''The Crooked Road'' is a 1965 British film directed and co-written by

Don Chaffey Donald Chaffey (5 August 1917 – 13 November 1990) was a British film director, writer, producer, and art director. Chaffey's film career began as an art director in 1947, and his directorial debut was in 1953. He remained active in the indu ...

. It stars Stewart Granger,

Robert Ryan Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor and activist. Known for his portrayals of hardened cops and ruthless villains, Ryan performed for over three decades. He was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

, and

Janet Munro Janet Munro (born Janet Neilson Horsburgh; 28 September 1934 – 6 December 1972) was a British actress. She won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' (1959) and received a BAFTA Film Awar ...

. The film is based on the 1957 novel ''The Big Story'' by

Morris West Morris Langlo West (26 April 19169 October 1999) was an Australian novelist and playwright, best known for his novels '' The Devil's Advocate'' (1959), '' The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (1963) and ''The Clowns of God'' (1981). His books were pub ...

. An American journalist (

) plans to expose as a crook the dictator ( Stewart Granger) of a small Balkan state, but finds himself framed for murder.

Cast

as Richard Ashley * Stewart Granger as Duke of Orgagna *

Nadia Gray Nadia Gray (born Nadia Kujnir; 23 November 1923 – 13 June 1994) was a Romanian film actress. Biography Gray was born into a Jewish family in Bucharest. Her father moved to Romania from Russia, and her mother was from Akkerman (Bessarabia). ...

as Cosima * Katherine Woodville as Elena *

Marius Goring Marius Re Goring, (23 May 191230 September 1998) was a British stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in '' A Matter of Life and Death'' and as Julian Cr ...

as Harlequin * Robert Rietty as the Chief of Police

The Big Story

The film was based on ''The Big Story'' by Morris West which was published in 1957. A ''Sydney Morning Herald'' profile on the author said it was "his initial foray into the world of Italian politics. To this stage, there is nothing to indicate international prominence."

Production

The film was shot in Yugoslavia over two months.

Reception

The ''New York Times'' said the film "bounces along nicely".

References

External links

* * 1965 films Films directed by Don Chaffey Films based on works by Morris West British thriller films 1960s thriller films Films set in Europe Films about journalists 1960s English-language films 1960s British films {{1960s-thriller-film-stub