''The Missing Million'' is a 1942 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 Philip Brandon and starring

Linden Travers Florence Lindon-Travers, known professionally as Linden Travers (27 May 1913 – 23 October 2001Ronald Bergan ), was a British actress. Life and career Travers was born in Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, the daughter of Florence (née ...

John Warwick John McIntosh Beattie (4 January 1905 – 10 January 1972), known professionally as John Warwick, was an Australian actor, and television dramatist. Early life He was born John McIntosh Beattie (many sources give "Beattle") at Bellingen, New S ...

and Patricia Hilliard. It is adapted from the 1923 novel ''

The Missing Million ''The Missing Million'' is a 1942 British crime film directed by Philip Brandon and starring Linden Travers, John Warwick and Patricia Hilliard. It is adapted from the 1923 novel '' The Missing Million'' by Edgar Wallace. A millionaire is perse ...

'' by

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

. A millionaire is persecuted by a criminal gang.

Plot

When millionaire-about-town Rex Walton (Ivan Brandt) mysteriously vanishes on the eve of his wedding, a chain of strange, violent events is set in motion. Intrepid Joan Walton (Linden Travers) assists Inspector Dicker (John Stuart) in the search for her brother. The main suspect is notorious criminal The Panda ("The Prince of Blackmailers").

Production

The film was shot at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment i ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

with sets designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Andrew Mazzei Andrew Mazzei (1887–1975) was a French-born British art director who designed the sets for more than sixty films during his career. Mazzei began his career in the late 1920s during the silent era including on the futuristic ''High Treason''. ...

Cast

– Joan Walton *

– Bennett * Patricia Hilliard – Dora Coleman * John Stuart – Inspector Dicker *

Ivan Brandt Ivan Brandt (1903–1972) was a British stage and film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as fi ...

– Rex Walton *

Brefni O'Rorke Brefni O'Rorke (26 June 1889 – 11 November 1946) was an Irish actor, both on the stage and in movies. Early life O'Rorke was born as William Francis Breffni O'Rorke at 2 Esplande Villas in Dollymount, Clontarf, Dublin on 26 June 1889, and bap ...

– Michael Coleman *

Charles Victor Charles Victor (10 February 1896 – 23 December 1965) was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles between 1931 and 1965. He was born Charles Victor Harvey. Born in Southport, Lancashire, England, Victor was a fourth ...

– Nobby Knowles *

Marie Ault Marie Ault (2 September 1870 – 9 May 1951) was a British character actress of stage and film. Biography Born as Mary Cragg, in Wigan, Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester. England. Ault was a star in many British films of the silent era but is ...

– Mrs Tweedle *

Valentine Dyall Valentine Dyall (7 May 1908 – 24 June 1985) was an English character actor. He worked regularly as a voice actor, and was known for many years as "The Man in Black", the narrator of the BBC Radio horror series '' Appointment with Fear'' ...

as Collett *

James Donald James Donald (18 May 1917 – 3 August 1993) was a Scottish actor. Tall and thin, he specialised in playing authority figures, particularly military doctors. Early life Donald was born in Aberdeen, the fourth son of a Scottish Presbyterian m ...

as Police Officer

Critical reception

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 ...

'' called it a "routine second feature"; while ''Noirish'' wrote, "this is a very, very workaday comedy thriller, with most of the action being played as light entertainment and one character—the tiresomely misogynistic safecracker Nobby Knowles (Victor)—being played strictly for laughs".

References

External links

* 1942 films British crime films 1942 crime films 1940s English-language films Films set in London Films based on British novels Films based on works by Edgar Wallace Films shot at Riverside Studios British black-and-white films Films scored by Percival Mackey 1940s British films {{1940s-crime-film-stub