The Brown Wallet
Encyclopedia
The Brown Wallet is a 1936 British crime film, directed by Michael Powell
and starring Patric Knowles
. The Brown Wallet, adapted from a short story by Stacy Aumonier
, was one of over 20 quota quickies directed by Powell between 1931 and 1936. It is among eleven of these films of which no extant print is known to survive, and its current status is "missing, believed lost".
) faces a financial crisis after his business partner skips town with all the firm's assets. Facing ruin, he reluctantly approaches a wealthy aunt for assistance but is met with a stony-faced refusal. Returning home in a taxi, he finds a wallet containing £2,000 left behind by a previous passenger. He takes the wallet, but rather than confiding in his wife he rents a room in which he secretes the money, telling her he needs the room for business purposes.
Shortly afterwards his aunt is found murdered, with her safe having been broken into and robbed. Gillespie is the prime suspect, and wary of incriminating himself with regard to the £2,000 and unwilling to face having to surrender the cash, his story is deemed unsatisfactory and he is arrested and charged with murder. However, a former employee of his aunt makes his own investigation into the case and discovers the real culprit. Gillespie is released, then discovers he has been bequeathed a large sum of money in his aunt's will. He can then return the wallet and the £2,000 to its rightful owner.
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
and starring Patric Knowles
Patric Knowles
Reginald Lawrence Knowles was an English film actor who renamed himself Patric Knowles, a name which reflects his Irish descent. He appeared in films of the 1930s through the 1970s...
. The Brown Wallet, adapted from a short story by Stacy Aumonier
Stacy Aumonier
Stacy Aumonier was a British writer, sometimes mistakenly credited as Stacey Aumonier. Between 1913 and 1928, he wrote more than 85 short stories, 6 novels, a volume of character studies, and a volume of 15 essays....
, was one of over 20 quota quickies directed by Powell between 1931 and 1936. It is among eleven of these films of which no extant print is known to survive, and its current status is "missing, believed lost".
Plot
Publisher John Gillespie (Patric KnowlesPatric Knowles
Reginald Lawrence Knowles was an English film actor who renamed himself Patric Knowles, a name which reflects his Irish descent. He appeared in films of the 1930s through the 1970s...
) faces a financial crisis after his business partner skips town with all the firm's assets. Facing ruin, he reluctantly approaches a wealthy aunt for assistance but is met with a stony-faced refusal. Returning home in a taxi, he finds a wallet containing £2,000 left behind by a previous passenger. He takes the wallet, but rather than confiding in his wife he rents a room in which he secretes the money, telling her he needs the room for business purposes.
Shortly afterwards his aunt is found murdered, with her safe having been broken into and robbed. Gillespie is the prime suspect, and wary of incriminating himself with regard to the £2,000 and unwilling to face having to surrender the cash, his story is deemed unsatisfactory and he is arrested and charged with murder. However, a former employee of his aunt makes his own investigation into the case and discovers the real culprit. Gillespie is released, then discovers he has been bequeathed a large sum of money in his aunt's will. He can then return the wallet and the £2,000 to its rightful owner.
Cast
- Patric KnowlesPatric KnowlesReginald Lawrence Knowles was an English film actor who renamed himself Patric Knowles, a name which reflects his Irish descent. He appeared in films of the 1930s through the 1970s...
as John Gillespie - Nancy O'Neill as Eleanor
- Henry CaineHenry Caine-Selected filmography:* The Temporary Widow * Dreyfus * The Shadow Between * The Ghost Train * Number Seventeen * Red Ensign * The Price of a Song * Three Maxims...
as Simmonds - Henrietta WatsonHenrietta Watson-Selected filmography:* Creeping Shadows * Jealousy * Collision * A Shot in the Dark * The Pointing Finger * Things Are Looking Up * Barnacle Bill * The Guv'nor...
as Aunt Mary - Charlotte Leigh as Miss Barton
- Shayle Gardner as Wotherspoone
- Edward Dalby as Minting
- Eliot MakehamEliot MakehamEliot Makeham , sometimes credited as Eliott Makeham or Elliot Makeham, was an English film and television actor.-Early life and education:He was born Harold Elliott Makeham in 1882, in London, England....
as Hobday - Bruce Winston as Julian Thorpe
- Jane Millican as Miss Bloxham
External links
- The Brown Wallet at BritMovie