The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (1958 film)

The Man Who Wouldn't Talk is a 1958 British drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox, starring Anna Neagle, Anthony Quayle, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Dora Bryan, John Le Mesurier and Lloyd Lamble.[2][3] It was written by Edgar Lustgarten from a story by Stanley Jackson.

The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
UK 1-sheet poster
Directed byHerbert Wilcox
Written byEdgar Lustgarten
Story byStanley Jackson
Produced byHerbert Wilcox
Starring
CinematographyGordon Dines
Edited byBasil Warren
Music byStanley Black
Production
company
Herbert Wilcox Productions (as Wilcox-Neagle)
Distributed byBritish Lion Film Corporation (UK)
Release date
  • 21 January 1958 (1958-01-21) (UK)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£127,582[1]

Plot

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A courtroom drama, it sees an American scientist charged by the British police for his supposed role in the death of a secret agent who had been posing as his wife.

Cast

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Critical reception

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The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Coldly efficient in direction, the film suffers most from the lifelessness of the meticulous script. The attention given to legal procedure is, it must be admitted, exact and authoritative; but motivation is generally rather hazy, and the predicament of the central character is rather incredible. Anna Neagle is in fine form, however, as Britain's foremost Queen's Counsel, and carries off her big courtroom speech with impassioned determination."[4]

TV Guide wrote, "the screenplay was written by writers well versed in litigation, so the courtroom scenes have a strong sense of realism. The performances are convincing, though marred by several characters who don't fit in the plot."[5]

The Radio Times wrote, "courtroom dramas have an intrinsic appeal, and veteran producer/director Herbert Wilcox makes a moderately entertaining film out of this story in which Anthony Quayle's American scientist, accused of murder, refuses to testify in his own defence. Wilcox's wife, Anna Neagle, gives another of her great lady portraits as Britain's leading Queen's Counsel, demonstrating her deductive brilliance in spotting a bullet hole in a witness's window pane and her oratorical skills in a dramatic five-minute courtroom address."[6]

References

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  1. ^ Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 359
  2. ^ "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  3. ^ "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (1957) - BFI". BFI. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016.
  4. ^ "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 25 (288): 36. 1 January 1958 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk". TVGuide.com.
  6. ^ Allen Eyles. "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk". RadioTimes.
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