''Men Without Honour'' is a 1939 British

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by Widgey R. Newman and starring

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

Howard Douglas General Sir Howard Douglas, 3rd Baronet, (23 January 1776 – 9 November 1861) was a British Army officer born in Gosport, England, the younger son of Admiral Sir Charles Douglas, and a descendant of the Earls of Morton. He was an English ...

and

Grace Arnold Grace Arnold (19 September 1894 – 26 February 1979) was an English actress. Selected filmography * ''Guilt'' (1931) * '' Men Without Honour'' (1939) - Mrs. Hardy * ''Crimes at the Dark House'' (1940) - Maid (uncredited) * ''Spare a Copper'' ...

. The film was made at Bushey Studios, as a low-budget

B film A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

designed to go on the bottom-half of a

double bill The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

.Chibnall p.300

Synopsis

A disgraced

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

ends up working for a gang of share-pushers. He becomes outraged when he discovers that they are scamming his son's prospective

father-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person is a child-in-law ...

and eventually unmasks the villains with the help of the police.

Cast

as Frank Hardy *

as Fane * W.T. Hodge as Vigor * Charles Paton as Rev. Fanshawe *

as Mrs. Hardy *

Alastair Hunter Alistair is a masculine given name. It is an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic ''Alasdair''. The latter is most likely a Scottish Gaelic variant of the Norman French Alexandre (given name), Alexandre or Latin Alexander, which was incorporated ...

as John Hardy * Edith Clinton as Enid Fanshawe * Charles Courtney as Field *

Tony Melrose Tony Melrose (born 7 September 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played in the NSWRL Premiership for Parramatta, South Sydney, Manly-Warringah and Eastern Suburbs in the ...

as Commissioner * George Dewhurst as Inspector Smith * Rex Alderman as Barclay

References

Bibliography

*Chibnall, Steve. ''Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British 'B' Film''.

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

, 2007. *Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927–1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* 1939 films 1939 crime drama films British crime drama films Films set in London Bushey Studios films Films directed by Widgey R. Newman British black-and-white films Quota quickies 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-film-stub