The Intruder (1953 film)
| The Intruder | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Guy Hamilton |
| Written by | John Hunter Robin Maugham Anthony Squire |
| Produced by | Ivan Foxwell |
| Starring | Jack Hawkins George Cole Dennis Price Michael Medwin |
| Cinematography | Edward Scaife |
| Music by | Francis Chagrin |
| Distributed by | British Lion Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | £161,488 (UK)[1] |
The Intruder is a 1953 British drama film directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Jack Hawkins, George Cole, Dennis Price and Michael Medwin.[2] The film is based on the 1949 novel by Robin Maugham called The Line on Ginger.
Post-war London is the backdrop including Belgravia, Covent Garden market, Loughborough Junction and Dulwich Hospital.
A contemporary critic commented that the film treated the subject "with intelligence, taste, and a feeling for the medium"; he also wrote "Medwin... gives a brilliant study of a good fellow gone wrong".[3]
Plot
Ex-Colonel, now stockbroker, Wolf Merton (Hawkins) returns home one evening to find it being burgled by an armed intruder. Merton recognises the culprit, Ginger Edwards (Medwin), as a former soldier who had fought courageously under his command in a tank regiment during the Second World War. Merton briefly questions Edwards on how he got into a life of crime, but, suspecting Merton has called the police, the burglar makes his escape. Merton sets out to discover why one of his best men became involved in crime after he was de-mobbed. The story unfolds in a sequence of flash-back episodes of events during the war and how they affected, or contrasted with, how each of the main characters fared when they returned to civilian life.[4]
Cast
- Jack Hawkins as Wolf Merton
- George Cole as John Summers
- Dennis Price as Leonard Pirry
- Michael Medwin as Ginger Edwards
- Duncan Lamont as Donald Cope
- Arthur Howard as Bertram Slake
- Nicholas Phipps as Captain Fetherstonhaugh
- Dora Bryan as Dora Bee
- Edward Chapman as Walter Lowden
- Susan Shaw as Tina
- Harold Lang as Bill
- George Baker as Adjutant
- Patrick Barr as Inspector Williams
- Michael Ripper as Mechanic
- Marc Sheldon as Astley
- Campbell Singer as War Office Records Sergeant
- Peter Martyn as Sentry
- Robert A'Dair as Luigi
- Richard Wattis as School Master
- Gene Anderson as June Maple
- David Horne as General
- Charles Lamb as Glazier (uncredited)
- Leonard Sharp as Glazier (uncredited)
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by Francis Chagrin, conducted by Muir Mathieson.[4] He later adapted the music for concert use as the Four Orchestral Episodes.[5]
Video Release
In 2020 Network Distributing Limited produced and released the film on Blu-ray.[6]
References
- ^ Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p499
- ^ "The Intruder". IMDb.
- ^ Campbell Dixon, The Daily Telegraph, 17 October 1953, quoted in BFI programme note, 2012.
- ^ a b British Film Institute page about The Intruder Retrieved 23 February 2012
- ^ Lane, Philip. Notes to Chandos 10323: The Film Music of Francis Chagrin (2005)
- ^ Best of British magazine; June 2020 issue; page 73