''Stranger in the House'' is a 1967

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 and written by Pierre Rouve (from the novel by

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

), produced by

Anatole de Grunwald Anatole "Tolly" de Grunwald (25 December 1910 – 13 January 1967) was a Russian British film producer and screenwriter. Biography De Grunwald was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the son of a diplomat (Constantin de Grunwald) in the se ...

and starring

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

Geraldine Chaplin Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944) is an American actress. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of eight children with his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill. After beginnings in dance and modeling, she turned her attention to act ...

and

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music. He started his car ...

. The movie was released as ''Cop-Out'' in the USA and is a remake of the French film '' Strangers in the House'' (''Les inconnus dans la maison'', 1942). The film was remade in 1997.

Eric Burdon & the Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound an ...

recorded the song "Ain't That So" for the film. The song was co-written by band member

Vic Briggs Victor Harvey Briggs III (14 February 1945 – 30 June 2021) was a British blues and rock musician, best known as the lead guitarist with Eric Burdon and The Animals during the 1966–1968 period. Briggs, a convert to Sikhism, later played ...

and the composer of the film score, John Scott. It was produced and arranged by Briggs.

Plot

John Sawyer was once a brilliant defence lawyer but his life has taken a downturn. He has become an alcoholic, his wife has left him, his sister is ashamed of him, while his daughter Angela, who still lives in his increasingly shabby large house, despises him. She follows her own life with a wild group of friends led by two rich boys, one of whom is her cousin, Desmond. Two poor boys are also part of the gang: an American criminal on the run called Barney and a

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

immigrant called Jo. Angela falls for Jo. After a vicious fight with Jo, Barney is immobilised and Angela hides him in the attic of her house, where he is shot dead by an intruder. The murder weapon is planted on Jo, who is arrested and put on trial. Nobody in town wants to defend him, so Angela begs her father to do so. John does not believe the case against Jo and starts his own investigation, through which he gradually gets his own life back together. Through careful observation and questioning, he works out who wanted Barney dead. It was his nephew Desmond, whom Barney humiliated when he hired him a whore. John confronts Desmond in his parents' house and, reading

Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

to him, makes him see that his only course is to confess. As John leaves the house, a proud and thankful Angela takes his arm.

Cast

as John Sawyer *

as Angela Sawyer *

as Barney Teale * Paul Bertoya as Jo Christoforides *

Ian Ogilvy Ian Raymond Ogilvy (born 30 September 1943) is an English actor, playwright, and novelist. Early life Ogilvy was born in Woking, Surrey, England, to Francis Fairfield Ogilvy, brother of advertising executive David Ogilvy, and actress Aileen ...

as Desmond Flower *

Bryan Stanyon Bryan Stanyon, also known as Bryan Stanion (born c.1941), is a British actor with a career spanning from the 1960s through the late 1970s. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal as Professor Cawston in the British science fiction serial ''Th ...

as Peter Hawkins *

Pippa Steel Pippa Steel (15 April 1948, Flensburg, Germany – 29 May 1992) was a British actress best known for her roles in two Hammer horror films: ''The Vampire Lovers'' (1970) and ''Lust for a Vampire'' (1971). Career Her other films included '' Stran ...

as Sue Phillips *

Clive Morton Clive Morton (16 March 1904 – 24 September 1975) was an English actor best known for playing upper class Englishmen, he made many screen appearances, especially on television. In 1955, he appeared in Laurence Olivier's '' Richard III'' and is ...

as Colonel Flower *

Moira Lister Moira Lister Gachassin-Lafite, Viscountess of Orthez (6 August 192327 October 2007) was a South African-British film, stage and television actress and writer. Early life Born in Cape Town to Major James Lister and Margaret (née Hogan), List ...

as Mrs. Flower * James Hayter as Harry Hawkins *

Megs Jenkins Muguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins (21 April 1917 – 5 October 1998) was an English character actress who appeared in British films and television programmes. Life and career Jenkins was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, the daughter of a construction ...

as Mrs. Christoforides *

Lisa Daniely Lisa Daniely (born Mary Elizabeth Bodington; 4 June 1929 – 24 January 2014) was a British film and television actress. Life and career Born in Reading, Berkshire, to an English solicitor father and a French mother, she was educated in Paris ...

as Diana Sawyer *

Ivor Dean Ivor Donald Dean (21 December 1917 – 10 August 1974) was a British stage, film and television actor. Biography With his lugubrious demeanour he was often cast as world-weary police officers or butlers, and indeed it is for the role of Chief I ...

as Inspector Colder *

Marjie Lawrence Marjie Lawrence (21 January 1932 – 16 June 2010) was an English theatre, film and television actress. She spoke the first words uttered on ITV. Early life Born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, Marjie undertook weekend acting classes from ag ...

as Brenda *

Yootha Joyce Yootha Joyce Needham (20 August 1927 – 24 August 1980), known as Yootha Joyce, was an English actress best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy in the sitcom ''Man About the House'' (1973–1976) and its spin-off ''George and M ...

as Shooting Range Girl

Critical response

Some critics felt that, although the casting of Chaplin and Darin was meant to appeal to younger audiences, both were too old for their characters. Others thought that the title ''Cop-Out'' might have worked better (especially with audiences of the 1960s) without its trendy camera work and wearisome generation-gap propaganda.

Reception

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, which had co-produced the film, reported a loss of $795,000 on it.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stranger In The House 1967 films Films based on Belgian novels Films based on works by Georges Simenon Films produced by Anatole de Grunwald Films produced by Dimitri de Grunwald Films scored by John Scott (composer) British remakes of French films British crime drama films Films shot at MGM-British Studios 1960s English-language films 1960s British films