''The Diplomatic Corpse'' is a 1958 British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Montgomery Tully Montgomery Tully (6 May 190410 October 1988) was an Irish film director and writer. Film career Born in Dublin, Tully studied at the University of London, and originally entered the film industry as a director of documentaries. Later, Tully wo ...

and starring

Robin Bailey William Henry Mettam "Robin" Bailey (5 October 1919 – 14 January 1999) was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. Often cast in upper class and tradition-bound roles such as Mr Justice Graves in Thames Television's '' ...

Susan Shaw Susan Shaw (29 August 192927 November 1978) was an English actress. Biography Shaw was born Patsy Sloots in West Norwood, London. She had wanted to become a dress designer and was working as a typist at the Ministry for Information when she di ...

and

Liam Redmond Liam Redmond (27 July 1913 – 28 October 1989) was an Irish character actor known for his stage, film and television roles. Early life Redmond was one of four children born to cabinet-maker Thomas and Eileen Redmond. Educated at the Christ ...

. It was produced as a

second feature 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 featur ...

ACT Films The Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians (ACTT) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1933 and 1991. History The union was founded by technicians at the Gaumont British Studios in 1933 as th ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art director

Joseph Bato Joseph Bato (1888–1966) was a Hungarian artist. He fled Germany following the Nazi takeover due to his Jewish heritage and settled in London where he was employed as an art director and costume designer in the British film industry. He worked ...

Plot

A crime reporter, assisted by his girlfriend, a fashion reporter at the same newspaper, investigates a dead body taken out of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. They are soon able to link it with a foreign embassy, making it a sensitive diplomatic matter.

Cast

as Mike Billings *

as Jenny Drew *

as Inspector Corcoran *

Harry Fowler Henry James Fowler, MBE (10 December 1926 – 4 January 2012) was an English character actor in film and television. Over a career lasting more than six decades, he made nearly 200 appearances on screen. Personal life Fowler was born in Lambe ...

as Knocker Parsons *

André Mikhelson André Mikhelson was a Russian actor, in mostly British films. He was born in Moscow, in 1903. Selected filmography * '' The Gambler and the Lady'' (1952) - El Greco (uncredited) * '' Desperate Moment'' (1953) - Polizei Inspector * '' Star of My ...

as Hamid * Bill Shine as Humphrey Garrad *

Charles Farrell Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...

as Percy Simpson * Maya Koumani as Marian Koumaya * Nicholas Bruce as Karim * Peter Bathurst as Cartwright * John Briggs as Johnny, copy boy * Frank Hawkins as Police Sergeant * George Street as Station Police Sergeant * Eleanor Leigh

Production

Producer Francis Searle recalled the film "was a near-disaster. We had cast Ursula Howells; then, at the very last moment, she was taken sick and couldn’t appear. I then had to find another artiste quickly. We finished up with Susan Shaw and she was all right."

References

Bibliography

* Chibnall, Steve & McFarlane, Brian. ''The British 'B' Film''. Palgrave MacMillan, 2009.

External links

* 1958 films British comedy thriller films 1950s comedy thriller films Films set in London Films directed by Montgomery Tully 1958 comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub