''Dead Man's Shoes'' is a 1940 British

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Thomas Bentley Thomas Bentley may refer to: * Thomas Bentley (director) Thomas Bentley (23 February 1884 – 23 December 1966) was a British film director. He directed 68 films between 1912 and 1941. He directed three films in the early DeForest Phonofilm sou ...

and starring

Leslie Banks Leslie James Banks Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (9 June 1890 – 21 April 1952) was an English stage and screen actor, director and producer, now best remembered for playing gruff, menacing characters in black-and-white fi ...

, Joan Marion and Wilfrid Lawson.

Plot

A man has lost his memory and rises to a position of authority and respect. One day he is confronted by a man who claims to have been involved with him in the past. The film is considered an antecedent of British

Film Noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

.Spicer p.439

Cast

as Roger de Vetheuil * Joan Marion as Viola de Vetheuil * Geoffrey Atkins as Paul de Vetheuil * Wilfrid Lawson as Lucien Sarrou *

Judy Kelly Julie Aileen Kelly (1 November 1913 – 22 October 1991), known professionally as Judy Kelly, was an Australian-born British actress. She arrived in Britain in 1932 after winning a competition organised by the Australian British Empire Films, ...

as Michelle Allain *

Nancy Price Nancy Price, CBE (3 February 1880 – 31 March 1970) was an English actress on stage and screen, author, animal welfare activist and theatre director. Her acting career began in a repertory theatre company before progressing to the London stage, ...

as Madame Pelletier *

Walter Hudd Walter Hudd (20 February 1897 – 20 January 1963) was a British actor and director. Stage career Hudd made his stage debut in ''The Manxman'' in 1919, and later toured as part of the Fred Terry Company; first attracting serious attention pla ...

as Gaston Alexandri *

Peter Bull Peter Cecil Bull, (21 March 1912 – 20 May 1984) was a British actor who appeared on the stage and in supporting roles in such films as '' The African Queen'', '' Tom Jones'' and '' Dr. Strangelove''. Peter Bull wrote twelve books. Biograph ...

as Defence Counsel *

Henry Oscar Henry Wale (14 July 1891 – 28 December 1969), known professionally as Henry Oscar, was an English stage and film actor. He changed his name and began acting in 1911, having studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Dr ...

as President of the Court *

Ludwig Stössel Ludwig Stössel (12 February 1883 – 29 January 1973) was an Austrian actor. He was one of many Jewish actors and actresses who were forced to flee Germany when the Nazis came to power in 1933. Biography Stössel began performing on the stage ...

as Doctor Breithaut *

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 3 October 1998) was a British-American actor whose career spanned over 270 screen and stage roles across over 60 years. Born in London, he began his acting career as a child in his n ...

as Boy

Production

Inspired by the 1938 French film ''

Crossroads Crossroads is a junction where four roads meet. Crossroads, crossroad, cross road(s) or similar may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a ...

'', it was made by

Associated British Picture Corporation Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appr ...

at the company's

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

. The film was completed in late 1939, but was not released until the following year.

References

Bibliography

*Spicer, Andrew. ''Historical Dictionary of Film Noir''. Scarecrow Press, 2010.

External links

* 1940 films 1940 drama films British drama films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Thomas Bentley British black-and-white films Films about amnesia British remakes of French films Films shot at Associated British Studios 1940s British films English-language drama films {{1940s-UK-film-stub