The Dark Stairway (1954 film)

For the 1938 film, see The Dark Stairway.

The Dark Stairway
Directed byKen Hughes
Written byKen Hughes
Produced byAlec C. Snowden
executive
Nat Cohen
Stuart Levy
StarringRussell Napier
Vincent Ball
Narrated byEdgar Lustgarten
CinematographyJ. M. Burgoyne-Johnson
Ron Bicker
Edited byDerek Holding
Production
company
Distributed byAnglo-Amalgamated (UK)
Release date
  • March 1954 (1954-03)
Running time
32 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Dark Stairway (also known as The Greek Street Murder[1]) is a 1954 British short film directed and written by Ken Hughes and starring Russell Napier and Vincent Ball.[2][3] It was one of the Scotland Yard series of second feature shorts made in the 1950s for British cinemas by Anglo-Amalgamated at the Merton Park Studios.[4][5] The films in the series are narrated by crime writer Edgar Lustgarten, and were subsequently broadcast as television episodes.[6][7]

Plot

A blind man, George Benson, witnesses the murder of Harry Carpenter by Joe Lloyd. Benson finds himself accused of the murder. Inspector Jack Harmer finds the murder weapon and discovers Carpenter was murdered because he betrayed Lloyd to the police. Benson manages to identify Lloyd by his ring, voice and hair products' smell.

Cast

Napier reappeared as Inspector Harmer in the 1954 episode The Strange Case of Blondie, and subsequently went on to play Inspector Duggan in thirteen episodes between 1956 and 1961.

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "An unpretentious and workmanlike crime short in the Scotland Yard series, with broad, elementary characterisation and a clean story-line, which creditably builds up an atmosphere of realism."[8]

Picturegoer wrote: "Imaginative use of camera and pocket-size sets, leaves it unhampered by its modest budget. By and large an enterprising British team."[9]

References

  1. ^ Scotland Yard at CTVA accessed 25 June 2014
  2. ^ "The Dark Stairway". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  3. ^ "The Dark Stairway (1953)". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.
  4. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  5. ^ "The Dark Stairway". Sydney Film Festival. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  6. ^ Lewis, Paul (14 January 2013). "Scotland Yard: The Complete Series". dvdcompare.net. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  7. ^ Vagg, Stephen (14 November 2020). "Ken Hughes Forgotten Auteur". Filmink.
  8. ^ "The Dark Stairway". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 21 (240): 78. 1 January 1954 – via ProQuest.
  9. ^ "The Dark Stairway". Picturegoer. 27: 21. 6 June 1954 – via ProQuest.