The Court Martial of Major Keller

Last updated

The Court Martial of Major Keller
"The Court Martial of Major Keller" (1961).jpg
Directed by Ernest Morris
Written by Brian Clemens
Produced by Edward J. Danziger
Harry Lee Danziger
Starring Laurence Payne
Susan Stephen
Ralph Michael
Richard Caldicot
Cinematography James Wilson
Edited bySpencer Reeve
Music by Bill LeSage
Production
company
Danziger Productions
Distributed by Warner-Pathé Distributors
Release date
  • 1961 (1961)
Running time
69 mins
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Court Martial of Major Keller is a 1961 British film directed by Ernest Morris and written by Brian Clemens. It stars Laurence Payne, Susan Stephen and Austin Trevor. [1] The film recounts the court martial for murder of Major Keller, a British army officer during the Second World War. He is charged with killing his superior officer, but remains silent, refusing to defend himself. [2]

Contents

Cast

Critical reception

TV Guide gave the film two out of four stars, calling it an "occasionally interesting courtroom drama." [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Andrews</span> English actor

Harry Stewart Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English actor known for his film portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill (1965) alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the 1966 BAFTA Award for Best British Actor. The first of his more than 80 film appearances was in The Red Beret in 1953.

<i>Ill Met by Moonlight</i> (film) 1957 British film

Ill Met by Moonlight (1957), released in the USA as Night Ambush, is a film by the British writer-director-producer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and the last movie they made together through their production company "The Archers". The film, which stars Dirk Bogarde and features Marius Goring, David Oxley, and Cyril Cusack, is based on the 1950 book Ill Met by Moonlight: The Abduction of General Kreipe by W. Stanley Moss, which is an account of events during the author's service on Crete during World War II as an agent of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The title is a quotation from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the book features the young agents' capture and evacuation of the German general Heinrich Kreipe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil Dignam</span> English actor

Basil Dignam was an English character actor.

<i>Barabbas</i> (1961 film) 1961 film by Richard Fleischer

Barabbas is a 1961 religious epic film directed by Richard Fleischer for Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica, expanding on the life of Barabbas, from the Christian Passion narrative in the Gospel of Mark and other gospels. It stars Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano, Katy Jurado, Arthur Kennedy, Harry Andrews, Ernest Borgnine, Vittorio Gassman, and Jack Palance. The screenplay is based on Nobel Prize-winner Pär Lagerkvist's 1950 novel of the same title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Stephen</span> English actress (1931–2000)

Susan Rennie Stephen was an English film actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Michael</span> Actor (1907–1994)

Ralph Michael was an English actor. He was born as Ralph Champion Shotter in London. His film appearances included Dead of Night, A Night to Remember, Children of the Damned, Grand Prix, The Assassination Bureau and Empire of the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurence Payne</span>

Laurence Stanley Payne was an English actor and novelist.

<i>Term of Trial</i> 1962 British film by Peter Glenville

Term of Trial is a 1962 British drama film written and directed by Peter Glenville and starring Laurence Olivier, Simone Signoret, Sarah Miles, Terence Stamp, Hugh Griffith, Roland Culver, Dudley Foster and Thora Hird. It was produced by James Woolf for Romulus Films, with James H. Ware as associate producer. The screenplay was based on the 1961 novel of the same name by James Barlow. The music score was by Jean-Michel Damase and the cinematography by Oswald Morris.

<i>The Unseen</i> (1980 film) 1980 film by Danny Steinmann

The Unseen is a 1980 American slasher film directed and written by Danny Steinmann, and starring Stephen Furst, Barbara Bach, Sydney Lassick, and Lelia Goldoni. Its plot follows three female news reporters who arrive in Solvang, California, to cover the town's annual Danish festival, and end up staying in the Victorian home of a middle-aged couple harboring a dark secret in their basement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin Trevor</span> Northern Irish actor

Claude Austin Trevor Schilsky was an Irish actor who had a long career in film and television.

<i>The Red Beret</i> 1954 film by Terence Young

The Red Beret is a 1953 British-American war film directed by Terence Young and starring Alan Ladd, Leo Genn and Susan Stephen.

<i>Petticoat Pirates</i> 1961 British film by David MacDonald

Petticoat Pirates is a 1961 British comedy film directed by David MacDonald and starring Charlie Drake, Anne Heywood, Cecil Parker, John Turner and Thorley Walters. The film had its premiere on 30 November 1961 at the Warner Theatre in London's West End.

<i>Man in the Middle</i> (film) 1963 film by Guy Hamilton

Man in the Middle is a 1964 British-American CinemaScope war film and starring Robert Mitchum and directed by Guy Hamilton. The movie, set in World War II India, tells the story of the murder trial of an American Army officer who killed a British soldier. Mitchum plays Lieutenant Colonel Barney Adams, who has been assigned as the accused man's defence counsel. The film is also known as The Winston Affair, the title of the novel the film was based on, which was written by Howard Fast.

<i>Three on a Spree</i> 1961 British film by Sidney J. Furie

Three on a Spree is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Jack Watling, Carole Lesley and John Slater. It is based on the 1902 novel Brewster's Millions by George Barr McCutcheon, which became the hit 1906 play written by Winchell Smith and Byron Ongley. It had been previously filmed by Edward Small in 1945.

<i>Three Spare Wives</i> 1962 British film by Ernest Morris

Three Spare Wives is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Susan Stephen, John Hewer, Robin Hunter. It was based on a play by Talbot Rothwell.

<i>The Third Alibi</i> 1961 British film by Montgomery Tully

The Third Alibi is a 1961 British 'B' thriller film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Laurence Payne, Patricia Dainton, Jane Griffiths and Edward Underdown. The screenplay is by Maurice J. Wilson and Tully, based on the play A Moment of Blindness by Pip and Jane Baker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Morris</span> English film director (1913–1987)

Ernest Morris (1913–1987) was an English film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Cross</span> British actor

Hugh Cross was a British television and film actor.

<i>Tarnished Heroes</i> 1961 British film

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. The film is set in France during World War II, and concerns a British major who destroys a Nazi convoy. The plot of the film bears similarities to The Dirty Dozen, although it was made five years before Robert Aldrich's film, and three years before the novel on which it is based. However, it is possible that Tarnished Heroes was inspired by the success of The Magnificent Seven, released in 1960, as the concept seems close: the recruitment of a band of renegades to fight a difficult fight for the common good.

<i>Strip Tease Murder</i> 1961 British film by Ernest Morris

Strip Tease Murder is a low budget 1961 British second feature film thriller directed by Ernest Morris and starring John Hewer and Ann Lynn.

References

  1. "The Court Martial of Major Keller (1964)". BFI. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
  2. Hal Erickson. "The Court Martial of Major Keller (1961) - Ernest Morris - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  3. "The Court Martial Of Major Keller". TVGuide.com.