The Long Memory (novel)

Last updated
The Long Memory
The Long Memory (novel).jpg
First edition (US)
Author Howard Clewes
Country United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreCrime
Publisher Macmillan (UK)
Doubleday (US)
Publication date
1951
Media typePrint

The Long Memory is a 1951 crime novel by the British writer Howard Clewes. [1] After seventeen years in prison for his role in a murder, Philip Davidson returns to his former haunt on the Kent side of the River Thames. He takes up residence in a derelict barge and plans his revenge against those who saw him sent to jail for a crime he did not commit. His progress is kept under observation by Bob Lowther, a police officer who married Davidson's girlfriend after he was convicted. Lowther has risen in the force since then, but has long had nagging doubts that his wife may have committed perjury. Davidson's bitterness against those who have wronged him is offset by his meeting of a young refugee woman who is equally an outsider in society. The story concludes with Davidson finding that the man he supposedly killed is alive and well in the Docklands of London.

Contents

Film adaptation

In 1953 it was adapted into the British film noir The Long Memory directed by Robert Hamer and starring John Mills, John McCallum and Elizabeth Sellars. [2] The film rights were acquired quickly after the book's publication by film producer Hugh Stewart. [3] The film shifted the central focus from the police officer to the victim of injustice Philip Davidson. [4]

Related Research Articles

The Minority Report 1956 science fiction novella by Philip K. Dick

"The Minority Report" is a 1956 science fiction novella by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in Fantastic Universe. In a future society, three mutants foresee all crime before it occurs. Plugged into a great machine, these "precogs" allow a division of the police called Precrime to arrest suspects before they can commit any actual crimes. When the head of Precrime, John Anderton, is himself predicted to murder a man whom he has never heard of, Anderton is convinced a great conspiracy is afoot.

<i>Biggie & Tupac</i> 2002 film

Biggie & Tupac is a 2002 feature-length documentary film about the murdered American rappers Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace and Tupac Shakur by Nick Broomfield.

Sam and Twitch Fictional NYPD homicide detectives

Sam Burke and Maximilian "Twitch" Williams are two fictional NYPD homicide detectives, created by Todd McFarlane. Sam and Twitch were originally featured in McFarlane's hit comic series Spawn. Due to their popularity, they were later given their own title in 1999, called Sam and Twitch. In their self-titled series, the duo were the protagonists in a dark and gritty New York City. The fictional universe of Sam and Twitch is somewhat different from average comics in which costumed heroes are not the norm.

<i>The Long Memory</i> 1953 film by Robert Hamer

The Long Memory is a black-and-white 1953 British crime film directed by Robert Hamer and based on the 1951 novel of the same title by Howard Clewes. Filmed on London Waterloo railway station, the North Kent Marshes on the Thames Estuary and the dingy backstreets of Gravesend, Kent, mainly Queen Street, its bleak setting and grim atmosphere have led to its acclaim as a British example of film noir.

<i>A Perfect World</i> 1993 crime drama film by Clint Eastwood

A Perfect World is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who takes a young boy hostage and attempts to escape on the road with the child. Eastwood co-stars as a Texas Ranger in pursuit of the convict.

<i>The Parole Officer</i> 2001 film by John Duigan

The Parole Officer is a 2001 British comedy film, directed by John Duigan. The film follows a diverse group of former criminals as they assist their probation officer in proving his innocence after a murder accusation.

<i>Scum</i> (television play) 1977 British film

Scum is a 1977 British television play written by Roy Minton and directed by Alan Clarke. It was intended to be screened as part of the Play for Today series. Instead the production was banned by the BBC after it was completed in 1977, and not aired until BBC 2 showed it on 27 July 1991. In the interim, a theatrical film version was released in 1979. The original version features Ray Winstone, John Blundell, David Threlfall, Martin Phillips, Phil Daniels and Davidson Knight.

<i>The Quiet Woman</i> 1951 British film

The Quiet Woman is a 1951 British crime film directed by John Gilling and based on a story by Ruth Adam, about a criminal's wife who attempts to build a new life after her husband goes to prison, only to be menaced by him when he escapes. It starred Derek Bond, Jane Hylton and Dora Bryan.

<i>Robbery Under Arms</i> (1957 film) 1957 film

Robbery Under Arms is a 1957 British crime film directed by Jack Lee and starring Peter Finch, Ronald Lewis, David McCallum, Laurence Naismith and Jill Ireland. It is based on the 1888 Australian novel Robbery Under Arms by Thomas Alexander Browne who wrote under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood.

<i>Offbeat</i> (film) 1961 film

Offbeat is a 1961 black-and-white British crime film directed by Cliff Owen and starring William Sylvester, Mai Zetterling, John Meillon and Anthony Dawson. In the film, an MI5 officer goes undercover to catch a criminal gang.

<i>One Jump Ahead</i> (film) 1955 British film

One Jump Ahead is a 1955 British crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Paul Carpenter, Diane Hart, Jill Adams and Freddie Mills. The film was based on a novel by American crime novelist Robert H. Chapman. The screenplay concerns a journalist who helps police track down the killer of a female blackmailer. The title refers to the reporter's attempts to keep "one jump ahead" of the police in solving the crime.

<i>Confession</i> (1955 film) 1955 British film

Confession, released in the United States as The Deadliest Sin, is a 1955 British drama film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Sydney Chaplin, Audrey Dalton and John Bentley.

<i>Unearthly Stranger</i> 1963 British film

Unearthly Stranger is a 1963 British science fiction film directed by John Krish and starring John Neville. It was released in the UK by Independent Artists (Production) Limited.

<i>Jungle Street</i> 1960 film

Jungle Street is a 1961 black and white British crime drama directed by Charles Saunders and starring David McCallum, Kenneth Cope, and Jill Ireland, about a young man who attempts to escape his working-class background and win the girl he loves through crime. The film was the first of three films produced by the Theatrecraft production company in the early 1960s. It was later released in the United States under the title Jungle Street Girls.

<i>The Shanghai Story</i> 1954 film by Frank Lloyd

The Shanghai Story is a 1954 American film noir crime film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Ruth Roman, Edmond O'Brien and Richard Jaeckel. It was based on a novel by Lester Yard. The film's sets were designed by the art director William Flannery. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures as one of the company's more prestigious releases.

Aimé Simard was a Canadian outlaw biker and hitman, he was a member of the Montreal Rockers Motorcycle Club, a support club for the Hells Angels. He operated on the side as a contract killer, working for the Hells Angels and other organized crime groups in Canada. He would later turn crown witness and inform on his club. The Rockers operated from 1992-Mid 2000s out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Dark Secret is a 1949 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Dinah Sheridan, Emrys Jones and Irene Handl. It was a remake of the 1933 film The Crime at Blossoms, also directed by Rogers.

<i>Flannelfoot</i> 1953 film directed by Maclean Rogers

Flannelfoot is a 1953 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Ronald Howard, Mary Germaine and Jack Watling. It was made at Walton Studios. The film's sets were designed by John Stoll.

James Humphreys (pornographer) English operator of adult book shops and strip clubs in London in the 1960s and 1970s

James William Humphreys was an English businessman and criminal who owned a chain of adult book shops and strip clubs in London in the 1960s and 1970s. He was able to run his business through the payment of large bribes to serving police officers, particularly those from the Obscene Publications Branch (OPB) of the Metropolitan Police. His diaries—which detailed meetings he had held with police officers, the venues of the meetings and the amounts of bribes paid—provided evidence for the investigation by anti-corruption officers of the Metropolitan Police.

<i>Marriage of Convenience</i> (1960 film) 1960 British film

Marriage of Convenience is a 1960 British crime film directed by Clive Donner and starring Harry H. Corbett, John Cairney and John Van Eyssen. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it is based on the 1924 novel The Three Oak Mystery.

References

  1. McFarlane p.85
  2. Goble p.86
  3. McFarlane p.85
  4. McFarlane p.87

Bibliography