The Crimson Circle
Encyclopedia
The Crimson Circle is a British crime film
directed by Reginald Denham
and starring Hugh Wakefield
, Alfred Drayton
, and Niall MacGinnis
. It is based on the 1922 novel The Crimson Circle
by Edgar Wallace
.
.
sound-on-film system, was trade-shown in London
in March 1929.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
directed by Reginald Denham
Reginald Denham
Reginald Denham was an English writer, theater and film director, actor and film producer.Denham was born in London, England in 1894....
and starring Hugh Wakefield
Hugh Wakefield
Hugh Wakefield was an English film actor, who played supporting roles. He was often seen wearing a monocle....
, Alfred Drayton
Alfred Drayton
Alfred Drayton was a British film actor.Drayton worked in a brewery when he was 18 but having a good deal of amateur dramatics experience decided to go on stage. His first appearance on stage was The Beloved Vagabond at Cardiff in 1908 and his London debut was at the Haymarket Theatre the...
, and Niall MacGinnis
Niall MacGinnis
Niall MacGinnis was an Irish actor who made 80 screen appearances.-Early life:MacGinnis was born in Dublin in 1913. He was educated at Stonyhurst College in England, and studied medicine at Dublin University. He qualified as a house surgeon...
. It is based on the 1922 novel The Crimson Circle
The Crimson Circle (novel)
The Crimson Circle is a 1922 crime novel by the British writer Edgar Wallace. Scotland Yard tackle a secret league of blackmailers known as The Crimson Circle.-Adaptations:The novel has been adapted into films on four occasion....
by Edgar Wallace
Edgar Wallace
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
.
Plot
Detectives at Scotland Yard try to track down The Crimson Circle, a secret society of blackmailersBlackmailers
Blackmailers Rekord Orkestr — the wedding and funeral orchestra.-History:The band was created in 1997 by Aleksey Baryshev, a well-known Russian guitar player. At first it was a classical “guitar hero” blues band with an undiluted blues-rock repertoire...
.
Earlier versions
An earlier UK/German co-production of The Crimson Circle, produced in the DeForest PhonofilmPhonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film system, was trade-shown in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in March 1929.
Cast
- Hugh WakefieldHugh WakefieldHugh Wakefield was an English film actor, who played supporting roles. He was often seen wearing a monocle....
... Derek Yale - Alfred DraytonAlfred DraytonAlfred Drayton was a British film actor.Drayton worked in a brewery when he was 18 but having a good deal of amateur dramatics experience decided to go on stage. His first appearance on stage was The Beloved Vagabond at Cardiff in 1908 and his London debut was at the Haymarket Theatre the...
... Insp. Parr - Niall MacGinnisNiall MacGinnisNiall MacGinnis was an Irish actor who made 80 screen appearances.-Early life:MacGinnis was born in Dublin in 1913. He was educated at Stonyhurst College in England, and studied medicine at Dublin University. He qualified as a house surgeon...
... Jack Beardmore - June DuprezJune DuprezJune Duprez was an English film actress.The daughter of American vaudeville performer Fred Duprez, she was born in Teddington, Middlesex, England, during an air raid in the final months of World War I....
... Sylvia Hammond - Paul BlakePaul BlakePaul Blake is the current Chairman of the British Basketball League, succeeding Vince Macaulay-Razaq in 2006, as well as working as the current Managing Director of the Newcastle Eagles basketball franchise....
... Sgt. Webster - Noah Beery ... Felix Marl
- Basil GillBasil GillBasil Gill was a British film actor whose film career started with Henry VIII , a short silent film. In 1926, Gill appeared in two short films made in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, Santa Claus as the title character, and Julius Caesar as Brutus.-Selected filmography:* The Admirable...
... James Beardmore - Gordon McLeodGordon McLeod (actor)Gordon McLeod was an English actor, born Charles Gordon McLeod.His film appearances include Chance of a Lifetime and The Silent Passenger, but he is best known for his recurring appearance as the character Claud Eustace Teal in films such as The Saint Meets the Tiger.-Selected filmography:* A...
... Brabazon - Renee GaddRenee GaddRenee Gadd was an Argentine-born British film actress. She acted mostly in British films.-Early life:Gadd was born on a ranch in Bahía Blanca, Argentina in 1908 to immigrants from Jersey. Her father Talbot Gadd was a railway executive who abandoned the family, after which they moved to England in...
... Millie Macroy - Ralph TrumanRalph TrumanRalph Truman was an English actor, usually cast as either a villain or an authority figure. He possessed a distinguished speaking voice...
... Lawrence Fuller - Robert RendelRobert Rendel-Selected filmography:* Her Night of Romance * The Hound of the Baskervilles * Borrow a Million * The Price of Wisdom * Fire Over England * The Dark Stairway * The Lion Has Wings...
... Commissioner - William HartnellWilliam HartnellWilliam Henry Hartnell was an English actor. During 1963-66, he was the first actor to play the Doctor in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
... Minor role