science fiction film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Gene Nelson and Faith Domergue. Produced by Alec C. Snowden, it is based on a script by Charles Eric Maine.
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 Squeaker is a 1937 British crime film directed by William K. Howard and starring Edmund Lowe, Sebastian Shaw and Ann Todd. Edmund Lowe reprised his stage performance in the role of Inspector Barrabal. It is based on the 1927 novel The Squeaker and 1928 play of the same name by Edgar Wallace. Wallace's son Bryan Edgar Wallace worked on the film's screenplay. The Squeaker is underworld slang for an informer. The film is sometimes known by its U.S. alternative title Murder on Diamond Row.
The Clue of the New Pin is a 1961 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Allan Davis and starring Paul Daneman, Bernard Archard and James Villiers. The screenplay was by Philip Mackie, based on the 1923 Edgar Wallace novel of the same title which was previously filmed in 1929. It is part of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios from 1960 to 1965.
Little Red Monkey is a 1955 British thriller film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Richard Conte, Rona Anderson and Russell Napier. The screenplay was by Hughes and James Eastwood, based on the 1953 BBC Television series of the same name written by Eric Maschwitz.
The Sinister Man is a 1961 British crime drama film directed by Clive Donner and starring Patrick Allen and John Bentley. It was one of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries, British second-features, produced at Merton Park Studios in the 1960s.
Never Back Losers is a 1961 British 'B' crime film directed by Robert Tronson and starring Jack Hedley, Jacqueline Ellis and Patrick Magee. It was written by Lucas Heller based on the 1929 novel The Green Ribbon by Edgar Wallace. It was one of the Edgar Wallace Mysteries series, produced at Merton Park Studios in the early 1960s.
The Dark Stairway is a 1954 British short film directed and written by Ken Hughes and starring Russell Napier and Vincent Ball. It was one of the Scotland Yard series of second feature shorts made in the 1950s for British cinemas by Anglo-Amalgamated at the Merton Park Studios. The films in the series are narrated by crime writer Edgar Lustgarten, and were subsequently broadcast as television episodes.
The Malpas Mystery is a 1960 British second feature ('B') crime film, directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Maureen Swanson and Allan Cuthbertson. The screenplay was by Paul Tabori and Gordon Wellesley, based on the 1924 Edgar Wallace novel The Face in the Night.
Clue of the Twisted Candle is a 1960 British second feature crime film directed by Allan Davis and starring Bernard Lee, David Knight and Francis de Wolff. The screenplay was by Philip Mackie, based on the 1918 Edgar Wallace novel The Clue of the Twisted Candle. It is part of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios from 1960 to 1965.
Man Detained is a 1961 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Robert Tronson and starring Bernard Archard, Elvi Hale and Paul Stassino. The screenplay was by Richard Harris, based on the 1916 Edgar Wallace novel A Debt Discharged. It is part of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios from 1960 to 1965.
Attempt to Kill is a 1961 British second feature ('B') film directed by Royston Morley and starring Derek Farr and Tony Wright. The screenplay was by Richard Harris, based on the 1929 Edgar Wallace novel The Lone House Mystery. It is part of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios from 1960 to 1965.