''Meet Mr. Callaghan'' is a 1954 British

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Charles Saunders and starring

Derrick De Marney Derrick Raoul Edouard Alfred De Marney (21 September 1906 – 18 February 1978) was an English stage and film actor and producer, of French and Irish ancestry. Actor The son of Violet Eileen Concanen and Arthur De Marney, and the grandson of ...

. Based on the 1938 novel ''

The Urgent Hangman ''The Urgent Hangman'' is a 1938 thriller novel by the British writer Peter Cheyney. It introduced the fictional London-based private detective Slim Callaghan, the first in a series of seven novels as well as two short story collections. Adaptat ...

'' by

Peter Cheyney Reginald Evelyn Peter Southouse-Cheyney (22 February 1896 – 26 June 1951) was a British crime fiction writer who flourished between 1936 and 1951. Cheyney is perhaps best known for his short stories and novels about agent/detective Lemmy Ca ...

, which Cheyney had then turned into a play. Co-producer and star Derrick de Marney had directed the stage version of ''Meet Mr. Callaghan'' at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...

in 1952, which starred Derrick's brother Terence as Cheyney's private eye

Slim Callaghan Slim Callaghan is a fictional London-based private detective created by the writer Peter Cheyney. Like another of Cheyney's characters, the FBI agent Lemmy Caution, he was constructed as a British response to the more hardboiled detectives of Amer ...

. Derrick played this role in the film. The play was notable for the theme music and score by

Eric Spear Eric Spear (18 April 1908 – 3 November 1966), was an English composer best known for his film scores and the theme of the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Early life and career Spear was born in Croydon in 1908. He participated ...

which became a best-selling record for

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...

Plot

Down at heel

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

Slim Callaghan is hired by young socialite Cynthis Meraulton to investigate other family members after her rich stepfather changes his will in her favour. She suspects he will be killed and the new will destroyed. When her stepfather is subsequently murdered, suspicion falls on Cynthis.

Cast

* Harriette Johns as Cynthis Meraulton *

Adrienne Corri Adrienne Corri (born Adrienne Riccoboni; 13 November 1931 – 13 March 2016) was a Scottish actress. Early life She was born Adrienne Riccoboni in Glasgow in November 1931, the daughter of an English mother (Olive Smethurst) and an Italian f ...

as Mayola *

Delphi Lawrence Delphi Lawrence (23 March 1932 – 11 April 2002) was an English actress. She was educated at Halidon House School in Slough, Berkshire, whilst living in Colnbrook. Born to Barbara Yvonne ( Enever) and Louis Holzman, who wed in 1930, she wa ...

as Effie *

Belinda Lee Belinda Lee (15 June 193512 March 1961) was an English actress. A profile for the British Film Institute's Screenonline website asserts: "of all the Rank Organisation's starlets, Belinda Lee stands out as the most notorious, yet paradoxically ...

as Jenny Appleby * Larry Burns as Darky * Peter Neil as William Meraulton * Robert Adair as August Meraulton *

Trevor Reid Trevor Reid (25 January 190816 April 1965) was an English actor. Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, UK. He acted in 47 films from 1938 to 1965. He died at age 57 in London. Selected filmography * ''Dangerous Cargo'' (1954) - Watson * ''M ...

as Inspector Gringall *

John Longden John Longden (11 November 1900 – 26 May 1971) was an English film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1926 and 1964, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Biography Longden was born in the West Indies, the son o ...

as Jeremy Meraulton * Roger Williams as Bellamy Meraulton * Frank Henderson as Paul Meraulton *

Frank Sieman Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

as Sergeant Fields * Michael Partridge as Jengel * Howard Douglas as Tweest * John Ainsworth as P.C. Masters * Michael Balfour as Coffee Stallkeeper

Production

Peter Cheyney's novel ''

'' was published in 1938. It was the first in a series of novels by Cheyney featured private investigator Slim Callaghan, others including ''Dangerous Curves'' (1939), ''You Can't Keep the Change'' (1940), ''It Couldn't Matter Less'' (1941), ''Sorry You've Been Troubled'' (1942), ''They Never Say When'' (1944) and ''Uneasy Terms'' (1946). ''Uneasy Terms'' was turned into a 1948 film. ''The Urgent Hangman'' was adapted by Gerald Verner into a play ''Meet Mr Callaghan'' which premiered at the Garrick Theatre in 1952. The role of Slim Callaghan was played by

Terence De Marney Terence Arthur De Marney (1 March 190825 May 1971) was a British film, stage, radio and television actor, as well as theatre director and writer. Career Actor The son of Violet Eileen Concanen and Arthur De Marney, and the grandson of no ...

and the production was directed by de Marney's brother

Derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, and a ...

. The play was very successful, with 340 performances. It inspired a hit song. Terence De Marney played Callaghan in another Gerald Verne theatrical adaptation of a Callaghan story, ''Dangerous Curves'', which premiered at the Garrick in April 1953. In the film version of ''Meet Mr Callaghan'', the role of Slim Callaghan was played by Derrick de Marney, not Terence. Filming took place at Nettleford Studios in September 1953. It was the second film from Belinda Lee.

Critical reception

''Monthly Film Bulletin'' said the "transference" from stage to screen "has been made without much imagination. The involved plot is helped along by a few barbed lines but Derrick de Marney fails to make a sympathetic hero out of a private detective who stoops to robbery, blackmail and bribery in his investigations." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' wrote, "Mystery programmer has a couple of good moments, but little else": whereas ''MysteryFile'' noted, "The detective work is very good, and the complicated plot holds together, but it's the overall sense of good humor that really carries the day — not laugh out loud funny, but the mood is light enough to smile almost constantly."

Plot

Cast

Production

Critical reception

References

External links