The Whole Truth | |
---|---|
Directed by | John Guillermin |
Written by | Jonathan Latimer |
Based on | play The Whole Truth by Philip Mackie |
Produced by | Jack Clayton |
Starring | Stewart Granger Donna Reed George Sanders Gianna Maria Canale |
Cinematography | Wilkie Cooper |
Edited by | Gerry Hambling |
Music by | Mischa Spoliansky |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom United States |
Language | English |
Box office | 392,806 admissions (France) [1] |
The Whole Truth is a 1958 British-American thriller film directed by John Guillermin and starring Stewart Granger, George Sanders, Donna Reed, Gianna Maria Canale and Peter Dyneley. [2] It was based on the 1955 play of the same title by Philip Mackie.
It was made at Walton Studios with some brief location shooting in France. The film's sets were designed by the art director Anthony Masters.
While making a film on the French Riviera, the producer, Max Poulton, has been having an affair with his star, Gina Bertini. A married man, Max does not want to lose his wife Carol, but the hot-tempered Gina threatens to tell all.
Max comes home with a blood stain on his shirt cuff. A visit follows from an Inspector Carliss of Scotland Yard, who says Gina's body has just been found, stabbed to death.
Rushing to the house where he and Gina used to secretly meet, Max gathers up possessions he's left behind. A neighbour spots his car. Upon returning home, to a party Carol is hosting, Max is astounded to find Gina alive and well among the guests.
Confused, he drives her home, leaves her in the car briefly, then returns to find her lifeless body, stabbed. This time, a local police official, Inspector Simon, comes to call. The only conclusion Max can draw is that Carliss is somehow trying to frame him.
His suspicions are correct. Carliss is not a Scotland Yard inspector at all but Gina's jealous husband. He has arranged things to make Max appear guilty, and Simon, having the neighbour's eyewitness description of seeing Max's car, has little choice but to place Max under arrest.
When it looks as though Carliss intends to harm Carol as well, Max escapes from jail. He manipulates Carliss into stealing his own car, and when the police give chase to the wrong man, Carliss, in a panic, drives off a cliff to his death. Max's innocence becomes apparent to the police.
Philip Mackie's 90-minute play debuted on television, airing on the BBC in July 1955. The TV play was screened again in March 1956. [3] Stephen Harrison directed.
It was then turned into a stage play, which was presented by Henry Sherek at London's Aldwych Theatre in October 1955 starring Ernest Clark, Leslie Phillips and Sarah Lawson. [4] Leslie Linder directed.
Reviewing it, Kenneth Tynan said the first two acts were "the tautest puzzle play since Dial M for Murder " but he didn't like the ending. [5] Likewise, The Stage newspaper headed its review 'Good Thriller Ends Weakly'. [6] Soon after the play's West End run had finished, Mackie rewrote the last act, the new version first being played at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing in April 1956. [7]
The US rights and film rights were bought by Gilbert Miller in January 1956. [8]
The film was made by Romulus Productions. Stewart Granger had just finished his contract with MGM and signed a two-picture deal with Romulus, of which The Whole Truth was to be the first; the second was to be The Night Comers from a novel by Eric Ambler and co-starring Jean Simmons. [9] [10] (This film was never made.) Jeanne Crain was originally announced as the female lead, [11] but Donna Reed ended up playing it. George Sanders joined the cast in July 1957. [12]
During shooting, Romulus announced that they had offered Stewart Granger a six-picture contract worth $1.5 million; [13] but he made no more films for that company. Teddy Darvas, sound editor, recalled that Granger "behaved exceedingly badly to Jackie Clayton on that film" by demanding large amounts of money to do ADR. [14]
Filmink praised the "brilliant first half". [15]
Sir John Mills was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portrayed guileless, wounded war heroes. In 1971, he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ryan's Daughter.
Stewart Granger was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas.
George Henry Sanders was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, baritone voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous characters. He is remembered for his roles as wicked Jack Favell in Rebecca (1940), Scott ffolliott in Foreign Correspondent, The Saran of Gaza in Samson and Delilah, theater critic Addison DeWitt in All About Eve, Sir Brian De Bois-Guilbert in Ivanhoe (1952), King Richard the Lionheart in King Richard and the Crusaders (1954), Mr. Freeze in a two-part episode of Batman (1966), and the voice of Shere Khan in Disney's The Jungle Book (1967). He also starred as Simon Templar, in 5 of the 8 films in The Saint series (1939–41), and as a suave Saint-like crimefighter in the first 4 of the 16 The Falcon films (1941–42).
Harold Thomas Gregson, known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles.
Sir John Woolf and his brother James Woolf were British film producers. John and James founded the production companies Romulus Films and Remus Films, which were active during the 1950s and 1960s, and the distribution company Independent Film Distributors, which was active 1950–59 and handled the UK distribution of films such as The African Queen and Gift Horse, as well as several films made by their two production companies.
Jesse White was an American actor who was best known for his portrayal as "Ol' Lonely" the repairman in Maytag television commercials from 1967 to 1988.
Peter Dyneley was an English actor. Although he appeared in many smaller roles in both film and television, he is best remembered for supplying the voice of Jeff Tracy for the 1960s "Supermarionation" TV series Thunderbirds and its two film sequels, Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968), all produced by Gerry Anderson. Uncredited, Dyneley also provided the voice of the countdown that introduces the Thunderbirds title sequence.
Anthony Maitland Steel was a British actor and singer who appeared in British war films of the 1950s such as The Wooden Horse (1950) and Where No Vultures Fly (1951). He was also known for his tumultuous marriage to Anita Ekberg.
The Last Hunt is a 1956 American Western film directed by Richard Brooks and starring Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger, with Lloyd Nolan, Debra Paget and Russ Tamblyn. It was produced by Dore Schary at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay was by Richard Brooks from the novel The Last Hunt, by Milton Lott. The music score was by Daniele Amfitheatrof and the cinematography by Russell Harlan.
The North and South Women's Amateur Golf Championship is an annual golf tournament held since 1903 at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina. An invitational tournament, participants are chosen based upon their performance in national amateur championships and overall competitive record.
The Little Hut is a 1957 British romantic comedy film made by MGM starring Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger and David Niven. It was directed by Mark Robson, produced by Robson and F. Hugh Herbert, from a screenplay by Herbert, adapted by Nancy Mitford from the play La petite hutte by André Roussin.
Psychomania is a 1973 British outlaw biker horror film directed by Don Sharp, and starring Nicky Henson, Beryl Reid, George Sanders, and Robert Hardy.
The Whole Truth may refer to:
Harry Black is a 1958 British adventure film adaptation of the novel Harry Black by David Walker, released by 20th Century Fox.
Footsteps in the Fog is a 1955 British Technicolor Victorian-era crime thriller starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons, with a screenplay co-written by Lenore Coffee and Dorothy Davenport, and released by Columbia Pictures. Directed by Arthur Lubin, the film is based on the W. W. Jacobs short story "The Interruption".
Never Let Go is a 1960 British thriller film directed by John Guillermin and starring Richard Todd, Peter Sellers and Elizabeth Sellars. It was written by Alun Falconer.
The King's Thief is a 1955 swashbuckling CinemaScope adventure film directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who replaced Hugo Fregonese during filming. Released on August 5, 1955, the film takes place in London at the time of Charles II and stars Ann Blyth, Edmund Purdom, David Niven, George Sanders and Roger Moore.
John Guillermin was a French-British film director, writer and producer who was most active in big-budget, action-adventure films throughout his lengthy career.
The Stolen Airliner is a 1955 British Children's Film Foundation production, directed by Don Sharp and starring Fella Edmonds, Diana Day and Michael Maguire. It was based on John Pudney's 1955 adventure story for boys, Thursday Adventure.
The Whole Truth is a 1955 thriller play by the British writer Philip Mackie.