Shadow of a Man

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Shadow of a Man
Shadow of a Man film Opening titles (1955).png
Opening titles
Directed by Michael McCarthy
Screenplay by Paul Erickson
Produced byE.J. Fancey
Starring Paul Carpenter
Rona Anderson
Jane Griffiths
Cinematography Geoffrey Faithfull
Edited by Monica Kimick
Production
company
Release date
  • 28 February 1955 (1955-02-28)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Shadow of a Man is a 1955 British crime film directed by Michael McCarthy and starring Paul Carpenter, Rona Anderson and Jane Griffiths. [1] [2] It was written by Paul Erickson based on his play Shadow of a Man.

Contents

Premise

After a brawl in a nightclub a man is found dead at his home the following morning. It soon becomes apparent that he has been murdered, and the list of suspects seems quite small. Was it his badly treated wife, who found his dead body? Or was it the young woman with whom he'd had an affair – one of many – and who had been unaware that he was married? Or the friend of the couple who seems to be attracted to the young widow? Or is it possible that someone somehow gained to the flat entirely unseen?

An old friend of the husband turns up unexpectedly a few days later. At first defensive of his old buddy, he is shocked to discover that he was universally disliked due to his abusive and aggressive behaviour, made worse by his heavy drinking and drug taking. Still, he decides to try to find out who the killer is, a search culminating in a fight on the pier, and, it seems, another death.

Cast

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Quite a pleasant little thriller, freshly directed, mainly told within the framework by one of the protagonists, and with some competent camerawork. Paul Carpenter is efficient and the rest of the cast adequate, although Ronald Leigh Hunt gives an over-melodramatic performance. The film is aided by some good location shooting amongst the holiday crowds at Hastings." [3]

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References

  1. ↑ "Shadow of a Man". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  2. ↑ Shadow of a Man, British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "Shadow of a Man" . The Monthly Film Bulletin . 22 (252): 42. 1 January 1955 – via ProQuest.


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