''The Hangman Waits'' is a 1947 British thriller film written, directed and produced by
A. Barr Smith, starring
Beatrice Campbell
Beatrice Campbell (31 July 1922 – 10 May 1979) was an Irish stage and film actress, born in County Down, Northern Ireland,
Biography
Career
After a distinguished London stage career, Campbell entered film in the mid-1940s. She received ...
and
John Turnbull. Shot documentary-style, the film tells the story of a murderer who comes to a grisly end.
Plot
A cinema organist murders an usherette, leaving the dismembered remains of her body in a trunk at London's
Victoria Station. The ''
News of the World
The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...
'' newspaper promotes a search to bring the murderer to justice. While on the run, he kills a second time. Finally he throws himself to his death from the top storey of the newspaper's building.
Cast
*
John Turnbull – Inspector
*
Beatrice Campbell
Beatrice Campbell (31 July 1922 – 10 May 1979) was an Irish stage and film actress, born in County Down, Northern Ireland,
Biography
Career
After a distinguished London stage career, Campbell entered film in the mid-1940s. She received ...
– Usherette
* Hylton Allen – Night Editor, Daily Clarion
* Anthony Baird – Sinclair
*
Vi Kaley
Vi Kaley, (19 November 1878, Lambeth - 1967, Marylebone), was a British actress. She was married to Alfred Artois.
Partial filmography
* '' Lloyd of the C.I.D.'' (1932)
* '' A Royal Demand'' (1933)
* ''Gay Old Dog'' (1935)
* ''The Man Without a F ...
– Old Woman in Crowd outside Queens Theatre (as Vi Kailey)
*
John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation co ...
– newspaper worker (uncredited)
Critical reception
In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "*Documentary-style study of the pursuit of a killer. Burly character actor John Turnbull's only role in films."
Chibnall and McFarlane in ''The British 'B' Film'' called the film: "A gruesome slice of Grand Guignol, adding: "Somewhat unconvincingly its distributors, Butcher's, tried to emphasise the film's factual and educational credentials: 'An absorbing and thrilling exposition of Newspaper life showing how crime news is collected and presented in its various stages,' claimed the poster. Reviewers were less convinced and could recommend this only to the unsophisticated."
References
Releases
The film was released on DVD by Renown Pictures in 2011.
External links
*
''The Hangman Waits''a
ReelStreets
1947 films
British thriller films
1940s British films
{{1940s-UK-film-stub