The Missing People is a 1940

1940 in film

The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....

 British

Cinema of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...

, black-and-white

Black-and-white

Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...

, mystery film

Mystery film

Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...

 directed by Jack Raymond

Jack Raymond

Jack Raymond was a British actor and film director. Born in Wimborne, Dorset in 1886, he began acting before the First World War in A Detective for a Day. In 1921 he directed his first film and gradually he wound down his acting to concentrate completely on directing - making more than forty films...

 and starring Ronald Shiner

Ronald Shiner

Ronald Alfred Shiner was a British stand-up comedian and comedic actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.-Career:...

 as Sam Hackett and Will Fyffe

Will Fyffe

Will Fyffe was a major star of the 1930s and 1940s, a star of stage, screen and shellac.Fyffe made his debut in his father's stock company at the age of six...

 as Mr. J. G. Reeder. It was produced

Film producer

A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

 by Jack Raymond Productions. Ronald Shiner, Will Fyffe and Jack Raymond were also all involved in another Mr. Reeder film, The Mind of Mr. Reeder

The Mind of Mr. Reeder

The Mind of Mr. Reeder is a 1939 British, black-and-white, crime, mystery, directed by Jack Raymond and starring Ronald Shiner as Sam Hackett. It was produced by Jack Raymond Productions. Allmovie lists the alternate film title of The Mysterious Mr. Reeder. Its accompanying Synopsis follows. Also,...

. The film is based on a novel 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....

.

Synopsis

Mr. Reeder (comedian Will Fyffe

Will Fyffe

Will Fyffe was a major star of the 1930s and 1940s, a star of stage, screen and shellac.Fyffe made his debut in his father's stock company at the age of six...

) begins solving the disappearance of 27 people, after they had each received large sums of money from their respective families. Is the criminal-featured Joseph Bronstone (Lyn Harding

Lyn Harding

Lyn Harding was a Welsh actor who spent 40 years on the stage before entering British made silent films, talkies and radio...

), the guilty party?