The Dark Light | |
---|---|
Directed by | Vernon Sewell |
Written by | Vernon Sewell |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Moray Grant |
Edited by | Francis Bieber |
Music by | Frank Spencer |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Exclusive Films (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Dark Light is a 1951 British second feature [1] thriller film directed and written by Vernon Sewell and starring Albert Lieven, David Greene and Norman Macowan. [2]
The crew of a lighthouse take in what they assume to be the survivors of a shipwreck, but who turn out to be criminals on the run after a bank robbery.
It was filmed at a rented country estate in Gilston and on location around Portsmouth. [1] : 77 Sewell used his own boat. [3]
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A good setting and an adequate idea are wasted in a film which suffers from incoherent plot development, clumsy handling, and generally indifferent performances." [4]
The Radio Times called it "dismal" writing: " 'Quota quickie' veteran Vernon Sewell gets matters off to a promising start as a desperate gang of bank robbers are rescued from the stormy sea by a lighthouse crew. By tossing away the dramatic possibilities of the claustrophobic setting, however, he is unable to sustain more than a modicum of tension as the crew begin scheming to keep the swag for themselves, rather than let justice take its course." [5]
Sleeping Car to Trieste is a 1948 British comedy thriller film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Jean Kent, Albert Lieven, Derrick De Marney and Rona Anderson. It was shot at Denham Studios outside London. The film's sets were designed by the art director Ralph Brinton. It is a remake of the 1932 film Rome Express.
Albert Lieven was a German actor.
Strongroom is a 1962 British crime drama film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Derren Nesbitt, Colin Gordon and Ann Lynn. A group of criminals lock two bank employees in a safe during a robbery.
Home and Away is a 1956 British drama film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison. It depicts the life of an ordinary working-class man after he wins the football pools. The film reunited Warner and Harrison who had previously appeared together in the Huggetts series of films.
Vernon Campbell Sewell was a British film director, writer, producer and, briefly, an actor.
Burke & Hare, sometimes called Burke and Hare or The Horrors of Burke and Hare, is a 1972 horror film, directed by Vernon Sewell, and starring Derren Nesbitt, Harry Andrews, and Glynn Edwards. It is based on the true life story of the Burke and Hare murders, and was the last film to be directed by Vernon Sewell. Typically for its time, the film is considerably more sexual that most of its counterparts, and much of the plot focusses on brothel activities.
The Phantom Light is a 1935 British crime film, a low-budget "quota quickie" directed by Michael Powell and starring Binnie Hale, Gordon Harker, Donald Calthrop, Milton Rosmer and Ian Hunter. The screenplay concerns criminals who try to scare a new chief lighthouse keeper on the Welsh coast, in an attempt to distract him from their scheme.
Where There's a Will is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Kathleen Harrison, George Cole and Leslie Dwyer. The screenplay was written by R. F. Delderfield who adapted one of his own plays. A family from east London take over a farm in the Devon countryside.
I Believe in You is a 1952 British drama film directed by Michael Relph and Basil Dearden, starring Celia Johnson and Cecil Parker and is based on the book Court Circular by Sewell Stokes. Inspired by the recently successful The Blue Lamp (1950), Relph and Dearden used a semi-documentary approach in telling the story of the lives of probation officers and their charges.
The Amorous Prawn, also known as The Amorous Mr. Prawn, is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring Ian Carmichael, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker. The film was based on a 1959 farcical play by Kimmins.
Tread Softly Stranger is a 1958 British crime drama directed by Gordon Parry and starring Diana Dors, George Baker and Terence Morgan. The film was shot in black-and-white in film noir style, and its setting in an industrial town in northern England mirrors the kitchen sink realism movement coming into vogue in English drama and film at the time. The screenplay was adapted from the stage play Blind Alley (1953) by Jack Popplewell.
Johnny, You're Wanted is a 1956 British crime second feature film, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring John Slater and Alfred Marks. It was based on the 1953 BBC television series of the same name which also starred Slater. The film features strongwoman Joan Rhodes performing her stage act.
The Black Widow is a 1951 British second feature thriller film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Christine Norden and Robert Ayres. It was a Hammer Film production and was based on the radio serial Return from Darkness.
The Green Cockatoo is a 1937 British drama film directed by William Cameron Menzies and starring John Mills, Rène Ray, and Robert Newton. It was adapted from a story by Graham Greene and shot at Denham Studios. It tells the story of an innocent young woman who arrives in London looking for work and, pursued by both criminals and police, is involved in a headlong series of fights and flights.
Strictly for the Birds is a 1964 British second feature comedy film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Tony Tanner, Joan Sims and Graham Stark. Terry Blessing seems to be having a lucky day, winning at gambling, until a woman with whom he'd had an assignation six years previously phones him and claims her child is his son.
The Man in the Back Seat is a 1961 British second feature crime film, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Derren Nesbitt and Keith Faulkner. The film is based on an Edgar Wallace story.
The Lighthouse by the Sea is a 1924 American silent adventure film produced by and distributed by Warner Bros. The film's star is canine sensation Rin Tin Tin, the most famous animal actor of the 1920s. The film was directed by Malcolm St. Clair.
House of Mystery is a 1961 British supernatural mystery film. It was based on a play director Vernon Sewell had filmed three times before The Medium. It was known in Germany as Das Landhaus des Dr. Lemming, and because of its compact running time, aired in the U.S. as an episode of the TV series "Kraft Mystery Theatre".
Dangerous Voyage is a 1954 British second feature mystery crime film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring William Lundigan, Naomi Chance and Vincent Ball. It was distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated in the UK, and in the United States by Lippert Pictures.
Wrong Number is a 1959 British second feature crime film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Peter Reynolds, Lisa Gastoni and Olive Sloane.