The Lamp in Assassin Mews

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The Lamp in Assassin Mews
The Lamp in Assassin Mews film Theatrical release poster (1962).png
U.K. theatrical release poster
Directed by Godfrey Grayson
Written byMark Grantham (as M.M. McCormick)
Produced byBrian Taylor
Starring
Cinematography Lionel Banes
Edited byJohn Dunsford
Music by Bill LeSage
Production
company
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • 1962 (1962)
Running time
65 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Lamp in Assassin Mews is a 1962 British black comedy second feature ('B') [1] crime film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Francis Matthews, Lisa Daniely and Ian Fleming. [2] [3] It was written by Mark Grantham (as M.M. McCormick).

Contents

The film's plot concerns opposition to a local council's plans to modernise an area, which includes murder. [4]

Plot

Modernising council leader Jack Norton becomes the target of a couple of elderly serial killers when he supports plans to remove the last gas lamp in their street. Ultimately a compromise is reached: the lamp remains, but with an electric bulb.

Cast

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A curious blend of romance and comedy tinged with drama, the story is puerile, and many might feel that the murderous old pair, likeable though they may be, are not at all funny. Undeniably this sort of macabre comedy has been done successfully before, but here it does not come off. The musical score makes extensive use of a motif which appeared briefly in Three Spare Wives ." [5]

In the Radio Times , David Parkinson wrote: "Francis Matthews demonstrates his flair for genteel farce in this ghoulish comedy. He plays council leader Jack Norton, who is determined to modernise his London borough, and plans to remove the city's last gas streetlight from outside his home on Assassin Mews. However, his elderly neighbours (Amy Dalby and Ian Fleming) plot to stop him by any means necessary. Dalby and Fleming are splendidly dotty in the Arsenic and Old Lace -style subplot, which involves a trio of missing vacuum-cleaner salesmen. Less agreeable is the romance between Matthews and Lisa Daniely as the leader of the anti-modernisation campaign, which involves too many complications and plot contortions to convince. Nevertheless, this Danziger production has a likeable Ealing vibe and should interest fans of Matthews who know him better as Paul Temple and the voice of Captain Scarlet." [6]

In their book The British 'B' Film, Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane call the film "a sub-Ealing crime comedy." [1]

References

  1. 1 2 Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 156. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ↑ "The Lamp in Assassin Mews". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  3. ↑ "The Lamp in Assassin Mews (1962)". BFI. Archived from the original on 19 January 2009.
  4. ↑ "The Lamp in Assassin Mews". britmovie.co.uk.
  5. ↑ "The Lamp in Assassin Mews". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 29 (336): 140. 1 January 1962. ProQuest   1305824058.
  6. ↑ Parkinson, David. "The Lamp in Assassin Mews". Radio Times . Retrieved 30 December 2025.
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