The Man Who Finally Died

Last updated

The Man Who Finally Died
Manwhodied.jpg
US release film poster
Directed by Quentin Lawrence
Written by Lewis Griefer
Louis Marks
Produced by Norman Williams
Starring Stanley Baker
Peter Cushing
Cinematography Stephen Dade
Edited by John Jympson
Music by Phillip Green
Production
company
White Cross Management
Distributed by British Lion Films
Release date
  • December 1963 (1963-12)(UK)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Man Who Finally Died is a 1963 British CinemaScope thriller film directed by Quentin Lawrence and starring Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing, Mai Zetterling and Eric Portman. [1] [2] It was based on the 1959 ITV series of the same name. The screenplay concerns a German immigrant living in Britain who receives a mysterious phone call telling him his father is not really dead. He returns to Bavaria to investigate the matter.

Contents

John Burke wrote a novelisation of the screenplay.

Plot summary

Joe Newman, formerly Joachim Deutsch, returns to his small hometown in Bavaria, after living in the UK since the outbreak of World War II. He seeks information of what has become of his father, Kurtz. He finds out that his father is dead, but that he escaped from behind the Iron Curtain, went to live with a certain Dr von Brecht, and later married a woman named Lisa. Everyone Joe approaches to find answers, including Police Inspector Hofmeister and insurance agent Brenner, is reluctant to talk and give more details concerning the circumstances of his father. Joe begins to suspect that this is a cover-up and that they all want to keep certain facts regarding his father a secret. He breaks into von Brecht's home and finds an elderly man in the attic but is knocked unconscious before being able to establish his identity. When he regains consciousness, Joe sees the old man being driven away. It is now revealed by von Brecht and Lisa that his father didn’t manage to escape two years ago, but swapped places with another escapee when mortally wounded. Meanwhile, Brenner, really a Russian agent, has kidnapped the old man and is taking him back to Russia by train. Joe then tracks them to a railway station and boards the train. Following a battle with Brenner, who falls from the moving train, Joe rescues the scientist from being abducted to the East and helps him escape from the country. [3]

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This exceedingly complicated thriller scarcely warrants the trouble in working out its plot convolutions, and the dénouement, when it comes, owes too much to a dozen earlier spy mysteries. Under Quentin Lawrences very laboured direction, a number of talented players (and several untalented ones) heave and grimace to little effect, while the music underlines every plot switch just like the bad old days." [4]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Busy adaptation of a TV serial with a convoluted plot which might have been more pacily developed and better explained." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mai Zetterling</span> Swedish actress (1925–1994)

Mai Elisabeth Zetterling was a Swedish film director, novelist and actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinrich Mann</span> German writer (1871–1950)

Luiz Heinrich Mann, best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German writer known for his socio-political novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the Prussian Academy of Arts. His fierce criticism of the growing Fascism and Nazism forced him to flee Germany after the Nazis came to power during 1933. He was the elder brother of writer Thomas Mann.

<i>Mona Lisa</i> (film) 1986 film by Neil Jordan

Mona Lisa is a 1986 British neo-noir crime drama film about an ex-convict who becomes entangled in the dangerous life of a high-class call girl. The film was written by Neil Jordan and David Leland, and directed by Jordan. It was produced by HandMade Films and stars Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, and Michael Caine.

<i>Dogville</i> 2003 film

Dogville is a 2003 arthouse experimental avant-garde film written and directed by Lars von Trier, and starring an ensemble cast led by Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Paul Bettany, Chloë Sevigny, Stellan Skarsgård, Udo Kier, Ben Gazzara, Patricia Clarkson, Harriet Andersson, and James Caan with John Hurt narrating. It is a parable that uses an extremely minimal, stage-like set to tell the story of Grace Mulligan (Kidman), a woman hiding from mobsters, who arrives in the small mountain town of Dogville, Colorado, and is provided refuge in return for physical labor.

<i>Knock on Wood</i> (film) 1954 film by Melvin Frank, Norman Panama

Knock on Wood is a 1954 American comedy film starring Danny Kaye and Mai Zetterling. Other actors in the film include Torin Thatcher, David Burns, and Leon Askin. The film was written and directed by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, with songs by Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine.

<i>Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed</i> 1969 British film by Terence Fisher

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is a 1969 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Films, starring Peter Cushing, Freddie Jones, Veronica Carlson and Simon Ward. The film is the fifth in a series of Hammer films focusing on Baron Frankenstein, who, in this entry, terrorises those around him in a bid to uncover the secrets of a former associate confined to a lunatic asylum.

<i>The Generals Daughter</i> (film) 1999 film by Simon West

The General's Daughter is a 1999 American mystery thriller film directed by Simon West from a screenplay co-written by Christopher Bertolini and William Goldman, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson DeMille. It stars John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton, Clarence Williams III, and James Woods. The plot concerns the mysterious death of the daughter of a prominent Army general. The General's Daughter received negative reviews from critics, but was a box-office success, grossing $149.7 million worldwide against an estimated budget of $60 to $95 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Portman</span> English actor

Eric Harold Portman was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in three films for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s.

<i>The Blood Beast Terror</i> 1968 British film by Vernon Sewell

The Blood Beast Terror is a 1968 British horror film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Peter Cushing, Robert Flemyng and Wanda Ventham. It was released in the UK by Tigon in February 1968, and in the United States by Pacemaker Pictures on a double-bill with Slaughter of the Vampires (1962).

<i>Sword of Sherwood Forest</i> 1960 British film by Terence Fisher

Sword of Sherwood Forest is a 1960 British Eastman Color adventure film in MegaScope directed by Terence Fisher and starring Richard Greene, Peter Cushing, Niall MacGinnis and Sarah Branch. Greene reprises the role of Robin Hood, which he played in The Adventures of Robin Hood TV series 1955–1959. It was produced by Sidney Cole and Greene for Hammer Film Productions.

<i>Only Two Can Play</i> 1962 British film by Sidney Gilliat

Only Two Can Play is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Sidney Gilliat starring Peter Sellers, Mai Zetterling and Virginia Maskell. The screenplay was by Bryan Forbes, based on the 1955 novel That Uncertain Feeling by Kingsley Amis.

<i>Golden Earrings</i> 1947 romantic spy film directed by Mitchell Leisen

Golden Earrings is a 1947 American romantic spy film made by Paramount Pictures and starring Ray Milland and Marlene Dietrich. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen and produced by Harry Tugend from a screenplay by Frank Butler, Helen Deutsch and Abraham Polonsky, based on a novel by Jolán Földes. The music score was by Victor Young and the cinematography by Daniel L. Fapp.

<i>A Prize of Gold</i> 1955 film by Mark Robson, Max Catto

A Prize of Gold is a 1955 British Technicolor film noir crime film directed by Mark Robson partly filmed in West Berlin. The film stars Richard Widmark as a United States Air Force Air Police Master Sergeant motivated by love and compassion to begin a life of crime. It was based on the 1953 novel of the same title by Max Catto.

The Romantic Age is a 1949 British drama film directed by Edmond T. Gréville. The screenplay by Peggy Barwell and Edward Dryhurst is based on the French novel Lycee des jeunes filles by Serge Véber. The film was retitled Naughty Arlette for the American release.

<i>The Ringer</i> (1952 film) 1952 British film by Guy Hamilton

The Ringer is a 1952 British mystery film directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Herbert Lom, Donald Wolfit, Mai Zetterling, Greta Gynt, William Hartnell, and Denholm Elliott. It was Hamilton's directorial debut and the third English-language sound version of Edgar Wallace's 1929 play, which in of itself was based on his 1925 novel The Gaunt Stranger. The previous adaptations had come in 1928 (silent), 1931, 1932 (Germany-Austria), and 1938.

<i>The Truth About Women</i> 1957 British film by Muriel Box

The Truth About Women is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Muriel Box and starring Laurence Harvey, Julie Harris, Mai Zetterling and Diane Cilento.

<i>Offbeat</i> (film) 1961 British film by Cliff Owen

Offbeat is a 1961 black-and-white British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Cliff Owen and starring William Sylvester, Mai Zetterling, John Meillon and Anthony Dawson. The screenplay was by Peter Barnes.

<i>Faces in the Dark</i> 1960 British film by David Eady

Faces in the Dark is a 1960 black and white British thriller film directed by David Eady and starring John Gregson, Mai Zetterling and John Ireland. The film is based on the 1952 novel Les Visages de l'ombre by Boileau-Narcejac.

<i>Tarzan</i> (2013 film) 2013 German film

Tarzan is a 2013 English-language German computer-animated action-adventure film written, directed and produced by Reinhard Klooss and released on October 17, 2013, in Russia. The film was released across early 2014 in other countries. The film stars the voices of Kellan Lutz, Spencer Locke, Anton Zetterholm, Mark Deklin, Joe Cappelletti, and Jaime Ray Newman. The screenplay was written by Reinhard Klooss, Jessica Postigo and Yoni Brenner. The film is based on the novel Tarzan of the Apes (1912) by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The film grossed $44 million worldwide despite receiving predominantly negative reviews from critics. Tarzan was released in Germany by one of its production companies, Constantin Film. International sales were handled by Summit Entertainment.

<i>Fear Is the Key</i> (film) 1972 film by Michael Tuchner based on the 1961 novel

Fear Is the Key is a 1972 British action thriller film directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Barry Newman and Suzy Kendall. It is based on the 1961 novel of the same title by Alistair MacLean. It was the feature film debut of Ben Kingsley. The soundtrack is by Roy Budd.

References

  1. ↑ "The Man Who Finally Died". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  2. ↑ BFI.org
  3. ↑ "The Man Who Finally Died". Turner Classic Movies.
  4. ↑ "The Man Who Finally Died". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 30 (348): 173. 1 January 1963 – via ProQuest.
  5. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 649. ISBN   0586088946.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.