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The Sinister Man

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The Sinister Man
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClive Donner
Written byRobert Stewart
Based onnovel The Sinister Man by Edgar Wallace
Produced byJack Greenwood
StarringPatrick Allen
Gerald Anderson
William Gaunt
John Bentley
CinematographyBert Mason
Edited byDerek Holding
Music byCharles Blackwell
Distributed byAnglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors
Release date
  • December 1961 (1961-12)
Running time
58 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Sinister Man is a 1961 British crime drama film directed by Clive Donner and starring Patrick Allen and John Bentley.[1][2] It was one of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries, British second-features, produced at Merton Park Studios in the 1960s.[3]

Plot

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The body of an Oxford professor is found floating in the river Thames. He had previously been studying an archeological artefact known as the Kytang Wafers, and this is now missing. Scotland Yard investigates. The wafers are bits of ancient text that could alter the relations between Red China and a Tibetan type nation called "Kytang". An autopsy reveals that the professor was murdered by a karate blow.

Cast

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Critical reception

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The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Hectic penny dreadful, without subtlety or surprise. Clive Donner's direction has intermittent punch, but the jaded format of these Edgar Wallace quickies is beginning to defeat any attempt at even the simplest kind of style."[4]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Very tolerable minor thriller in the Edgar Wallace series: short, sharp and snappy."[5]

MemorableTV.com described the film as "definitely one of the great Edgar Wallace entries with a fab cast that includes a pre-Steptoe Wilfred Brambell, Patrick Allen, William Gaunt and Burt Kwouk. John Bentley who took the lead as Superintendent Willis was a popular actor in the late fifties and early sixties but is all but forgotten these days."[6]

Classic Movie Ramblings wrote "The Sinister Man isn’t exactly a good movie but it has plenty of energy and a few intriguingly odd moments. I found it to be strangely appealing."[7]

Home media

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The film is included in Volume 2 of The Edgar Wallace Mystery series, released on region 2 DVD by Network, in 2012.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "The Sinister Man". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  2. ^ "The Sinister Man". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009.
  3. ^ "» EDGAR WALLACE AT MERTON PARK – by Tise Vahimagi".
  4. ^ "The Sinister Man". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 29 (336): 26. 1 January 1962 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 923. ISBN 0586088946.
  6. ^ Mem TV. "Edgar Wallace Mysteries: The Sinister Man (1961 Merton Park with John Bentley)".
  7. ^ "Classic Movie Ramblings: The Sinister Man (1961)". 25 May 2018.
  8. ^ "The Edgar Wallace Mysteries - Volume 2". www.dvdbeaver.com.
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