The Bay of St Michel

Last updated

The Bay of St Michel
Directed byJohn Ainsworth
Written byChristopher Davis
Produced byMichael Williams
Starring Keenan Wynn
Mai Zetterling
Ronald Howard
CinematographySteven Dade
Edited byTristam Cones
Production
company
Release date
  • 1963 (1963)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Bay of St Michel (also known as The Bay of Saint Michael, Pattern for Plunder and Operation Mermaid [1] ) is a 1963 British second feature ('B') [2] film directed by John Ainsworth and starring Keenan Wynn, Mai Zetterling, Ronald Howard and Rona Anderson. [3] It was written by Christopher Davis.

Contents

Plot

A trio of World War 2 veterans reunite to search for a lost Nazi fortune.

Cast

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "An unsophisticated but quickly-moving little adventure melodrama on a hackneyed theme, which is well enough acted and has the advantage of some good location work. It owes much to its ingenious script, contrived and rather too dependent on coincidence though it be; speed, surprise and the sudden twist at the end largely help to cover these deficiencies." [4]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Uninspired hokum programmer." [5]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, calling it an "unassuming little thriller." [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Howard (British actor)</span> British actor (1918–1996)

Ronald Howard was an English actor and writer. He appeared as Sherlock Holmes in a weekly television series of the same name in 1954. He was the son of the actor Leslie Howard.

<i>The Silent Enemy</i> (1958 film) 1958 British action film by William Fairchild

The Silent Enemy is a black and white 1958 British action film directed by William Fairchild and starring Laurence Harvey, Dawn Addams, Michael Craig and John Clements. Based on Marshall Pugh's 1956 book Commander Crabb, the film follows the publicity created by Lionel Crabb's mysterious disappearance and likely death during a Cold War incident 2 years earlier .The film depicts events in Gibraltar harbour during the World War II Italian frogman and manned torpedo attacks, although the film's depiction of the events is highly fictionalised. It was the first Universal Pictures film in SuperScope.

<i>Only Two Can Play</i> 1962 British film by Sidney Gilliat

Only Two Can Play is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Sidney Gilliat starring Peter Sellers, Mai Zetterling and Virginia Maskell. The screenplay was by Bryan Forbes, based on the 1955 novel That Uncertain Feeling by Kingsley Amis.

<i>Bottoms Up</i> (1960 film) 1960 British film by Mario Zampi

Bottoms Up is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Mario Zampi, and starring Jimmy Edwards in a spin-off of his TV comedy series Whack-O!, playing the seedy, alcoholic, cane-wielding headmaster of Chiselbury School, a fictional British public school. The screenplay was by Michael Pertwee, with additional dialogue by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.

<i>The Gentle Sex</i> 1943 British film by Leslie Howard

The Gentle Sex is a 1943 British black-and-white romantic comedy-drama war film, directed by Leslie Howard and Maurice Elvey and narrated by Howard. It was produced by Concanen Productions, Two Cities Films, and Derrick de Marney. It was Howard's last film before his death.

<i>Dance Little Lady</i> 1954 British film by Val Guest

Dance, Little Lady is a 1954 British drama film directed by Val Guest and starring Terence Morgan, Mai Zetterling, Guy Rolfe and Mandy Miller. The screenplay was by Guest and Doreen Montgomery from a story by R. Howard Alexander and Alfred Dunning.

<i>The Truth About Women</i> 1957 British film by Muriel Box

The Truth About Women is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Muriel Box and starring Laurence Harvey, Julie Harris, Mai Zetterling and Diane Cilento.

<i>Home to Danger</i> 1951 British film directed by Terefnce Fisher

Home to Danger is a 1951 British second feature film noir crime film directed by Terence Fisher starring Guy Rolfe, Rona Anderson and Stanley Baker.

<i>Girl in the Headlines</i> 1963 British film by Michael Truman

Girl in the Headlines is a 1963 British detective film directed by Michael Truman and starring Ian Hendry, Ronald Fraser, Jeremy Brett, and Jane Asher. It is based on the 1961 novel The Nose on my Face by actor Laurence Payne.

<i>Just My Luck</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film by John Paddy Carstairs

Just My Luck is a 1957 British sports comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Norman Wisdom, Margaret Rutherford, Jill Dixon and Leslie Phillips.

<i>Devils of Darkness</i> 1965 British horror film by Lance Comfort

Devils of Darkness is a 1965 British horror film directed by Lance Comfort and starring William Sylvester, Hubert Noël and Carole Gray. It was written by Lyn Fairhurst. It was the last feature film directed by Comfort.

<i>Offbeat</i> (film) 1961 British film by Cliff Owen

Offbeat is a 1961 black-and-white British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Cliff Owen and starring William Sylvester, Mai Zetterling, John Meillon and Anthony Dawson. The screenplay was by Peter Barnes.

<i>Faces in the Dark</i> 1960 British film by David Eady

Faces in the Dark is a 1960 black and white British thriller film directed by David Eady and starring John Gregson, Mai Zetterling and John Ireland. The screenplay was by Ephraim Kogan and John Tully film is based on the 1952 novel Les Visages de l'ombre by Boileau-Narcejac.

<i>The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery</i> 1950 mystery film by Paul L. Stein

The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery, also known as Murder on the Air, is a 1950 British second feature comedy crime film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Robert Beatty, Rona Anderson, and Clifford Evans. The film is a hybrid: the Twenty Questions sections take place in a studio recording of the BBC radio programme with the regular panellists and presenter. This is threaded into the plot as the clues trigger a series of murders, each linked to the clue.

<i>The Spiders Web</i> (1960 film) 1960 British film by Godfrey Grayson

The Spider's Web is a 1960 British mystery film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Glynis Johns, John Justin, Cicely Courtneidge and Jack Hulbert. It was adapted by Albert G. Miller and Eldon Howard from the 1954 play Spider's Web by Agatha Christie, and was a rare Technicolor 'A' feature from the Danzigers.

<i>Alias John Preston</i> 1955 British film by David MacDonald

Alias John Preston is a 1955 British 'B' thriller film directed by David MacDonald and starring Christopher Lee, Betta St. John and Alexander Knox. A mysterious and wealthy man moves to a small village where he outwardly appears to be a friendly figure but nurses a dangerous secret.

<i>The Man Who Finally Died</i> 1963 British film by Quentin Lawrence

The Man Who Finally Died is a 1963 British CinemaScope thriller film directed by Quentin Lawrence and starring Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing, Mai Zetterling and Eric Portman. It was based on the 1959 ITV series of the same name. The screenplay concerns a German immigrant living in Britain who receives a mysterious phone call telling him his father is not really dead. He returns to Bavaria to investigate the matter.

<i>An Honourable Murder</i> 1960 British film by Godfrey Grayson

An Honourable Murder is a 1960 British second feature ('B') drama film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Norman Wooland, Margaretta Scott and Lisa Daniely. It was written by Brian Clemens and Eldon Howard and produced by The Danzigers.

<i>The Sinister Man</i> 1961 British film by Clive Donner

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.

<i>The Human Jungle</i> (TV series) British TV drama series (1963–1965)

The Human Jungle is a British TV series about a psychiatrist, made for ABC Weekend TV by Independent Artists.

References

  1. Falk, Quentin (1987). The golden gong : fifty years of the Rank Organisation, its films and its stars. Columbus Books. p. 199.
  2. Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 244. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  3. "The Bay of St Michel". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  4. "The Bay of St Michel" . The Monthly Film Bulletin . 30 (348): 129. 1 January 1963 via ProQuest.
  5. Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 81. ISBN   0586088946.
  6. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 75. ISBN   9780992936440.