Mantrap
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTerence Fisher
Written byTerence Fisher
Paul Tabori
Based onthe novel "Queen in Danger" by Trevor Dudley-Smith
Produced byMichael Carreras
Alexander Paal
StarringPaul Henreid
Lois Maxwell
Kieron Moore
Hugh Sinclair
Kay Kendall
CinematographyReginald H. Wyer
Edited byJames Needs
Music byDoreen Carwithen
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists (USA)
Exclusive Films (UK)
Release date
  • 10 March 1953 (1953-03-10) (UK)
Running time
73 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Mantrap, released in the United States as Man in Hiding, is a 1953 British second feature[1] whodunit directed by Terence Fisher, starring Paul Henreid and Lois Maxwell.[2]

Plot

A falsely convicted murderer escapes prison to seek out the real killer and to clear his name.

Cast

Production

The film was based on the 1952 novel Queen in Danger by Elleston Trevor. It was made by Hammer Films and shot at the Bray Studios and on location in London, mostly near St Paul's Cathedral.

Paul Henreid had previously made Stolen Face (1952) for the Lipperts for the same low salary and percentage of the profits.[3]

Critical reception

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Good cast adrift in an archly contrived thriller."[4]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Paul Henreid, that oily smoothie from Casablanca [1942] and Now, Voyager [1942], here washes up in the torrid, tawdry, cheapskate world of the British quota quickie. Lois Maxwell plays a wife who changes her name and begins a new life after her husband is convicted of murder. When he escapes, she goes to private detective Henreid for help. Maxwell later found fame as Miss Moneypenny in the Bond films."[5]

References

  1. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ^ "Mantrap". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  3. ^ Henreid, Paul; Fast, Julius (1984). Ladies man : an autobiography. St. Martin's Press. p. 200.
  4. ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 344. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
  5. ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 590. ISBN 9780992936440.

External links


Films directed by Terence Fisher
Categories