The Long Knife

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The Long Knife
The Long Knife film Theatrical release poster (1958).png
Australian daybill poster
Directed by Montgomery Tully
Written by Ian Stuart Black
Based onnovel by Leslie Truss
Produced byJack Greenwood
Starring Joan Rice
Sheldon Lawrence
Edited by Geoffrey Muller
Color process Black and white
Production
company
Distributed by Anglo Amalgamated Film Distributors
Release date
  • August 1958 (1958-08)(UK)
Running time
57 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Long Knife is a 1958 British second feature ('B') [1] crime film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Joan Rice, Sheldon Lawrence and Victor Brooks. [2] [3] [4] It was written by Ian Stuart Black based on the 1956 novel of the same title by Leslie Truss.

Contents

Plot

Young nurse Jill Holden gets involved with an extortion gang targetting Mrs Cheam, one of her patients. Jill is implicated in a murder, and is helped by Mrs. Cheam's American lawyer Ross Waters. When Mrs. Cheam is murdered Jill becomes a suspect but is able clear herself with Ross's help. The real murderer is revealed to be a woman disguised as a man.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Well turned-out crime thriller which suffers from an unlikely nurse as a heroine and a denouement which connoisseurs of the detective story might well consider obsolete." [5]

Picture Show wrote: "Joan Rice and Sheldon Lawrence are convincing in the leading roles." [6]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Competent, lively thriller holds the interest, isn't too long." [7]

References

  1. ↑ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 100. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ↑ "The Long Knife". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  3. ↑ "BFI | Film & TV Database | The LONG KNIFE (1958)". 15 January 2009. Archived from the original on 15 January 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  4. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (12 January 2025). "Forgotten British Moguls: Nat Cohen – Part One (1905-56)". Filmink. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "The Long Knife". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 25 (288): 129. 1 January 1958. ProQuest   1305821604.
  6. ↑ "The Long Knife". Picture Show . 72 (1867): 10. 10 January 1959. ProQuest   1879631391.
  7. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 339. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
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