The Strange Awakening

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The Strange Awakening
The Strange Awakening film Theatrical release poster (1958).png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Montgomery Tully
Screenplay byJ. McLaren Ross
Based onnovel Puzzle for Fiends by Hugh Wheeler (as Patrick Quentin) [1]
Produced by Alec C. Snowden
Starring Lex Barker
Carole Mathews
Lisa Gastoni
Peter Dyneley
Cinematography Philip Grindrod
Edited by Geoffrey Muller
Music byRichard Taylor
Production
company
Distributed byCinema Associates
Release date
  • 13 April 1958 (1958-04-13)(UK)
Running time
79 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Strange Awakening (U.S. title: Female Fiends) is a 1958 British second feature [2] film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Lex Barker and Carole Mathews. [3] It was written by J. McLaren Ross based on the 1946 novel Puzzle for Fiends by Hugh Wheeler (as Patrick Quentin).

Contents

Plot

Motoring in the South of France, Peter Chance picks up a hitchhiker, and is attacked and left unconscious. Awaking in a villa with no memory of his identity, he is told by a woman claiming to be his mother that he is the heir to a fortune. When police investigate the death of his "father" Chance becomes suspicious and starts to investigate.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A summary of the plot does not do justice to this gripping version of the amnesia theme. The modest production successfully creates an atmosphere and the acting, though unremarkable, is always competent. A good 'B' melodrama." [4]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "good", writing: "Genuinely atmospheric suspense film." [5]

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References

  1. ↑ Goble, Alan (1 January 1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN   9783110951943 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 400. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  3. ↑ "The Strange Awakening". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "The Strange Awakening". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 25 (288): 64. 1 January 1958 – via ProQuest.
  5. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 380. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
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