Shadow of the Past

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Shadow of the Past
Shadow of the Past film Theatrical release poster (1950-2).jpg
British trade ad
Directed by Mario Zampi
Written by
Story byAldo De Benedetti
Produced byMae Murray (Associate producer)
Starring
Cinematography Hone Glendinning
Edited byGiulio Zampi
Music by Stanley Black
Production
company
Mario Zampi Productions (as Anglofilm)
Distributed by Columbia Pictures Corporation (UK)
Release date
  • 4 September 1950 (1950-09-04)(UK)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Shadow of the Past (also known as Lady in Black [1] ) is a 1950 British crime film directed by Mario Zampi and starring Joyce Howard, Terence Morgan, and Michael Medwin. [1] [2] The screenplay, by Aldo De Benedetti and Ian Stuart Black, involves a man who catches sight of a woman believed by everyone to be dead.

Contents

Plot

In an apartment unused for two years, John Harding sees a mysterious woman dressed in black. He later discovers that the woman looks identical to the apartment owner's wife, thought to have died in a car accident. It transpires that she is in fact the late wife's sister, and tha the wife had not died in an accident: she was murdered by her husband.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Although the melodrama is slow moving and artificial, curiosity is maintained since the secrets of the plot are kept to the end." [3]

Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture has little reason and less logic, but its cast and camera are used to advantage and between them they create a good atmosphere of mystery." [4]

Picturegoer wrote: "Terence Morgan does quite a good job as the forthright and gallant hero, and Joyce Howard flits to and fro elegantly as the shadowy heroine. But it is the cameraman, rather than the cast, who creates what tension there is and puts a few thrills into the climax. A cut above average crime-fiction, it has a strong appeal for women." [5]

Picture Show wrote: "It is a little confusing but is efficiently acted and directed." [6]

TV Guide gave the film two out of four stars and described it as a "modest murder mystery... Tightly paced with several highly tense sequences." [7]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Modest but quite tense; twists in the plot are well concealed." [8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Shadow of the Past". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  2. ↑ "Shadow of the Past". BFI. Archived from the original on 19 January 2009.
  3. ↑ "Shadow of the Past". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 17 (193): 105. 1 January 1950. ProQuest   1305818833.
  4. ↑ "Shadow of the Past". Kine Weekly . 400 (2248): 20. 1 June 1950. ProQuest   2738575356.
  5. ↑ "Shadow of the Past". Picturegoer . 20: 17. 0 September 1950. ProQuest   1705087615.{{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ↑ "Shadow of the Past". Picture Show . 55 (1436): 12. 7 October 1950. ProQuest   1880316242.
  7. ↑ "Shadow Of The Past". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 373. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
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