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20th Century Fox
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Philip Hannon, a blind playwright living in London, overhears part of a conversation , that leads him into a desperate race, to find a kidnapped child. When he gets no help from the police, he along with his butler, and his ex fiancée, attempt to track down the crooks.
John Chard
Mar 22, 2020 · via TMDB
A truly pleasant surprise. Philip Hannon is a blind playwright residing in London, during one of his R&R moments at the local public house, he overhears part of a conversation that suggests the vile kidnapping of a child. Getting the police force to take him seriously proves hard to achieve, so with the help of his trusty butler and his ex fiancée, Jean Lennox, he hopes to avert a dastardly crime. Well well well, sometimes you can tune into a film not expecting much more than a B movie rush, yet just occasionally you get submarined and get a mysterious treat that deserves far better support than it actually gets. I have been delighted to log on to this films page and see that others have been entertained by this picture as much as myself. This is not ground breaking or even remotely original, in fact it does play out as some sort of cheap knock off idea that Hitchcock turned down in his sleep, but you know what? Sometimes a film can be great just for having an honest will to entertain the viewers with suspense and mystery being its main fortitudes. Henry Hathaway directs and it's just another film to prove that as up and down as his career was, he was never afraid to tackle different genres, here, with the London location totally interesting, he manages to knit it all together with impressive results. Van Johnson has his critics, and it would be foolish of me to not concur that at times he has been wooden, but here as the blind Phillip Hannon, he shows that if given good enough roles he was more than able to rise to the challenge. Not one to revisit often for sure, but seriously recommended to those who like the genre and are stuck for a good film to watch. 7/10
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Van Johnson
Phillip Hannon
Vera Miles
Jean Lennox
Cecil Parker
Bob Matthews
Patricia Laffan
Miss Alice MacDonald
Maurice Denham
Inspector Grovening
Estelle Winwood
Barmaid
Liam Redmond
Mr Murch
Isobel Elsom
Lady Syrett
Martin Benson
Pillings
Natalie Norwick
Janet Murch
Terence de Marney
Sergeant Luce
Fred Griffiths
—
Queenie Leonard
—
Maggie Rennie
—
Stuart Saunders
—
Reginald Sheffield
—
Yorke Sherwood
—
Michael Trubshawe
—
Neil Wilson
—
Ben Wright
—
Milton Krasner
Director of Photography
Travilla
Costume Design
Henry Hathaway
Director
Leigh Harline
Original Music Composer
Master Stroke
The Prestige
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Four Days in September
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The Man Who Knew Too Much
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Frenzy
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Dr. No
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Baby's Day Out
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Mysterious Mr. Moto
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Spare Parts
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The Critic
May 18, 1956
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1987 · 14 wins
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2008 · 14 wins
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1978 · 13 wins
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2000 · 12 wins
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1981 · 11 wins
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