Wheel of Fate (film)

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Wheel of Fate
Wheel of Fate (1953 film).jpg
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Directed by Francis Searle
Written by Guy Elmes
Based onNightmare by Alex Atkinson
Produced byFrancis Searle
Starring Patric Doonan
Sandra Dorne
Bryan Forbes
Cinematography Reg Wyer
Edited byVera Campbell
Music byTemple Abady
Production
company
Kenilworth Film Productions
Distributed by General Film Distributors
Release date
  • 3 August 1953 (1953-08-03)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Wheel of Fate is a 1953 British second feature ('B') [1] drama film directed by Francis Searle and starring Patric Doonan, Sandra Dorne and Bryan Forbes. [2] [3] It was written by Guy Elmes based on the story "Nightmare" by Alex Atkinson. It was released by Rank's General Film Distributors.

Contents

A man turns to crime to raise the money he needs to spend time with the woman he loves.

Plot

Two brothers working in their father's repair garage, quiet sensible Johnny and the younger and wilder Ted, fall out when Ted brings home Lucky, a beautiful dance hall singer. The brothers feud when she unexpectedly falls for Johnny, and crime and mayhem ensue.

Cast

Production

The film was shot at Riverside Studios in London with sets designed by the art director Wilfred Arnold.

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "'The most convincing things in this flat little crime story are Johnny's sketches and the old, paralysed father, neither of which appears on the screen." [4]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "poor", writing: "A low-point even of British 'B's of the 1950s – alternately ludicrous and depressing." [5] Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film called the film: "an entertainingly gritty piece of English noir." [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 153. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ↑ "Wheel of Fate". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  3. ↑ BFI.org
  4. ↑ "Wheel of Fate" . The Monthly Film Bulletin . 20 (228): 137. 1 January 1953 – via ProQuest.
  5. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 398. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.


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