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 |
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 the 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 (Jack Hawkins) returns home to find it being burgled by an armed intruder. Merton recognises the culprit, Ginger Edwards (Michael Medwin), as a former soldier who had fought under his command in a tank regiment during the Second World War. They discuss how Summers arrived at a life of crime but the burglar runs off.
The officer sets out to discover why one of his best men became involved in crime after he was de-mobbed. This is reflected in several flash-back episodes in which events during the war are contrasted with how each of the main characters cope with life in civvy street.[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
- Charles Lamb as Glazier
- Leonard Sharp as Glazier
- Peter Martyn as Sentry
- Robert A'Dair as Luigi
- Richard Wattis as School Master
- Gene Anderson as June Maple
- David Horne as General
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by Francis Chagrin, conducted by Muir Mathieson.[4]
References
- ^ Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p499
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048211/
- ^ 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