The Intimate Stranger (1956 film)

For other uses, see Intimate Stranger.

The Intimate Stranger
Spanish poster (1969)
Directed byJoseph Losey (as Alec C. Snowden)
Written byHoward Koch (as Peter Howard)
Produced byAlec C. Snowden
StarringRichard Basehart
Mary Murphy
Constance Cummings
CinematographyGerald Gibbs
Edited byGeoffrey Muller
Music byTrevor Duncan
Production
companies
Anglo-Guild Productions
Merton Park Studios
Distributed byAnglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (UK)
Release date
  • June 1956 (1956-06) (UK)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$125,000[1]

The Intimate Stranger is a 1956 British film noir drama film directed by Joseph Losey (under the pseudonym Alec C. Snowden), and starring Richard Basehart, Mary Murphy, Constance Cummings and Roger Livesey.[2] It was released in the U.S. as Finger of Guilt.[3]

Plot

Reggie Wilson's Hollywood career as a film editor ended after he had an affair with his boss's wife. He then moved to England, became successful and married the daughter of a producer. They are both working on a new film called Eclipse. His new life is threatened when he starts receiving intimate letters from a woman. She reminds him of a relationship that they had some time ago, but he has no knowledge of it.

Cast

Director Joseph Losey appears in a small cameo part as a film director.

Production

Producer/director Joseph Losey, a communist who had been blacklisted in the United States and moved to the United Kingdom, is credited onscreen as Alec C. Snowden. The screenplay was written by fellow communist Howard Koch, who had also been blacklisted and wrote under the name of Peter Howard. The film, originally titled With All My Heart, was produced at Shepperton Studios, where filming began in November 1955.[4]

Reception

Allmovie wrote: "Perhaps Koch and his director Joseph Losey...were too drawn in to the plot's semi-metaphorical take on blacklisting to see that the scenes are not properly focused, the dialogue lacks enough sparkle and that the string of coincidences causes some plausibility problems. Fortunately, Finger is helped immensely by the on-target performance of leading man Richard Basehart and the beautifully wicked one of Mary Murphy, as well as the solid turn from Constance Cummings."[3]

Derek Winnert wrote "It is one of the least well known of all Losey’s films, but then it is arguably also one of the least too, though far from negligible."[5]

Dennis Schwartz noted a "tightly scripted crime thriller...The conclusion comes with a pat resolution, but by that time I was engrossed in the improbable story and too much impressed with the fine acting to care that much if I was being manipulated."[6]

References

  1. ^ Caute, David (1994). Joseph Losey. Oxford University Press. p. 124.
  2. ^ "The Intimate Stranger (1956)". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Finger of Guilt (1956) - Joseph Losey - Review - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  4. ^ 'Guys and Dolls' Takes Over Manhattan; Owen Plans Film in London Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 4 Nov 1955: B9.
  5. ^ "The Intimate Stranger [Finger of Guilt] *** (1956, Richard Basehart, Mary Murphy, Mervyn Johns, Constance Cummings, Roger Livesey, Faith Brook) – Classic Movie Review 7066 - Derek Winnert". www.derekwinnert.com.
  6. ^ Schwartz, Dennis. "fingerofguilt". homepages.sover.net.


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