80,000 Suspects
| 80,000 Suspects | |
|---|---|
 US Poster |
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| Directed by | Val Guest |
| Produced by | Val Guest |
| Written by | Val Guest Trevor Dudley Smith |
| Starring | Claire Bloom Richard Johnson Yolande Donlan Cyril Cusack |
| Music by | Stanley Black |
| Cinematography | Arthur Grant |
| Editing by | Bill Lenny |
| Distributed by | Rank Organisation (UK) Twentieth Century-Fox(US) |
| Release date(s) | 1963 |
| Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
80,000 Suspects is a 1963 British film, directed by Val Guest which concerns an outbreak of smallpox in Bath, England.
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[edit] Plot
A romantic melodrama set against the backdrop of a smallpox epidemic which features Richard Johnson as the diligent doctor in control and Claire Bloom as his outwardly serene and devoted wife. Commencing on New Year’s Eve in the city of Bath, Dr. Steven Monks (Richard Johnson) diagnoses a mystery patient as being infected with smallpox and sets in motion a city wide quarantine to contain the outbreak. His commitment to the task is affected by the deterioration of his marriage to ex-nurse Julie (Claire Bloom) following his clandestine affair with a family friend. Monk receives an unexpected blow when the disease strikes closer to home than anticipated and Julie is diagnosed as having contracted the virus. The medical team gradually contain the outbreak until only one unidentified case remains. The search narrows the identity of final carrier down to Ruth Preston (Yolande Donlan), the woman with whom Monks had been having an affair and the wife of his close colleague Clifford (Michael Goodliffe). She’s eventually traced to a deserted house where she’s sheltering, lonely and desperately ill.
[edit] Cast
- Claire Bloom as Julie Monks
- Richard Johnson as Steven Monks
- Yolande Donlan as Ruth Preston
- Cyril Cusack as Father Maguire
- Michael Goodliffe as Clifford Preston
- Mervyn Johns as Buckridge
- Kay Walsh as Matron
- Norman Bird as Mr. Davis
- Basil Dignam as Medical Officer
- Arthur Christiansen as Editor
- Ray Barrett as Bennett
- Andrew Crawford as Dr. Ruddling
- Jill Curzon as Nurse Jill
- Vanda Godsell as Mrs. Davis
- Ursula Howells as Joanna Duten
- David Weston as Brian Davis
[edit] Current interest (August 2009)
Despite the antiquity of the Film, and the fact that it was produced in monochrome, (black and white) there is a constant flow of old material appearing that relates to this production. Items for sale from various locations are mainly the "stills" (single frame image) posters used by distributors of this film in their quest to promote interest in it. Further research in this area may well uncover artifacts associated with this production left behind, and "recovered" by souvenir hunters at the various outdoor locations used.
[edit] See Also
- The Killer That Stalked New York, a 1950 film of smallpox in New York
[edit] External links
- 80,000 Suspects at the Internet Movie Database
- British Movie Directors [1] Retrieved 2010-03-11.
- Original Clip from film [2] Retrieved 2010-03-11.
- Opening scenes Clip from film [3] Retrieved 2010-03-11.
- Visit Bath - Movie Locations in the City Page 4 Retrieved 2010-03-11.
- Val Guest - Obituary, 15 May 2006 - The Independent [4] Retrieved 2010-03-12.
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