Man with a Gun is a low-budget 1958 British second feature ('B')[1] crime film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Lee Patterson, Rona Anderson and John Le Mesurier.[2][3] The screenplay was by Michael Winner.[4]
Plot
Insurance investigator Mike Davies looks into a suspicious fire that burned down a nightclub. He initially suspects the club's manager, Harry Drayson, but after Davies meets Drayson's niece Stella, she helps him uncover a mob protection scheme responsible for the arson.
Cast
- Lee Patterson as Mike Davies
- Rona Anderson as Stella
- John Le Mesurier as Harry Drayson
- Bill Nagy as Joe Harris
- Marne Maitland as Max
- Glen Mason as Steve Riley
- Carlo Borelli as Carlo
- Harold Lang as John Drayson
- Cyril Chamberlain as Superindendent Wood
- Dorinda Stevens as club receptionist
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This crime melodrama is a routine British second feature competently made and efficiently acted. Although it has few distinctive features it fulfils its purpose in a workmanlike way."[5]
Picturegoer wrote: "This British thriller pegs its plot on a real oldie idea – gangsters muscling in on a nightclub. But it still packs some punch. [Lee] Patterson, who has become number-one raincoat hero of "B" thrillers, deserves better vehicles for his rough-cut sex appeal than this weakly scripted story. However, as a whodunit the film is a neat, briskly paced job. For the disc fans, Glen Mason weighs in with two pop numbers."[6]
Picture Show wrote: "Well portrayed, it has a slight romantic interest and some suspenseful action."[7]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Embryo director's first script not a winner, but direction keeps brisk pace."[8]
TV Guide called it a "so-so crime story. Despite some fast pacing in the direction, the script is too simplistic for the fare."[9]
References
- ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
- ^ "Man with a Gun". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ "Man With a Gun (1958) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
- ^ "Man with a Gun". BFI. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
- ^ "Man with a Gun". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 25 (288): 129. 1 January 1958. ProQuest 1305819167 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Man with a Gun". Picturegoer. 36: 13. 6 November 1958. ProQuest 1771191276.
- ^ "Man with a Gun". Picture Show. 71 (1857): 10. 1 November 1958. ProQuest 1879627930.
- ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 345. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
- ^ "Man With A Gun". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015.
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