''The Frog'' is a 1937 British crime film directed by

Jack Raymond Jack Raymond (1886–1953) was an English actor and film director. Born in Wimborne, Dorset in 1886, he began acting before the First World War in '' A Detective for a Day''. In 1921 he directed his first film and gradually he wound down his a ...

and starring

Gordon Harker William Gordon Harker (7 August 1885 – 2 March 1967) was an English stage and film actor. Harker was one of the sons of Sarah Elizabeth Harker, née Hall, (1856–1927), and Joseph Harker (1855–1927), a much admired set painter for the ...

Noah Beery Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...

Jack Hawkins John Edward Hawkins, CBE (14 September 1910 – 18 July 1973) was an English actor who worked on stage and in film from the 1930s until the 1970s. One of the most popular British film stars of the 1950s, he was known for his portrayal of mil ...

and

Carol Goodner Carol Marie Goodner (May 30, 1904 – November 29, 2001) was an American actress who appeared mostly in British films and television. Career Carol Goodner was born in New York City on May 30, 1904. A toe dancer when she was only four ye ...

. The film is about the police chasing a criminal mastermind who goes by the name of The Frog, and the 1936 play version by

Ian Hay Major General John Hay Beith, CBE MC (17 April 1876 – 22 September 1952), was a British schoolmaster and soldier, but is best remembered as a novelist, playwright, essayist, and historian who wrote under the pen name Ian Hay. After rea ...

. It was based on the 1925 novel ''

The Fellowship of the Frog ''The Fellowship of the Frog'' is a 1925 crime novel by the British writer Edgar Wallace. It was part of a series of books featuring the character Inspector Elk of Scotland Yard. In 1936 it was adapted into a West End play ''The Frog'' by Ian H ...

'' 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 ...

. It was followed by a loose sequel ''

The Return of the Frog ''The Return of the Frog'' is a 1938 British crime film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Gordon Harker, Hartley Power and Rene Ray. It is a sequel to the 1937 film ''The Frog'', and was based on the 1929 novel '' The India-Rubber Men'' by ...

'', the following year.

Cast

as Sgt. Elk *

as Joshua Broad *

as Captain Gordon *

as Lola Bassano *

Richard Ainley Richard Ainley (22 December 1910 – 18 May 1967) was a stage and film actor. He was born in Middlesex, England, the son of Henry Ainley and a half-brother of Anthony Ainley. Ainley made his stage debut in 1928, initially using the stage name ...

as Ray Bennett * Vivian Gaye as Stella Bennett *

Esme Percy Saville Esmé Percy (8 August 1887 – 17 June 1957) was an English actor who specialized in the plays of G.B. Shaw and appeared in 40 films between 1930 and 1956. He was born in London and died in Brighton. Partial filmography * ''Murder! ...

as Philo Johnson *

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Earl ...

as John Bennett *

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of ...

as PC Balder * Harold Franklyn as Hagen * Gordon McLeod as Chief Commissioner *

Julien Mitchell Julien Mitchell (13 November 1888 – 4 November 1954) was an English actor, in films from the mid-1930s. Mitchell supported comedians George Formby and Will Hay, and appeared in some Hollywood films in the early war years, but is perhaps ...

as John Maitland

Critical reception

Writing for '' Night and Day'' in 1937,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

gave the film a poor review, describing it as "badly directed ndbadly acted". Greene admitted that it did have "an old-world charm", but characterized the "well-mannered dialogue sdron ngon". ''Britmovie'' called it a "routine thriller"; while ''British Pictures'' wrote, "(it) suffers through being an adaptation of a theatre adaptation (by Ian Hay) of the original novel. Some of the exposition is clunky and at times confusing; and the direction needed someone like

Walter Forde Walter Forde (born Thomas Seymour Woolford, 21 April 1898 – 7 January 1984) was a British actor, screenwriter and director. Born in Lambeth, south London in 1898, he directed over fifty films between 1919 from the silent era through to 1 ...

to make the most of it. Hawkins and Harker, in the roles they played on stage, hold it together."

References

External links

* 1937 films 1937 crime films Films based on works by Edgar Wallace Films directed by Jack Raymond Films shot at Pinewood Studios British black-and-white films British crime films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films Films set in London Films set in Essex {{1930s-crime-film-stub

Cast

Critical reception

See also

References

External links