Operation Diplomat (film)

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Operation Diplomat
Operation Diplomat FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by John Guillermin
Written by A. R. Rawlinson
John Guillermin
Based ona story by Francis Durbridge
Produced by Ernest G. Roy
Starring Guy Rolfe
Cinematography Gerald Gibbs
Edited byJoseph Sterling
Music by Wilfred Burns
Production
company
Nettleford
Distributed by Butcher's Film Service
Release dates
December 1953 (UK)
July 1954 (US) [1]
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Operation Diplomat is a 1953 British drama film directed by John Guillermin and produced by Ernest G. Roy. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

This was one of Guillermin's earliest films. A profile of the director calls it "perhaps the first example of prime Guillermin ... a 70-minute programmer so tautly directed that every image counts, every detail matters, every actor's movement feels perfectly timed – a true gem." [5]

Plot summary

A surgeon operating on an unknown patient discovers that he is involved in the kidnapping of a British diplomat. After his personal secretary is murdered for revealing the patient's identity the police are called in.

Cast

Critical assessments

When the film was released The Monthly Film Bulletin called it an "energetic yet improbable figure with too many points left unexplained". [6]

More recently a writer for TV Guide concluded that "this film is hard to swallow, but the non-stop action helps cover up the gaping holes in the plot", [7] and a writer for Filmink asserted that "it's crisply done". [8]

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References

  1. Drama Has Icy Locale Scott, John L. Los Angeles Times 1 July 1954: A9.
  2. "Operation Diplomat". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.
  3. OPERATION DIPLOMAT Picture Show; London Vol. 62, Iss. 1617, (Mar 27, 1954): 10
  4. Pratt, Vic; Lees, Kate (2020). "CHAPTER 3 EARLY DAYS WITH ADELPHI FILMS". In Guillermin, Mary (ed.). John Guillermin: The Man, The Myth, The Movies. Precocity Press. p. 45.
  5. Olaf Möller, "Savage Spectacles", Film Comment January/February 2014, pp. 20-21.
  6. OPERATION DIPLOMAT Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 21, Iss. 240, (Jan 1, 1954): 11.
  7. "Operation Diplomat". TV Guide.
  8. Vagg, Stephen (17 November 2020). "John Guillermin: Action Man". Filmink.