''Face in the Night'' is a 1957 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 combin ...

directed by

Lance Comfort Lance Comfort (11 August 1908 – 25 August 1966) was an English film director. In a career spanning over 25 years, he became one of the most prolific film directors in Britain, though he never gained critical attention and remained on the ...

and starring Griffith Jones, Lisa Gastoni and

Vincent Ball Vincent Martin Ball OAM (born 4 December 1923) is an Australian retired character actor of radio, stage and screen, active in the industry for nearly 55 years (with a brief return) firstly in Britain and then his native Australia. He has also ...

. It was based on the novel ''Suspense'' by prolific crime writer Bruce Graeme. The film was released in the U.S. as ''Menace in the Night''.

Plot

A young woman witnesses a mailbag robbery that ends with a dead

postman A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...

, but she is intimidated into not coming forward.

Cast

* Griffith Jones ... Rapson * Lisa Gastoni ... Jean Francis *

... Bob Meredith * Eddie Byrne ... Art *

Victor Maddern Victor Jack Maddern (16 March 1928 – 22 June 1993) was an English actor. He was described by ''The Telegraph'' as having "one of the most distinctive and eloquent faces in post-war British cinema." Life and career Born in Seven Kings, ...

... Ted * Clifford Evans ... Inspector Ford * Joan Miller ... Victor's Wife *

Leonard Sachs Leonard Meyer Sachs (26 September 1909 – 15 June 1990) was a South African-born British actor. Life and career Sachs was born in the town of Roodepoort, in the then Transvaal Colony, present day South Africa. He was Jewish. He emigrated t ...

... Victor *

Leslie Dwyer Leslie Gilbert Dwyer (28 August 1906 – 26 December 1986) was an English film and television actor. Career He was born in Catford, the son of the popular music hall comedian Johnny Dwyer, and acted from the age of ten and appeared in his firs ...

... Toby *

Jenny Laird Phyllis Edith Mary Blythe (13 February 1912 – 31 October 2001), known professionally as Jenny Laird, was a British stage, film and television actress. Early life and education Born in Manchester, Laird and her parents moved to the south, an ...

... Postman's Widow * Angela White ... Betty Francis * Barbara Couper ... Mrs. Francis * Andre Van Gyseghem ... Bank Manager *

Marie Burke Marie Burke (born Marie Rosa Altfuldisch, later Holt, 18 October 189421 March 1988) was an English actress of stage, cinema and television. She appeared in over 40 films between 1917 and 1971, and appeared in TV series between 1953 and 1969. B ...

... Auntie

Critical reception

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...

wrote, "this British crime quickie reads rather better than it plays"; while ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' wrote that the film is "hampered by some less-than-impressive camerawork"; but

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

noted "a crisp thriller, economic in length but correspondingly fast in pace and actionful."

References

External links

* 1957 films 1957 crime drama films 1950s thriller films British black-and-white films British crime drama films British thriller films Films based on British novels Films directed by Lance Comfort Films scored by Richard Rodney Bennett Films with screenplays by Norman Hudis 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{1950s-crime-film-stub