Final Appointment
Final Appointment is a 1954 British comedy thriller film directed by Terence Fisher, and starring John Bentley, Eleanor Summerfield and Hubert Gregg.[3] It also featured Arthur Lowe, later to become famous for his portrayal of Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army, in an early role.[4] The film was produced by Francis Searle for Act Films Ltd,[5] and was released in the U.S. as The Last Appointment.[6] A sequel, Stolen Assignment, also featuring sleuthing journalists Mike Billings and Jenny Drew, appeared the following year.[7]
Final Appointment | |
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Directed by | Terence Fisher |
Produced by | Francis Searle |
Written by | Kenneth R. Hayles |
Based on | the BBC radio play Death Keeps a Date by Sidney Nelson & Maurice Harrison[1][2] |
Starring | John Bentley Eleanor Summerfield |
Cinematography | Jonah Jones |
Edited by | John Ferris |
Production company | Association of Cinema Technicians (A.C.T.) |
Distributed by | Monarch Film Corporation (UK) |
Release date |
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Running time | 65 min. |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Synopsis
A former soldier, who had been court-martialed during the Second World War, sets out to murder the officers who had passed sentence on him. A newspaper journalist and his wisecracking girlfriend try to track down the killer when solicitor Hartnell, the prosecuting officer at the court martial, receives threatening letters.
Cast
- John Bentley as Mike Billings
- Eleanor Summerfield as Jenny Drew
- Hubert Gregg as Hartnell
- Liam Redmond as Inspector Corcoran
- Meredith Edwards as Tom Martin
- Jean Lodge as Laura Robens
- Sam Kydd as Vickery
- Charles Farrell as Percy
- Peter Bathurst as Harold Williams
- Arthur Lowe as Barratt
- Gerald Case as Australian Official
- Jessica Cairns as War Office Typist
- Tony Hilton as Jimmy
- Henry de Bray as Restaurant Manager
- John Watson as Police Sergeant
Critical reception
The Radio Times gave the film two out of five stars, calling it a "Capable thriller."[8]
References
- Hutchings, Peter (1 January 2001). "Terence Fisher". Manchester University Press – via Google Books.
- "Hubert Gregg and Andrew Cruickshank in ' DEATH KEEPS A DATE' - BBC Home Service Basic - 25 February 1954 - BBC Genome".
- "Final Appointment (1954) - Terence Fisher - Cast and Crew - AllMovie".
- "Final Appointment (1954)". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
- Action! Fifty Years in the Life of a Union. Published: 1983 (UK). Publisher: ACTT. ISBN 0 9508993 0 5. ACT Films Limited - Ralph Bond p81 (producer listed as Francis Searle)
- "Reel Streets".
- "Britmovie - Home of British Films". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- "Final Appointment - Film from RadioTimes".