The Secret of Blood Island | |
---|---|
![]() UK theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Quentin Lawrence |
Written by | John Gilling |
Produced by | Anthony Nelson Keys |
Starring | Jack Hedley Barbara Shelley Patrick Wymark Charles Tingwell |
Cinematography | Jack Asher |
Edited by | Tom Simpson |
Music by | James Bernard |
Production company | |
Distributed by | J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (UK) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 84 min |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Secret of Blood Island (also known as P.O.W.) is a 1965 British war film directed by Quentin Lawrence and starring Jack Hedley, Barbara Shelley and Patrick Wymark. [1] [2]
The film is a prequel to the 1958 film The Camp on Blood Island .
British Prisoners of War help a wounded female agent, Elaine, to escape the Japanese during the Second World War.
The film was shot in Eastmancolor and released that way in Britain, but the U.S. prints were in black & white. [3]
The film was not as well received as Camp of Blood Island.[ citation needed ]Michael Ripper later said, "thought the story was very dodgy. I don't give a damn how hungry you are, if you haven't seen a bird in four years, or whatever it was, she'd have been stampeded, wouldn’t she? Somebody must have had the strength. I don't believe the story at all, but I must admit I had a good part in it." [4]
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Grotesquely inefficient melodrama, burdened with a ludicrous script, unconvincing settings, and Goonish impersonations of wicked Japanese from Patrick Wymark and Michael Ripper. Only Jack Hedley and Lee Montague come out of this sorry affair with any sort of credit." [5]
The Guardian called it "nasty". [6]
TV Guide called the film "fairly silly". [3]
The Radio Times called it "lurid but fairly enjoyable." [7]
Miss Robin Hood is a 1952 British comedy film directed by John Guillermin, and starring Margaret Rutherford and Richard Hearne. Other actors involved include Dora Bryan, James Robertson Justice, Peter Jones, Sid James, Reg Varney, Kenneth Connor and Michael Medwin. The film features a variety of unusual camera work such as unexpected extreme close-ups and fast motion sequences.
Barbara Shelley was an English film and television actress. She appeared in more than a hundred films and television series. She was particularly known for her work in horror films, notably Village of the Damned; Dracula, Prince of Darkness; Rasputin, the Mad Monk and Quatermass and the Pit.
The Gorgon is a 1964 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Richard Pasco and Barbara Shelley. The screenplay was by John Gilling and Anthony Nelson Keys. It was produced by Keys for Hammer Films.
The Plane Makers is a British television series created by Wilfred Greatorex and produced by Rex Firkin. ATV made three series for ITV between 1963 and 1965. It was succeeded by The Power Game, which ran for an additional three series from 1965 to 1969. Firkin continued as producer for the first two series, and David Reid took over for series 3.
Michael George Ripper was an English character actor.
Patrick Wymark was an English stage, film and television actor.
Lee Montague is an English actor noted for his roles in film and television, usually playing tough guys.
Eagle in a Cage is an Anglo-American historical drama film, released in 1971.
Boys in Brown is a 1949 black and white British drama film directed by Montgomery Tully, which depicts life in a borstal for young offenders. It stars Jack Warner, Richard Attenborough, Dirk Bogarde and Jimmy Hanley. It is based on a 1940 play by the actor Reginald Beckwith.
Blood Orange is a 1953 British crime film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Tom Conway and Mila Parély. It was released in the United States as Three Stops to Murder. A private eye investigating a jewel robbery at a London fashion house finds himself involved in a murder mystery.
The Psychopath is a 1966 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Patrick Wymark and Margaret Johnston. It was written by Robert Bloch and was an Amicus production.
Danger Route is a 1967 British spy film directed by Seth Holt for Amicus Productions and starring Richard Johnson as Jonas Wilde, Carol Lynley and Barbara Bouchet. It was based on Andrew York's 1966 novel The Eliminator that was the working title of the film.
Paul Temple's Triumph is a 1950 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley, Dinah Sheridan and Jack Livesey. It was the third in the series of four Paul Temple films made at Nettlefold Studios and was an adaptation of the Francis Durbridge radio serial News of Paul Temple (1939). Temple is on the trail of a gang of international criminals trying to steal atomic secrets.
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.
Blind Corner is a 1964 British second feature thriller film directed by Lance Comfort and starring William Sylvester, Barbara Shelley and Alexander Davion. The screenplay was by James Kelley and Peter Miller. It was produced by Tom Blakely for Mancunian Films / Blakeley's Films (Manchester) Ltd.
Solo for Sparrow is a 1962 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Gordon Flemyng and starring Glyn Houston, Anthony Newlands and Nadja Regin, with Michael Caine in an early supporting role. It was written by Roger Marshall based on the 1928 Edgar Wallace novel The Gunner, and produced by Jack Greenwood and Abhinandan Nikhanj as part of the Edgar Wallace Mysteries series.
Never Back Losers is a 1961 British 'B' crime film directed by Robert Tronson and starring Jack Hedley, Jacqueline Ellis and Patrick Magee. The film is based on the 1929 novel The Green Ribbon by Edgar Wallace. It was one of the Edgar Wallace Mysteries series, produced at Merton Park Studios in the early 1960s.
Murder at Site 3 is a 1958 British film directed by Francis Searle and starring Barbara Shelley, Geoffrey Toone and John Warwick. featuring the character of Sexton Blake. It was written by Paddy Manning O'Brine based on the 1958 novel Crime is My Business by W. Howard Baker and produced by Hammer Film Productions.
Dial 999 is a 1955 British 'B' movie crime drama film directed and written by Montgomery Tully and starring Gene Nelson, Mona Freeman and John Bentley. It was based on the novel of the same name by Bruce Graeme. Produced by Todon Productions, it was shot at the Merton Park Studios in London. RKO Radio Pictures purchased the rights to distribute it in the United States, where it was released in cut form on 11 April 1956.
Deadly Record is a 1959 British second feature crime drama directed by Lawrence Huntington, starring Lee Patterson and Barbara Shelley. It was based on the novel by Nina Warner Hooke. It aired in the US as part of the Kraft Mystery Theatre.