Venetian Bird

Last updated

Venetian Bird
VenetianBird-Poster.jpg
Directed by Ralph Thomas
Written byVictor Canning
Based on Venetian Bird
by Victor Canning
Produced by Betty Box
Earl St. John
Starring Richard Todd
Eva Bartok
John Gregson
Cinematography Ernest Steward
Edited by Gerald Thomas
Music by Nino Rota
Production
company
British Film-Makers
Distributed by General Film Distributors
Release date
  • 3 November 1952 (1952-11-03)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office£80,000 [1]

Venetian Bird is a 1952 British thriller film starring Richard Todd, Eva Bartok and John Gregson, and directed by Ralph Thomas. [2] The screenplay was adapted by Victor Canning from his own 1950 novel of the same title. It was shot at Pinewood Studios and on location in Venice. The film's sets were designed by the art director George Provis. It was released in America by United Artists where it was titled The Assassin.

Contents

Box and Thomas decided not to use colour shooting the film as they felt that it would not suit the genre. [3]

Plot

British private detective Edward Mercer (Richard Todd) is employed to travel to Venice and locate an Italian who is to be rewarded for his assistance to an Allied airman during the Second World War. Once he arrives in Italy, however, he becomes mixed up in an assassination plot enveloped in a great deal of mystery. Central to it is whether Renzo Uccello (John Gregson) actually died a few years earlier in World War II or not.

Cast

Production

Michael Balcon initially rejected the idea of a film based on Canning's novel because it was set in Italy and dealt with Italians, not Britons. Betty Box appealed to Earl St John, who overruled Balcon. Italian censors required that the script clarify the political struggles in post-war Venice that were portrayed in the novel. [4]

Richard Todd was borrowed from Associated British who had the actor under contract. He says Gina Lollobrigida wanted to make the movie but her English was not then good enough. [5] He recalled "I had enjoyed working on it, particularly with the exuberant Ralph Thomas as director. He was always ready to see the funny side of things." [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Blue Lamp</i> 1950 British film by Basil Dearden

The Blue Lamp is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gregson</span> English actor (1919–1975)

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.

<i>Genevieve</i> (film) 1953 British film

Genevieve is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Henry Cornelius and written by William Rose. It stars John Gregson, Dinah Sheridan, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall as two couples comedically involved in a veteran automobile rally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Thomas</span> British film producer (born 1949)

Jeremy Jack Thomas, CBE is a British film producer, founder and chairman of Recorded Picture Company. He produced Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, which won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2006 he received a European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema. His father was director Ralph Thomas, while his uncle Gerald Thomas directed all of the films in the Carry On franchise.

<i>Zarak</i> 1956 British film

Zarak is a 1956 CinemaScope adventure film based on the 1949 book The Story of Zarak Khan by A.J. Bevan. It was directed by Terence Young with assistance from John Gilling and Yakima Canutt. Set in the Northwest Frontier, the film stars Victor Mature, Michael Wilding and Anita Ekberg and features Patrick McGoohan in a supporting role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Bartok</span> Hungarian-British actress (1927–1998)

Éva Márta Szőke Ivanovics, known professionally as Eva Bartok, was a Hungarian-British actress. She began acting in films in 1950, and her last credited appearance was in 1966. She acted in more than 40 American, British, German, Hungarian, French, and Israeli films. She is best known for appearances in Blood and Black Lace, The Crimson Pirate, Operation Amsterdam, and Ten Thousand Bedrooms.

<i>Appointment with Venus</i> (film) 1951 British film by Ralph Thomas

Appointment with Venus is a 1951 British war drama film, a film adaptation of the 1951 Jerrard Tickell novel of the same name. It was directed by Ralph Thomas, produced by Betty E. Box and its screenplay was written by the novelist Nicholas Phipps. The film was based on the evacuation of Alderney cattle from the Channel Island during World War II.

<i>The Love Lottery</i> 1954 film

The Love Lottery is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and starring David Niven, Peggy Cummins, Anne Vernon and Herbert Lom. Produced by Ealing Studios it was one of several Ealing Comedies that veered away from the standard formula. The film examines celebrity and fan worship with an international setting including Lake Como, ambitious dream sequences, and an uncredited cameo appearance at the end by Humphrey Bogart as himself.

<i>Campbells Kingdom</i> 1957 British film by Ralph Thomas

Campbell's Kingdom is a 1957 British adventure film directed by Ralph Thomas, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Hammond Innes. The film stars Dirk Bogarde and Stanley Baker, with Michael Craig, Barbara Murray, James Robertson Justice and Sid James in support. The story is set in Alberta, Canada, and largely follows the principles of the Northwestern genre of film-making.

Earl St. John was an American film producer in overall charge of production for The Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios from 1950 to 1964, and was credited as executive producer on 131 films. He was known as the "Earl of Pinewood". John Davis of Rank called him "the greatest showman that The Rank Organisation has ever had, and probably the greatest showman to have lived in this country. "

<i>SOS Pacific</i> 1959 British film

SOS Pacific is a 1959 British adventure drama film directed by Guy Green and starring Richard Attenborough, Pier Angeli, John Gregson, Eva Bartok and Eddie Constantine. The film was shot in black and white, but later underwent colourisation.

<i>The Wind Cannot Read</i> 1958 British film by Ralph Thomas

The Wind Cannot Read is a 1958 British drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, Yoko Tani, Ronald Lewis and John Fraser. It was based on the 1946 novel by Richard Mason, who also wrote the screenplay.

<i>Hunted</i> (1952 film) 1952 British film by Charles Crichton

Hunted is a British Noir crime film directed by Charles Crichton and released in 1952. Hunted is a crime drama in the form of a chase film, starring Dirk Bogarde, and written by Jack Whittingham and Michael McCarthy. It was produced by Julian Wintle and edited by Gordon Hales and Geoffrey Muller, with cinematography by Eric Cross and music by Hubert Clifford.

<i>The Brave Dont Cry</i> 1952 British film by Philip Leacock

The Brave Don't Cry is a 1952 British drama film directed by Philip Leacock and starring John Gregson, Meg Buchanan and John Rae. The film depicts the events of September 1950 at the Knockshinnoch Castle colliery in Scotland, where 129 men were trapped by a landslide. It was shot at Southall Studios and was also known by the alternative title Knockshinnoch Story. The filmmakers used actors from the Glasgow Citizens Theatre. It was screened at the Venice Film Festival in September 1952.

<i>Top of the Form</i> (film) 1953 British film by John Paddy Carstairs

Top of the Form is a 1953 British black-and-white comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Ronald Shiner, Anthony Newley and Harry Fowler. The film draws inspiration from Will Hay's 1937 classic Good Morning, Boys.

<i>Brothers in Law</i> (film) 1957 British film by Roy Boulting

Brothers in Law is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Richard Attenborough, Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas and Jill Adams. The film is one of the Boulting brothers successful series of institutional satires that begun with Private's Progress in 1956. It is an adaptation of the 1955 novel Brothers in Law by Henry Cecil, a comedy set in the legal profession.

<i>Crossed Swords</i> (1954 film) 1954 film by Milton Krims

Crossed Swords or The Teacher of Don Juan is a 1954 historical swashbuckling adventure film directed by Milton Krims and starring Errol Flynn, Gina Lollobrigida and Nadia Gray. It was co-production between Italy and the United States. It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome. The film's sets were designed by the art director Arrigo Equini.

<i>Conflict of Wings</i> 1954 British film by John Eldridge

Conflict of Wings is a 1954 British comedy drama film directed by John Eldridge and starring John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow and Kieron Moore. The film is based on a novel of the same title by Don Sharp who later became a noted director. Villagers in Norfolk rally to prevent the RAF from attempting to use an island for target practice.

<i>Venetian Bird</i> (novel) 1950 novel by Victor Canning

Venetian Bird is a 1950 thriller novel by the British writer Victor Canning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Group 3 Films</span> British film production company

Group 3 Films was a short lived British film production company that operated from 1951 to 1955.

References

  1. BFI Collections: Michael Balcon Papers H3 reprinted in British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference by Sue Harper, Vincent Porter p 41
  2. IMDb Plot Summary: The Assassin
  3. HOWARD THOMPSON (14 September 1952). "BY WAY OF REPORT: Box -- Thomas Activities -- Cinema 16 Plans --". New York Times. p. X5.
  4. British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference by Sue Harper, Vincent Porter Oxford University Press, 2003 p 38
  5. Todd, Richard (1989). In camera : an autobiography continued. Hutchinson. p. 10.
  6. Todd p 11