They Knew Mr. Knight | |
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Directed by | Norman Walker |
Written by |
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Based on | They Knew Mr. Knight by Dorothy Whipple |
Produced by | Norman Walker |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Erwin Hillier |
Edited by | Sam Simmonds |
Music by | John Greenwood |
Production company | |
Distributed by | General Film Distributors |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
They Knew Mr. Knight is a 1946 British drama film directed by Norman Walker and starring Mervyn Johns, Nora Swinburne and Joyce Howard. [1] It was based on a 1934 novel of the same title by Dorothy Whipple. A man is sentenced to twelve months in Lincoln jail following his involvement in a share scam, plunging himself and his family into despair. However, by the time of his release he is able to face his uncertain future with fortitude.
The film was made by Norman Walker's G.H.W. Productions, funded by the Rank Organisation, at Denham Studios. It suffered a financial loss on its release and it was the last of four films that Walker made for Rank. [2]
The Radio Times gave the film two out of five stars, and wrote, "director Norman Walker rather wallows in this glum middle-class morality tale. But he prudently cashes in on Johns's fretful features and the solid support provided by Nora Swinburne and Joan Greenwood, as his wife and self-sacrificing daughter." [3]
Tom Jones is a 1963 British period comedy film, an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic 1749 novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. It is directed by Tony Richardson from a screenplay written by John Osborne, and stars Albert Finney as the titular character. The cast also features Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, Diane Cilento, and David Warner in his film debut.
Joan Mary Waller Greenwood was an English actress. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark. She played Sibella in the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets, and also appeared in The Man in the White Suit (1951), Young Wives' Tale (1951), The Importance of Being Earnest (1952), Stage Struck (1958), Tom Jones (1963) and Little Dorrit (1987).
Carry On Again Doctor is a 1969 British comedy film, the 18th release in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). It was released in December 1969 and was the third to feature a medical theme. The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor and Hattie Jacques. This was Jim Dale's last Carry On appearance for 23 years until his return in Carry On Columbus. It also marks the debut of Patsy Rowlands to the series in her first of 9 appearances. The film was followed by Carry On Up the Jungle 1970.
The Citadel is a 1938 British drama film based on the 1937 novel of the same name by A. J. Cronin. The film was directed by King Vidor and produced by Victor Saville for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British at Denham Studios. It stars Robert Donat and Rosalind Russell. The film and book helped the creation of Britain's NHS in 1947.
The Magic Box is a 1951 British Technicolor biographical drama film directed by John Boulting. The film stars Robert Donat as William Friese-Greene, with numerous cameo appearances by performers such as Peter Ustinov and Laurence Olivier. It was produced by Ronald Neame and distributed by British Lion Film Corporation.
David Mervyn Johns was a Welsh stage, film and television actor who became a fixture of British films during the Second World War. Johns appeared extensively on screen and stage with over 100 credits between 1923 and 1979.
London Belongs to Me is a British film released in 1948, directed by Sidney Gilliat, and starring Richard Attenborough and Alastair Sim. It was based on the novel London Belongs to Me by Norman Collins, which was also the basis for a seven-part series made by Thames Television shown in 1977.
Leonora Mary Johnson, known professionally as Nora Swinburne, was an English actress who appeared in many British films.
The October Man is a 1947 mystery film/film noir starring John Mills and Joan Greenwood, written by novelist Eric Ambler, who also produced. A man is suspected of murder, and the lingering effects of a brain injury he sustained in an earlier accident, as well as an intensive police investigation, make him begin to doubt whether he is innocent.
The White Unicorn is a 1947 British drama film directed by Bernard Knowles and starring Margaret Lockwood, Joan Greenwood, Ian Hunter and Dennis Price. Kyra Vayne appeared as the singer. It was made at Walton Studios by the independent producer John Corfield, and released by General Film Distributors. The film's sets were designed by Norman G. Arnold. It was also known as Milkwhite Unicorn and Bad Sister.
They Flew Alone is a 1942 British biopic about aviator Amy Johnson directed and produced by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Robert Newton and Edward Chapman. It was distributed in the UK and the US by RKO Radio Pictures.
Saloon Bar is a 1940 British comedy thriller film directed by Walter Forde and starring Gordon Harker, Elizabeth Allan and Mervyn Johns. It was made by Ealing Studios and its style has led to comparisons with the later Ealing Comedies, unlike other wartime Ealing films which are different in tone. It is based on the 1939 play of the same name by Frank Harvey in which Harker had also starred. An amateur detective tries to clear an innocent man of a crime before the date of his execution.
Man About the House is a 1974 British comedy film directed by John Robins and starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett,Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy. It is a spin-off of the TV sitcom of the same name, starring the same main cast.
They Knew Mr. Knight is a 1934 dramatic novel by the British writer Dorothy Whipple.
Hard Steel is a 1942 British drama film directed by Norman Walker and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Betty Stockfeld and John Stuart. It was based on the novel Steel Saraband by Roger Dataller. The film was one of four made by G.H.W. Productions backed by the Rank Organisation. The film follows the rise of an ambitious steel worker as he is appointed to run his local steel mill. He soon outrages the employees with his ruthless behaviour - and his negligence leads to the accidental death of one of the workers. As the Second World War breaks out he realises what he has become, and seeks a chance of redemption.
The Great Mr. Handel is a 1942 British Technicolor historical film directed by Norman Walker and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Elizabeth Allan and Malcolm Keen. The film is a biopic of the 18th-century German-British composer Georg Friedrich Händel, focusing in particular on the years leading up to his 1741 oratorio Messiah.
The Mark of Cain is a 1947 British drama film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Eric Portman, Sally Gray, Patrick Holt and Dermot Walsh. The film is based on the 1943 novel Airing in a Closed Carriage by Marjorie Bowen, which in turn was based on the true life murder trial of Florence Maybrick. It was made at Denham Studios with sets designed by the art director Alex Vetchinsky.
Mr. Bill the Conqueror is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Norman Walker and starring Henry Kendall, Heather Angel and Nora Swinburne. It was made by British International Pictures at Elstree Studios.
Twilight Hour is a 1945 British drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Mervyn Johns, Basil Radford, and Marie Lohr. It was shot at the British National Studios in Elstree. The film's sets were designed by the art director Wilfred Arnold. It was based on a novel of the same title by Arthur Valentine
Mervyn Johns was a Welsh actor who appeared in 74 films, 32 television shows, and more than 23 plays across six decades on screen and stage. Johns made his theatrical debut while on tour of the British dominions in 1923 and his screen debut with Lady in Danger in 1934. He went on to become an indelible part of British wartime cinema with starring roles in Saloon Bar (1940), The Next of Kin (1942), Went the Day Well? (1942), The Halfway House (1944), Twilight Hour (1945), and Dead of Night (1945). In the postwar era, he worked regularly as a character actor at Ealing Studios, first with starring roles in They Knew Mr. Knight (1946), The Captive Heart (1946), Captain Boycott (1947), Easy Money (1948), and Scrooge (1951), and later guest appearances on televised plays and anthology series.