The Trunk

Last updated

The Trunk
"The Trunk".jpg
Original 1961 poster
Directed by Donovan Winter
Screenplay byDonovan Winter
Story byEdward Abraham
Valerie Abraham
Produced byLawrence Huntington
Starring Philip Carey
Julia Arnall
Dermot Walsh
Cinematography Norman Warwick
Edited by Reginald Beck
Music by John Fox
Production
company
Donwin Films
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • 13 February 1961 (1961-02-13)(United Kingdom)
  • 6 September 1961 (1961-09-06)(United States)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Trunk is a low budget, black and white 1961 British mystery film directed by Donovan Winter and starring Phil Carey, Julia Arnall and Dermot Walsh. [1]

Contents

Plot

Trouble ensues when Lisa marries Henry, a British lawyer. Lisa's jealous ex-boyfriend Stephen decides to take revenge by convincing her that she has killed Diane, her husband's ex-girlfriend. Lisa gives Stephen the money he wants to keep quiet and dispose of the corpse. Unfortunately, the dead woman's other ex-lover, Nicholas, sees the two together. After getting his money from Lisa, Stephen puts Diane's body in a trunk and drives to an isolated area. There he discovers that the woman is not feigning death; she has been killed by the jealous Nicholas, in a manner that will incriminate Stephen.

Cast

Critical reception

Monthly Film Bulletin said "Frame-ups, red herrings, theatrical atmosphere and a twist ending, all equally unbelievable, add up to a utility piece of melodramatic nonsense, nowhere really clever enough to arouse much enthusiasm." [2]

TV Guide wrote, "the movie is badly produced and too seamy for its own good." [3]

In The New York Times , Bosley Crowther wrote, "now that the British are importing American actors to commit homicide in their low-budget movies, they seem to have lost their flair." Crowther called it a "foolish melodrama" that is "several kilometers removed from Agatha Christie." [4]

Sky Movies called it a "creepy little thriller" that is "hugely enjoyable. The director doesn't miss a trick at tightening up the suspense." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Peck</span> American actor (1916–2003)

Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bosley Crowther</span> American film critic (1905–1981)

Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews were criticized as unnecessarily harsh. Crowther was an advocate of foreign-language films in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly those of Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Ingmar Bergman, and Federico Fellini.

<i>The Bobo</i> 1967 British film by Robert Parrish

The Bobo is a 1967 British comedy film directed by Robert Parrish and starring Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland. It was written by David R. Schwartz, based on the 1959 novel Olimpia by Burt Cole, also known as Thomas Dixon.

<i>The Devil Thumbs a Ride</i> 1947 film by Felix E. Feist

The Devil Thumbs a Ride is a 1947 American film noir directed by Felix E. Feist and featuring Lawrence Tierney, Ted North, Nan Leslie and Betty Lawford. It was produced and distributed by RKO Pictures.

<i>The Man I Love</i> (1947 film) 1947 film by Raoul Walsh

The Man I Love is a 1947 American film noir melodrama directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Andrea King and Bruce Bennett. Produced and distributed by Warner Brothers, the film is based on the novel Night Shift by Maritta M. Wolff. The title is taken from the George and Ira Gershwin song "The Man I Love", which is prominently featured.

<i>Whistle Down the Wind</i> (film) 1961 British film by Bryan Forbes

Whistle Down the Wind is a 1961 British crime drama film directed by Bryan Forbes and starring Hayley Mills, Bernard Lee and Alan Bates. It was adapted by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall from the 1958 novel of the same name by Mary Hayley Bell.

<i>Bon Voyage!</i> (1962 film) 1962 film by James Neilson

Bon Voyage! is a 1962 American comedy film directed by James Neilson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It stars Fred MacMurray, Jane Wyman, Deborah Walley, Tommy Kirk, and Kevin Corcoran as the Willard family on a European holiday.

<i>Out of the Shadow</i> (1961 film) 1961 British film by Michael Winner

Out of the Shadow is a 1961 British thriller film directed and written by Michael Winner and starring Terence Longdon, Donald Gray, Diane Clare, Robertson Hare and Dermot Walsh.

<i>The Wild and the Willing</i> 1962 British film by Ralph Thomas

The Wild and the Willing is a 1962 British romantic drama film, directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Virginia Maskell, Paul Rogers, and Samantha Eggar. It is the film debuts of Ian McShane, John Hurt, and Samantha Eggar. It was written by Nicholas Phipps and Mordecai Richler based on the 1960 play The Tinker by Laurence Doble and Robert Sloman.

<i>The Crowning Touch</i> 1959 British film by David Eady

The Crowning Touch is a 1959 British comedy film directed by David Eady and starring Ted Ray, Irene Handl and Greta Gynt.

<i>The Vicious Circle</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film

The Vicious Circle is a 1957 British thriller film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring John Mills, Noelle Middleton, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Lionel Jeffries. It was written by Francis Durbridge based on his TV serial My Friend Charles (1956). The screenplay concerns a leading Harley Street specialist who is forced to work with the police to nail a gang of international criminals, after being falsely accused of murder.

<i>Torment</i> (1950 British film) 1950 British film by John Guillermin

Torment is a 1950 British second feature thriller film directed by John Guillermin and starring Dermot Walsh, Rona Anderson and John Bentley.

<i>The Inspector</i> (1962 film) 1962 film by Philip Dunne

The Inspector is a 1962 CinemaScope DeLuxe Color British-American drama film directed by Philip Dunne, starring Stephen Boyd and Dolores Hart. Hart plays Lisa Held, a Dutch-Jewish girl who has survived the horror of Auschwitz concentration camp.

<i>The Challenge</i> (1960 film) 1960 British film by John Gilling

The Challenge, released as It Takes a Thief in the United States, is a 1960 British neo noir crime film directed and written by John Gilling and starring Jayne Mansfield and Anthony Quayle.

<i>The Breaking Point</i> (1961 film) 1961 British film by Lance Comfort

The Breaking Point is a 1961 second feature British crime film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Peter Reynolds, Dermot Walsh, Joanna Dunham and Lisa Gastoni. The screenplay was by Peter Lambert based on the 1957 novel by Laurence Meynell.

<i>At the Stroke of Nine</i> 1957 British film by Lance Comfort

At the Stroke of Nine is a 1957 British crime film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Patricia Dainton, Stephen Murray, Patrick Barr and Dermot Walsh. A female journalist is kidnapped by a madman who forces her to write articles about him and threatens to kill her.

<i>Mark of the Phoenix</i> 1958 British film by Maclean Rogers

Mark of the Phoenix is a 1958 British second feature ('B') drama film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Julia Arnall, Sheldon Lawrence and Anton Diffring. It was written by Norman Hudis. An American jewel thief comes into possession of a newly developed metal.

<i>The Small World of Sammy Lee</i> 1963 British film by Ken Hughes

The Small World of Sammy Lee is a 1963 British black-and-white comedy-drama crime film written and directed by Ken Hughes and starring Anthony Newley, Julia Foster and Robert Stephens. The film was based on the 1958 BBC TV one-character television play Sammy, also directed by Hughes and starring Newley, described by Variety as "a masterful piece of work."

Satellite in the Sky is a 1956 British CinemaScope science fiction film in Warner Color, produced by Edward J. Danziger and Harry Lee Danziger, directed by Paul Dickson, and starring Kieron Moore, Lois Maxwell, Donald Wolfit, and Bryan Forbes. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Special effects were by Wally Veevers, who would later work on Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

<i>Tarnished Heroes</i> 1961 British film by Ernest Morris

Tarnished Heroes is a 1961 British war film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Dermot Walsh and Anton Rodgers. It was produced by Danziger Productions.

References

  1. "The Trunk". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  2. "The Trunk". Monthly Film Bulletin . 28 (324): 37. 1961 via ProQuest.
  3. "The Trunk Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  4. Crowther, Bosley (1 November 1962). "Movie Review - Almost Angels - Screen: 'Period of Adjustment' Opens:Film Based on Play by Tennessee Williams Marriage Difficulties Theme of Comedy". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  5. "The Trunk - Sky Movies HD". Skymovies.sky.com. 9 October 2003. Retrieved 13 June 2014.