Eyewitness (1970 film)
| Eyewitness | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | John Hough |
| Written by | Ronald Harwood Bryan Forbes (Uncredited) |
| Based on | "The Boy Cried Murder" by Cornell Woolrich |
| Produced by | Irving Allen |
| Starring | Mark Lester Susan George Lionel Jeffries |
| Edited by | Geoffrey Foot |
| Music by | David Whitaker Van der Graaf Generator Fairfield Parlour |
Production companies | ABPC Irving Allen Productions |
| Distributed by | MGM-EMI (UK) |
Release date | June 1970 |
Running time | 92 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Eyewitness (also entitled Sudden Terror) is a 1970 British drama film directed by John Hough.[1] The film is a British adaptation of Cornell Woolrich's novelette "The Boy Cried Murder", originally cinematized under name The Window.[2][3]
Outline
Ziggy, a boy of about twelve, is an accidental witness to a killing on a Mediterranean island, after which he is attacked himself. He goes on the run with his older sister, Pippa, helped by their grandfather.
Cast
- Mark Lester as Ziggy
- Lionel Jeffries as Grandpa
- Susan George as Pippa
- Jeremy Kemp as Inspector Galleria
- Peter Vaughan as Paul Grazzini
- Tony Bonner as Tom Jones
- Betty Marsden as Madame Robiac
- Peter Bowles as Victor Grazzini
- Joseph Furst as Local Police Sergeant
- David Lodge as Local Policeman
Production
John Hough, who had made the film Wolfshead: The Legend of Robin Hood, learned that Bryan Forbes had taken over EMI Films and was interested in young filmmakers. He called Forbes and showed him his film at Forbes's office in Elstree. (This was filmed by a BBC documentary on Forbes called Man Alive.) Forbes had a script called Eyewitness and gave the film to Irving Allen to make and Paul Maslanksy to produce. Hough was assigned a produced by Bryan Forbes. Forbes did some uncredited rewriting of the script.[4][5]
Location
The film was shot entirely in Malta although in the movie the name of the nation is not given and the flag (a modified cross with red and white colours) and coat of arms shown are different from Malta's.
Adaptations
The film is the third of four versions of the story. The others are:[6][7]
- The Window (1949)
- The Boy Cried Murder (1966)
- Cloak & Dagger (1984)
References
- ^ http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/32691
- ^ DeGiglio-Bellemare, Mario; Ellbé, Charlie; Woofter, Kristopher (11 December 2014). Recovering 1940s Horror Cinema: Traces of a Lost Decade. Lexington Books. p. 123. ISBN 9781498503808. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ EYEWITNESS Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 37, Iss. 432, (Jan 1, 1970): 206.
- ^ Bryan Forbes, A Divided Life, Mandarin Paperback 1993 p 105
- ^ "Interview with John Hough". History Project.
- ^ Mayer, Geoff (13 September 2012). Historical Dictionary of Crime Films. Scarecrow Press. p. 405. ISBN 9780810879003. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
- ^ DeGiglio-Bellemare, Mario; Ellbé, Charlie; Woofter, Kristopher (11 December 2014). Recovering 1940s Horror Cinema: Traces of a Lost Decade. Lexington Books. p. 123. ISBN 9781498503808. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
External links
- Eyewitness at IMDb
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