The Last Page | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Terence Fisher |
Written by | Frederick Knott |
Based on | the play "The Last Page" by James Hadley Chase |
Produced by | Anthony Hinds |
Starring | George Brent Marguerite Chapman Diana Dors |
Cinematography | Walter J. Harvey |
Edited by | Maurice Rootes |
Music by | Frank Spencer |
Production company | Hammer Film Productions (as "Exclusive") |
Distributed by | Lippert Pictures (USA) Exclusive Films (UK) |
Release date |
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Running time | 84 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Last Page, released in the United States as Man Bait, is a 1952 British film noir directed by Terence Fisher, starring George Brent, Marguerite Chapman and Diana Dors. [1] [2] The film was also known as Murder in Safety and Blonde Blackmail.
The film is notable for being the first Hammer film directed by Fisher, who later played a critical role in the company's immensely successful horror film cycle.
Ruby Bruce, an attractive young bookshop clerk, catches ex-con Jeff Hart trying to steal a rare book. Instead of turning him in, she accepts a date with him. Working late next day, Ruby initiates a kiss with the shop manager Harman, who responds for a moment, then stops, horrified at his behaviour. She tells Hart, who persuades Ruby to blackmail Harman, hitting her to bruise her arm, saying she can pretend that Harman did it.
When Harman refuses to pay, Hart tells Ruby to write a letter to Harman's invalid wife, who dies from a heart attack when she gets out of bed to burn the letter. Harman tells Ruby that he knows the letter was from her, and that she is responsible for his wife's death. A distraught Ruby tells Hart what has happened, and that she feels guilty about Mrs Harman's death, but Hart threatens her to demand the money from Harman anyway.
Frightened and desperate, Ruby asks Harman again for money, and he angrily gives her the £300 he and his wife had been on the point of using for treatment for her abroad. Having broken into the shop basement, Hart catches Ruby hiding part of the money and accidentally kills her as they hide from Harman, and he hides her body in a packing case. Harman discovers Ruby's body and, thinking he will be accused, flees in panic. With the help of his secretary Stella he hunts for clues to the killer. Stella tracks down Hart, but he starts a fire to kill her, just as the police and Harman arrive after a tip-off. Harman saves Stella and the police arrest Hart.
The Last Page was the first film made under a four-year production and distribution contract between Hammer and the US film distribution company Lippert Pictures. As in all of these films, the leading role was played by a well-known Hollywood actor supplied by Lippert to ensure familiarity with American audiences. [3]
Frederick Knott wrote the screenplay based on a play by James Hadley Chase.
Filming began on 9 July 1951. [4] It was the first of seven crime movies Terence Fisher would direct for Hammer. [5]
Variety said: "First half of the footage is marked by a leisurely British tempo as director Terence Fisher rather methodically establishes the characters. However, latter half is better paced as plot becomes more melodramatic and general feeling gotten across is on the plus side. London locale also is on the favorable side." [6]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan wrote: ''Efficient crime yarn could have been even better without fading Hollywood stars.'' [7]
Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film call the film "an efficient melodrama of blackmail and murder." [8]
Leslie Halliwell called the film a "curious English mystery with American stars." [9]
Filmink said "the best thing about it is Dors’ performance: lonely, put-about, hungry for love, insecure. The movie is never as good once her character disappears, but is still definitely worth seeking out if you like your low-budget British noirs." [10]
The House Across the Lake is a 1954 British film noir crime film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Alex Nicol, Hillary Brooke, Sid James and Susan Stephen. It was produced as a second feature by Hammer Films. It was released in the United States by Lippert Pictures.
A Stranger Came Home is a 1954 British film noir directed by Terence Fisher and starring Paulette Goddard, William Sylvester and Patrick Holt. It is based on the 1946 novel Stranger at Home, credited to actor George Sanders but ghostwritten by Leigh Brackett. The film was released in the United States by Lippert Pictures.
Stolen Face is a 1952 British film noir directed by Terence Fisher and starring Paul Henreid, Lizabeth Scott and André Morell. A plastic surgeon falls in love with a pianist, but she is engaged to someone else, so he remodels the face of ex-convict to resemble the pianist, and marries her.
The Shakedown is a 1959 black and white British crime-drama film directed by John Lemont, starring Terence Morgan, Hazel Court, and Donald Pleasence. A ruthless crook runs a blackmail operation, falls for an undercover cop, and is murdered by one of his victims.
Portrait of Alison is a 1956 British atmospheric crime film directed by Guy Green. It was based on a BBC television series of the same name, which aired the same year.
Wings of Danger is a 1952 British second feature crime film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Zachary Scott, Robert Beatty and Kay Kendall. The screenplay, based on the 1951 novel Dead on Course by Trevor Dudley Smith and Packham Webb, concerns a pilot who is suspected of smuggling. It was released in the United States under its working title of Dead on Course.
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Mask of Dust is a 1954 British second feature motor racing drama film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Richard Conte, Mari Aldon and Peter Illing. It was based on the 1953 novel The Last Race by Jon Manchip White. It was released in the United States by Lippert Pictures as A Race for Life.
Stolen Assignment is a 1955 British comedy 'B' film directed by Terence Fisher and starring John Bentley and Hy Hazell. It was produced by Francis Searle for Act Films Ltd and was a sequel to Fisher's Final Appointment (1954), featuring sleuthing journalists Mike Billings and Jenny Drew.
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The Last Man to Hang? is a 1956 crime film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Tom Conway and Elizabeth Sellars. It was produced by John Gossage for Act Films Ltd.
River Beat is a 1954 British second feature noir crime film directed by Guy Green and starring John Bentley, Phyllis Kirk and Leonard White. It was distributed in the United States by Lippert Pictures.
The Man Who Liked Funerals is a 1958 British 'B' comedy film directed by David Eady and starring Leslie Phillips, Susan Beaumont and Bill Fraser. It was written by Margot Bennett, Cecily Finn and Joan O'Connor.
No Trace is a 1950 British second feature crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Hugh Sinclair, Dinah Sheridan and John Laurie. A crime writer murders a blackmailer, and is then asked to help solve the case by the police.
Five Days is a 1954 British second feature film noir directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Dane Clark, Paul Carpenter and Thea Gregory.
Escape Route is a 1952 British black-and-white second feature thriller film, directed by Seymour Friedman and Peter Graham Scott, and starring George Raft, Sally Gray and Clifford Evans.
Mrs. Pym of Scotland Yard is a 1939 British comedy-drama film directed by Fred Elles starring Mary Clare in her only title role and Nigel Patrick in his film debut. It is based on the Mrs Pym novels by Nigel Morland, and written by Morland, who re-used the title for a 1946 book.