The Silent Playground
| The Silent Playground | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Stanley Goulder |
| Written by | Stanley Goulder |
| Produced by | George Mills |
| Starring | Roland Curram Bernard Archard Jean Anderson Ellen McIntosh |
| Cinematography | Martin Curtis |
| Edited by | Peter Musgrave |
| Music by | Tristram Cary |
Production company | Focus Film Productions |
| Distributed by | British Lion (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 minutes[1] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Silent Playground is a 1963 British thriller film written and directed by Stanley Goulder.[2][3]
Production
The film was shot on location in 24 days for $75,000 by debut feature director Goulder, who had previously made documentaries.[1][4]
Plot premise
Police hunt for mental hospital out patient Simon Lacey (Roland Curram), who has been unwittingly handing out barbiturates to children as sweets.
Cast
- Bernard Archard as Insp. Duffy
- Jean Anderson as Mrs. Lacey
- Roland Curram as Simon Lacey
- Ellen McIntosh as Mavis Nugent
- John Ronane as Alan
- Desmond Llewelyn as Dr. Green
- Rowena Gregory as Jane Wilson
- Basil Beale as Sgt. Clark
- Cheryl Molineaux as Ruby
- Michael Byrne as Roger
- Malya Nappi as Mrs. Rosati
- Margaret Flint as Mrs. Fairgrove (as Maggie Flint)
- Mollie Maureen as Mrs. McCarthy
- Gretchen Franklin as Mrs. Elgin
- Barbara Miller as Mrs. Heatherley
- Christine Ozanne as Mrs. Briggs
- Anna Turner as Mrs. Ward
- Victor Charrington as Sgt. in sub-station
- Edward Dentith as Cinema manager
- Margaret Durnell as Matron
- Rickford Harris as Johnny
- Aileen Harte as Mrs. Nesbitt
- J. Mark Roberts as P.C. in sub-station
- Donald Tandy as Hospital porter
- Joe Wadham as Duffy's driver
- Peter Wells as Ted
Reception
It was a commercial disappointment.[5]
Critical
Variety wrote "this is quality production...[Goulder's] screenplay is taut, economic and natural in dialog and his direction is unfussy and alert."[1] and TV Guide wrote "The story never panders to its more-sensational elements but is, instead, an intelligent and sensitive thriller."[6]
References
- ^ a b c "The Silent Playground". Variety. January 1, 1964.
- ^ "Watch The Silent Playground". BFI Player.
- ^ "The Silent Playground (1964)". BFI.
- ^ "Stanley Goulder". BFI.
- ^ Petrie, Duncan James (2017). "Bryanston Films : An Experiment in Cooperative Independent Production and Distribution" (PDF). Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: 12. ISSN 1465-3451.
- ^ "The Silent Playground | TV Guide". TVGuide.com.
External links
- Review at Variety
- Silent Playground at IMDb
 | This article related to a British film of the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |