''This Man Is Dangerous'' (U.S. title: ''The Patient Vanishes'') is a 1941 British thriller film, directed by

Lawrence Huntington Lawrence Huntington (1900–1968) was a UK, British film director, screenwriter and film producer, producer. Huntington was born in London on 9 March 1900, he directed more than thirty films following his debut feature ''After Many Years'' (1930). ...

and starring James Mason and Gordon McLeod. The film is based on the 1934 novel ''They Called Him Death'' by David Hume. This film was long thought entirely lost, but a dubbed Italian version has been traced. Having named the film on their "

BFI 75 Most Wanted The BFI 75 Most Wanted is a list compiled in 2010 by the British Film Institute of the most sought-after British feature films not held in the BFI National Archive, and classified as "missing, believed lost". The films chosen range from quota qu ...

" list, the

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, ...

subsequently screened a discovered American reel of the film under its American title of 'The Patient Vanishes' in 2017 at its Big Thrill event - the first time the film had been shown on reel in the United Kingdom in seventy years.

Plot

Mick Cardby (Mason) earns a living as a self-employed private detective, to the exasperation of his father, Detective Inspector Cardby of

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

(McLeod), who would much prefer his son to enrol as a regular policeman. A policeman is killed while on duty in

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

and Scotland Yard are keen to catch the killer of their colleague. Mick launches his own enquiries, which lead him to Lord Morne (G. H. Mulcaster) who is frantic with worry as his daughter Lena has been abducted by a gang of blackmailers. Lord Morne offers Mick £1,000 to recover Lena safely. Mick gets to work and, aided by his secretary Molly (

Margaret Vyner Margaret Leila Vyner, also known by her married name Margaret Williams (3 December 1914 in Armidale, New South Wales – 30 October 1993 in Reading, England) was an Australian-born model and actress who appeared in British films. She collaborated ...

), tracks down the kidnappers to a shady nursing home in a remote rural area. However they manage to flee with Lena to North Wales. The kidnappers arrange a ransom drop with Lord Morne, but Mick arranges for him to go into hiding and goes to the rendezvous himself in disguise. His deception is uncovered and he is overpowered and taken to a derelict cargo ship. The gang use torture to try to get him to reveal Lord Morne's whereabouts, but Mick keeps his nerve and refuses to divulge the information. Finally they throw him into the ship's hold and set the vessel on fire. Mick manages to escape in the nick of time, and also rescues a member of the gang who had apparently been deemed surplus to requirements and had also been left to die on the blazing ship. This man is understandably disgruntled by his treatment at the hands of his former partners in crime, and is only to happy to help Mick out with the location where Lena is being held. Mick makes his way to the hideout and approaches stealthily, but not well enough to avoid being spotted by a lookout. A dramatic confrontation follows, and just as things are starting to look desperate for Mick, his father turns up with a Scotland Yard posse to save the day. The gang is captured and the rescued Lena is reunited with her father. She expresses her gratitude to Mick, with the hope that they will get to know each other better.

Cast

* James Mason as Mick Cardby *

Mary Clare Mary Clare Absalom (17 July 1892 – 29 August 1970) was a British actress of stage, film and television. Biography Daughter of George Alfred Absalom, Clare was educated at Wood Green secondary school, first worked in an office but a loan ...

as Matron *

as Molly Bennett * Gordon McLeod as Inspector Cardby *

Frederick Valk Frederick Valk (10 June 1895 – 23 July 1956) was a German-born Jewish stage and screen actor of Czech Jewish descent who fled to the United Kingdom in the late 1930s to escape Nazi persecution, and subsequently became a naturalised British cit ...

as Dr. Moger *

Barbara Everest Barbara Everest (19 June 1890 – 9 February 1968) was a British stage and film actress. She was born in Southfields, Surrey, and made her screen debut in the 1916 film ''The Man Without a Soul''. On stage she played Queen Anne in the 1935 his ...

as Mrs. Cardby * Barbara James as Lena Morne *

G. H. Mulcaster G. H. Mulcaster (27 June 1891 – 19 January 1964) was a London-born British actor. He was the father of the actor Michael Mulcaster, and the first husband of English actress Diana Napier. Selected filmography * ''God Bless Our Red, White and ...

as Lord Morne *

Eric Clavering Eric Clavering (1901–1989) was a British-born actor who spent much of his career in Canada. He played supporting roles in a number of British films during the Second World War. He later moved to Canada, and had a recurring role on the Canadian ...

as Al Meason * Terry Conlin as Detective Sergeant Trotter *

William Fay William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

as Mr. Eslick *

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 ...

as Dr. Crosbie *

Viola Lyel Viola Lyel (19 December 1896 – 14 August 1972) was an English actress. In a long stage career she appeared in the West End and on Broadway, for leading directors of the day, including Sir Barry Jackson, and Nigel Playfair. Her roles ranged fr ...

as Nurse * Anthony Shaw as Sir Wallace Benson *

Michael Rennie Michael Rennie (born Eric Alexander Rennie; 25 August 1909 – 10 June 1971) was a British film, television and stage actor, who had leading roles in a number of Hollywood films, including his portrayal of the space visitor Klaatu in the s ...

as Inspector

Reception and status

Upon original release, ''This Man Is Dangerous'' received good critical notices. ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. History ''Kinematograph Weekly'' was founded in 1889 as the monthly publication ''Optical Magic Lantern a ...

'' spoke of "exciting plot, fast action, good thrills, popular romantic and comedy asides, vigorous teamwork, hectic climax...", and added: "It gets away to a flying start and never calls a halt in its hectic gyrations...until crime is paid for in full, youth is vindicated and romance triumphs". The ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'', never known for being overly generous with its praise, wrote: "An admirable cast under the very capable direction of Lawrence Huntington keep the suspense at boiling-point until the end." In the U.S., the ''Motion Picture Herald'' described it as "a thrilling melodrama", although the writer wondered about the ability of American audiences to understand the British accents of the cast. The current status of the film is unclear. Although it is said to have been shown on British television as recently as 1987, the film was never commercially released to the VHS format of the time, and in fact a 1987 transmission may be debatable because the only film of this title which appears to have been shown that year in the digital archives of the ''Times'', ''Guardian'', ''Daily Express'' and ''Daily Mirror'' is a 1985 American TV movie. The

does not hold a print in the National Archive and attempts to track it down have so far been proved fruitless. Before its partial rediscovery, the film was classed as "missing, believed lost" and is included on the BFI's " 75 Most Wanted" list of missing British feature films. However, a dubbed copy has been shown on Italian television (which has even been released on DVD under the title name "Il ricattatore"), and the BFI are optimistic about tracing an English print. The film was subsequently discovered in its entirety after the discovery of an American reel in which the title card displays the US title of 'The Patient Vanishes'. This was shown at the BFI in 2017.

References

External links

BFI 75 Most Wanted entry
with extensive notes *
''This Man Is Dangerous''
at the BFI Film & TV Database {{DEFAULTSORT:This Man Is Dangerous 1941 films 1940s thriller films British crime drama films British thriller films British black-and-white films Films based on British novels Films directed by Lawrence Huntington 1940s rediscovered films Films set in London 1941 crime drama films Rediscovered British films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films