Silent Dust
Encyclopedia
Silent Dust is a 1949
British drama/thriller film, directed by Lance Comfort
and starring Nigel Patrick
, Sally Gray
, Stephen Murray and Beatrice Campbell
. The screenplay was by Michael Pertwee
, adapted from his own play The Paragon. The film was shot in film noir
style with dramatic use of light and shadow.
A contemporary review in the Australian The Age
credited it as "first-class screen fare...strong drama...(which) combines a good and arresting story with first class acting". The New York Times found the film to have "considerable merit as drama" and singled out Murray's "acutely sharp characterization" for praise, but felt that overall it was somewhat let down by "(showing) its stage heritage in a number of static sequences which rob it of much-needed vitality".
) urges him to dedicate it to all the local men who gave their lives in the war, but Robert refuses. Planning and construction take some time and three years pass, during which Simon's widow Angela (Gray) falls in love with local doctor's son Maxwell Oliver (Derek Farr
). Robert cannot help feeling that this is disloyal to his dead son, but his second wife Joan (Campbell) does her best to convince him that Angela is entitled to search for happiness again. The pavilion is finally completed and plans are in place for the grand dedication and opening. The local police are meanwhile looking for a villain who coshed a motorist and stole his car in London, and has dumped the car in the vicinity.
Robert surprises an intruder in the house that evening. He is closely followed by Angela, who to her great shock recognises her "dead" husband Simon (Patrick). He signals to her not to let Robert know his identity. Later he comes up with elaborate excuses to Angela to explain his resurrection and lack of contact since the war, but she soon sees through the lies. It is subsequently revealed that, far from dying a hero's death on the battlefield, Simon was a deserter who faked his own death. Since the war he has been making a living on the wrong side of the law as a black-marketeering spiv. Now down on his luck, he has returned (in the stolen car) to try to extort money.
Angela has to let Joan in on Simon's return from the dead, and the two try desperately to shield Robert from the knowledge of his son's return in such circumstances, aware that the shattering of his illusions would destroy him. The unscrupulous Simon, learning of Angela's new attachment to Maxwell, demands £5,000 to leave for good. Robert gradually comes to realise that something very strange is going on, and little by little manages to piece together that Simon is in hiding somewhere in the house. He finally manages to track him down and a struggles ensues, climaxing with Simon falling to his death from a balcony. With his son's perfidy finally revealed to all, Robert agrees to change the dedication of the pavilion, as Lord Clandon had requested all along.
1949 in film
The year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
British drama/thriller film, directed by Lance Comfort
Lance Comfort
Lance Comfort was an English film director and producer born in Harrow, London.With a career spanning over 25 years he became one of the most prolific film directors in Britain though never gained critical attention and remained on the fringes of the film industry creating mostly B movies.Comfort...
and starring Nigel Patrick
Nigel Patrick
Nigel Patrick was an English actor and stage director born into a theatrical family.-Biography:...
, Sally Gray
Sally Gray
Constance Vera Browne, Baroness Oranmore and Browne , commonly known as Sally Gray, was an English movie actress of the 1930s and 1940s....
, Stephen Murray and Beatrice Campbell
Beatrice Campbell
Beatrice Campbell was a British stage and film actress. She was born in County Down, Northern Ireland.-Career:After a distinguished London stage career, Campbell entered film in the mid-1940s...
. The screenplay was by Michael Pertwee
Michael Pertwee
Michael Pertwee was a British playwright and screenwriter. Among his credits were episodes of The Saint, Danger Man, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, B-And-B, Ladies Who Do, and many other films and TV series....
, adapted from his own play The Paragon. The film was shot in film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
style with dramatic use of light and shadow.
A contemporary review in the Australian The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
credited it as "first-class screen fare...strong drama...(which) combines a good and arresting story with first class acting". The New York Times found the film to have "considerable merit as drama" and singled out Murray's "acutely sharp characterization" for praise, but felt that overall it was somewhat let down by "(showing) its stage heritage in a number of static sequences which rob it of much-needed vitality".
Plot
Simon Rawley is reported killed in the last days of World War II, and his blind father Robert (Murray) decides to build a sports pavilion in his memory in the local village. His neighbour Lord Clandon (Seymour HicksSeymour Hicks
Sir Arthur Seymour Hicks , better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, screenwriter, theatre manager and producer. He married the actress Ellaline Terriss in 1893...
) urges him to dedicate it to all the local men who gave their lives in the war, but Robert refuses. Planning and construction take some time and three years pass, during which Simon's widow Angela (Gray) falls in love with local doctor's son Maxwell Oliver (Derek Farr
Derek Farr
Derrick Capel Farr was a British actor who appeared regularly in British films and television from 1938 until his death in 1986....
). Robert cannot help feeling that this is disloyal to his dead son, but his second wife Joan (Campbell) does her best to convince him that Angela is entitled to search for happiness again. The pavilion is finally completed and plans are in place for the grand dedication and opening. The local police are meanwhile looking for a villain who coshed a motorist and stole his car in London, and has dumped the car in the vicinity.
Robert surprises an intruder in the house that evening. He is closely followed by Angela, who to her great shock recognises her "dead" husband Simon (Patrick). He signals to her not to let Robert know his identity. Later he comes up with elaborate excuses to Angela to explain his resurrection and lack of contact since the war, but she soon sees through the lies. It is subsequently revealed that, far from dying a hero's death on the battlefield, Simon was a deserter who faked his own death. Since the war he has been making a living on the wrong side of the law as a black-marketeering spiv. Now down on his luck, he has returned (in the stolen car) to try to extort money.
Angela has to let Joan in on Simon's return from the dead, and the two try desperately to shield Robert from the knowledge of his son's return in such circumstances, aware that the shattering of his illusions would destroy him. The unscrupulous Simon, learning of Angela's new attachment to Maxwell, demands £5,000 to leave for good. Robert gradually comes to realise that something very strange is going on, and little by little manages to piece together that Simon is in hiding somewhere in the house. He finally manages to track him down and a struggles ensues, climaxing with Simon falling to his death from a balcony. With his son's perfidy finally revealed to all, Robert agrees to change the dedication of the pavilion, as Lord Clandon had requested all along.
Cast
- Nigel PatrickNigel PatrickNigel Patrick was an English actor and stage director born into a theatrical family.-Biography:...
as Simon Rawley - Sally GraySally GrayConstance Vera Browne, Baroness Oranmore and Browne , commonly known as Sally Gray, was an English movie actress of the 1930s and 1940s....
as Angela Rawley - Stephen Murray as Robert Rawley
- Beatrice CampbellBeatrice CampbellBeatrice Campbell was a British stage and film actress. She was born in County Down, Northern Ireland.-Career:After a distinguished London stage career, Campbell entered film in the mid-1940s...
as Joan Rawley - Derek FarrDerek FarrDerrick Capel Farr was a British actor who appeared regularly in British films and television from 1938 until his death in 1986....
as Maxwell Oliver - Seymour HicksSeymour HicksSir Arthur Seymour Hicks , better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, screenwriter, theatre manager and producer. He married the actress Ellaline Terriss in 1893...
as Lord Clandon - Marie LohrMarie LohrMarie Lohr was an Australian film and stage actress.-Biography:Marie Löhr was born in Sydney to Lewis J. Löhr, treasurer of the Melbourne opera house, and his wife, the English actress Kate Bishop...
as Lady Clandon - James Hayter as Pringle
- Yvonne OwenYvonne Owen-Selected filmography:* The Seventh Veil * The Years Between * Holiday Camp * My Brother's Keeper * Third Time Lucky * Miranda * Easy Money * Portrait from Life...
as Nellie - George WoodbridgeGeorge Woodbridge (actor)George Woodbridge was an English character actor in films and television from the 1930s to the 1970s...
as Foreman - Irene HandlIrene Handl-Life:Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the daughter of an Austrian banker father and French mother. She took to acting at the relatively advanced age of 36, and studied at the acting school run by the sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike...
as Cook
External links
- Silent Dust at BFI Film & TV Database
- Silent Dust at BritMovie