The Malpas Mystery | |
---|---|
Directed by | Sidney Hayers |
Written by | Paul Tabori Gordon Wellesley |
Based on | novel The Face in the Night by Edgar Wallace |
Produced by | Julian Wintle Leslie Parkyn |
Starring | Maureen Swanson Allan Cuthbertson Geoffrey Keen |
Cinematography | Michael Reed |
Edited by | Tristam Cones |
Music by | Elisabeth Lutyens |
Production companies | Independent Artists Langton Productions |
Distributed by | Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (UK) |
Release date |
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Running time | 69 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Malpas Mystery is a 1960 British B movie crime film, directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Maureen Swanson and Allan Cuthbertson. [1]
Although originally made by Independent Artists at Beaconsfield studios, it was included in the Merton Park series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries. [2] [3] It went on general release on the ABC Cinemas circuit on 17 September 1961 supporting Raising the Wind (1961).
When Audrey Bedford is released from prison, she finds herself embroiled with mysterious doctors, missing heirs, diamonds and murder.
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "As intriguing as most films featuring an apparently maimed, shaggy and faceless recluse holed up in a derelict house, The Malpas Mystery grips because a sparkling pace manages to conceal most of its narrative shortcomings. Slightly above the average of Merton Park’s recent Edgar Wallace adaptations, it is competently made [and] maintains its air of mystery." [4]
Kine Weekly wrote: "Intriguing mystery melodrama. ... The plot is a tangled skein, but the cast and drirector quickly unravel it in circumstances that furnish all round lively entertainment." [5]
Variety said: "Very complicated plot, involving jewel thieves and the reunion of a father with a long-lost daughter can be followed if attention is paid. Maureen Swanson makes an appealing heroine, her vulnerability adding to the suspense." [6]
The Edgar Wallace Mysteries is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre on television in the United States.
Johnny Nobody is a 1961 British drama film made in Ireland and directed by Nigel Patrick, starring Yvonne Mitchell, William Bendix and Aldo Ray. It was produced John R. Sloan for Viceroy Films, with Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli as executive producers. A man arrested for murder claims to be suffering from amnesia. Father Carey investigates the case, and looks for the killer's motive.
The Broken Horseshoe is a 1953 British "B" crime film directed by Martyn C. Webster and starring Robert Beatty, Elizabeth Sellars, Peter Coke, and Hugh Kelly. It was based on a BBC television series of the same title from the previous year. A surgeon is drawn into a murder case.
The Trygon Factor is a 1966 British-West German crime film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Stewart Granger, Susan Hampshire and Robert Morley. It is one of the films based on works by Edgar Wallace of the 1960s and its German title is Das Geheimnis der weißen Nonne/ Mystery of the White Nun.
Maureen Ward, Countess of Dudley, was a British actress. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Lady Dudley was the daughter of James Swanson. As Maureen Swanson, she featured in British pictures during the 1950s and retired from acting in 1961, following her marriage to Viscount Ednam.
The Clue of the New Pin (1961) is a British crime film directed by Allan Davis and starring Paul Daneman, Bernard Archard and James Villiers. It was one of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries, British second-features, produced at Merton Park Studios in the 1960s.
The Brain Machine is a 1956 British thriller film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Maxwell Reed, Elizabeth Allan and Patrick Barr.
The Sinister Man is a 1961 British crime drama film directed by Clive Donner and starring Patrick Allen and John Bentley. It was one of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries, British second-features, produced at Merton Park Studios in the 1960s.
Never Back Losers is a 1961 British crime film directed by Robert Tronson and starring Jack Hedley, Jacqueline Ellis and Patrick Magee. The film is based on The Green Ribbon (1929) by Edgar Wallace. It was one of the Edgar Wallace Mysteries, British second-features, produced at Merton Park Studios in the 1960s.
Clue of the Twisted Candle is a 1960 British second feature crime film directed by Allan Davis and starring Bernard Lee, David Knight and Francis De Wolff. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it is based on the 1918 novel The Clue of the Twisted Candle.
Man at the Carlton Tower is a 1961 British crime film directed by Robert Tronson and starring Maxine Audley, Lee Montague and Allan Cuthbertson. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it is based on the 1931 novel The Man at the Carlton.
Marriage of Convenience is a 1960 British crime film directed by Clive Donner and starring Harry H. Corbett, John Cairney and John Van Eyssen. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it is based on the 1924 Wallace novel The Three Oak Mystery.
The Face in the Night is a 1924 thriller novel by the British writer Edgar Wallace.
Profile is a 1954 British second feature thriller film directed by Francis Searle and starring John Bentley, Kathleen Byron and Thea Gregory. A murder mystery set in a magazine publishers.
Attempt to Kill is a 1961 British film. It was a rare feature directed by Royston Morley, and based on a story by Edgar Wallace, The Lone House Mystery. It was one of a series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries, British second-features, produced at Merton Park Studios in the 1960s.
Dangerous Voyage is a 1954 British second feature mystery crime film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring William Lundigan, Naomi Chance and Vincent Ball. It was distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated in the UK, and in the United States by Lippert Pictures.
The Man Who Was Nobody is a 1960 British second feature film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Hazel Court, John Crawford and Lisa Daniely. Part of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it is based on the 1927 Wallace novel of the same name.
Backfire! is a 1962 second feature British film directed by Paul Almond and starring Alfred Burke, Zena Marshall and Oliver Johnston. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it was based on a story by Edgar Wallace.
Flat Two is a 1962 British second feature film directed by Alan Cooke and starring John Le Mesurier and Jack Watling. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it is based on the 1924 Wallace story of the same name.
The Share Out is a 1962 British second feature film directed by Gerard Glaister and starring Bernard Lee, Alexander Knox and Moira Redmond. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it is based on the 1920 Wallace novel Jack O'Judgment.