A Stranger Came Home
A Stranger Came Home | |
---|---|
A poster for the film bearing its American title: The Unholy Four | |
Directed by | Terence Fisher |
Produced by | Michael Carreras |
Written by | Michael Carreras |
Starring | Paulette Goddard |
Music by | Leonard Salzedo |
Cinematography | Walter J. Harvey |
Production company |
Hammer Film Productions (in association with) Lippert Films |
Distributed by |
|
Release dates | 1954 |
Running time | 80 min. |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Box office | 11,349 admissions (France)[1] |
A Stranger Came Home, released in the United States under the title The Unholy Four, is a 1954 British film noir.[2] It was based on the novel Stranger at Home, which was credited to film actor George Sanders but was actually ghostwritten by Leigh Brackett. It was directed by Terence Fisher and starred American actress Paulette Goddard.[3]
Plot
Four friends go on a fishing trip but only three return. After an absence of four years, the fourth man, Philip Vickers, returns home an amnesiac. He tells of a "friend" who knocked him out, drugged him, and left him to die. Any one of the remaining men could be a suspect as Job Crandall, Bill Saul and Harry Bryce are all interested in Philip's attractive widow, Angie. Unfortunately, Philip's return coincides with a murder and he becomes the main suspect. Angie joins forces with her husband to help solve the mystery and clear his name.
Cast
- Paulette Goddard as Angie
- William Sylvester as Philip Vickers
- Patrick Holt as Job Crandall
- Paul Carpenter as Bill Saul
- Alvys Maben as Joan Merrill
- Russell Napier as Inspector Treherne
- Kay Callard as Jenny
- Patricia Owens as Blonde
- David King-Wood as Sessions
- Jeremy Hawk as Police Sergeant Johnson
Critical reception
The New York Times wrote, "A THIRD-RATE British-made whodunit called The Unholy Four, featuring Paulette Goddard and a nondescript cast...A few more fly-by-nights like this Lippert presentation, produced and written by Michael Carreras, and the still-shapely Miss Goddard may find herself collecting the pieces of a career" ;[4] Leonard Maltin called it "Muddled," ;[5] whereas Allmovie called it a "suspenseful drama." [6]
References
- ↑ Box office information for Terence Fisher films in France at Box office Story
- ↑ "The Stranger Came Home". BFI.
- ↑ Allen Eyles. "The Stranger Came Home". RadioTimes.
- ↑ "Movie Review - Stranger Came Home - The Screen in Review; 'Unholy Four' Followed on the Palace Bill by 'A Street Cat Named Sylvester' - NYTimes.com". nytimes.com.
- ↑ "The Unholy Four (1954) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
- ↑ "The Unholy Four (1954) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast - AllMovie". AllMovie.