The Star Reporter | |
---|---|
Directed by | Michael Powell |
Written by | Ralph Smart Philip MacDonald |
Produced by | Jerome Jackson |
Starring | Harold French Garry Marsh |
Cinematography | Geoffrey Faithfull |
Distributed by | Film Engineering |
Release date |
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Running time | 44 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Star Reporter is a 1932 British crime drama, directed by Michael Powell and starring Harold French and Garry Marsh. The screenplay was adapted from a story by popular thriller writer Philip MacDonald.
The Star Reporter is one of eleven quota quickies directed by Powell between 1931 and 1936 of which no print is known to survive. The film is not held in the BFI National Archive, and is classed as "missing, believed lost". [1]
Powell later recalled that the film was brought in on a budget of £3,700, and that he had rented a hand-held camera for £8 and travelled to Southampton to film a docking ocean liner for use in an intercut scene. He said "The Star Reporter was fun and I was not ashamed of it". The film was shown in the UK as the support feature to the Jean Harlow vehicle Platinum Blonde , and Powell also remembered his amusement when a critic observed sniffily that his film lacked the polish of the main feature, reasoning that this was perhaps to be expected when comparing his budget with the $600,000 which had reportedly been spent on the Harlow picture. [1]
Major Starr (French) is an ambitious newspaper reporter who has taken undercover employment as chauffeur to Lady Susan Loman (Isla Bevan) in the hope of witnessing high-society goings-on which he can use in a feature article he is planning. Lady Susan's father Lord Longbourne (Spencer Trevor) meanwhile is experiencing financial embarrassment, and is persuaded by professional criminal Mandel (Marsh) to conspire in an insurance scam whereby Mandel will steal a diamond belonging to Lady Susan from the West End jeweller where it is currently on display, Longbourne will claim the cash and Mandel will return the diamond to him for a cut of the proceeds.
Mandel steals the diamond in an audacious smash-and-grab raid but the crime is witnessed by Starr and Lady Susan, who happen to be passing at the time. Starr heads off in pursuit of Mandel and corners him on a rooftop. There is a struggle and Mandel falls to his death. With the scam foiled and the diamond retrieved, Starr proposes to Lady Susan, who is happy to accept.
Surviving contemporary reviews indicate a positive reception for the film. Today's Cinema assessed it as: "cleverly directed on the lines of swift action, snappy dialogue and varied settings", while the London Evening News reviewer enthused: "'At the end of a long and not very inspiring day of seeing new films, I saw a little picture Star Reporter which jolted my tired brain into renewed enthusiasm. Star Reporter packs into three-quarters of an hour as much story as most films that last an hour and a half...(it) tells an exciting crook story with a smoothness of direction and a crispness of acting and cutting which would be a credit to the most ambitious picture." [1] Picturegoer Weekly predicted, wrongly as it turned out: "It is all very ingenious and is chiefly notable for the introduction of Isla Bevan, a new star, who looks like making good" (Bevan's film career in fact encompassed only five more programmers, and was over by 1936) [2] and added "the picture generally is quite fairly entertaining, if one is not too critical". [3]
Black Narcissus is a 1947 British psychological drama film jointly written, directed and produced by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and starring Deborah Kerr, Sabu, David Farrar, and Flora Robson, and featuring Esmond Knight, Jean Simmons, and Kathleen Byron.
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The year 1945 in film involved some significant events. With 1945 being the last year of World War II, the many films released this year had themes of patriotism, sacrifices, and peace. In the United States, there were more than eighteen thousand movie theatres operating in 1945, a figure that grew by a third from a decade earlier.
The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.
The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first American full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Jean Harlow was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the pre-Code era of American cinema. Often nicknamed the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde", Harlow was popular for her "Laughing Vamp" screen persona. Harlow was in the film industry for only nine years, but she became one of Hollywood's biggest movie stars, whose image in the public eye has endured. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Harlow number 22 on its greatest female screen legends list.
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Paper Orchid is a 1949 British crime film directed by Roy Ward Baker, with a script written by Val Guest. It featured Hugh Williams, Hy Hazell and Garry Marsh, and was based on the 1948 novel of the same title by Arthur La Bern. It featured an early film appearance by Sid James, who later found success through the Carry On series.
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Geoffrey Faithfull B.S.C., was a British cinematographer who worked on more than 190 feature films from starting in the industry in the 1910s. Faithfull also directed two films: For You Alone (1945) and I'll Turn to You (1946). He worked on several films with Michael Powell and among his later work was responsible for the 1960 SF classic Village of the Damned.
Squadron Leader X is a 1943 British World War II spy drama directed by Lance Comfort and starring Eric Portman and Ann Dvorak. The screenplay was adapted by Miles Malleson and Wolfgang Wilhelm from a short story by Emeric Pressburger. Unfortunately, the BFI National Archive currently considered this film as "missing, believed lost".
Walter Percy Day O.B.E. (1878–1965) was a British painter best remembered for his work as a matte artist and special effects technician in the film industry. Professional names include W. Percy Day; Percy Day; "Pop" or "Poppa" Day, owing to his collaboration with sons Arthur George Day (1909–1952) draughtsman, Thomas Sydney Day (1912–1985), stills photographer and cameraman, and stepson, Peter Ellenshaw, who also worked in this field.