Take My Life (1947)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Ronald Neame

Writers:

Winston Graham (writer)
Margaret Kennedy (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

1947 (Germany)

Genre:

Thriller | Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

A man wrongly accused of murdering an ex-girlfriend must rely on his wife to do the detective work and find the real killer...

Plot Keywords:

Wife | Murder | Opera Singer | Beautiful Woman | Based On Novel

Cast

Hugh Williams	...	Nicholas Talbot
Greta Gynt	...	Phillipa Shelley
Marius Goring	...	Sidney Fleming
Francis L. Sullivan	...	Prosecuting Counsel
Henry Edwards	...	Inspector Archer
Rosalie Crutchley	...	Elizabeth Rusman
Marjorie Mars	...	Mrs. Newcombe
David Walbridge	...	Leslie Newcombe
Herbert C. Walton	...	Grieve
D.A. Mehan	...	Chemist
Hugh Kelly	...	Casualty Ward Doctor
Dorothy Bramhall	...	Nurse
Nelly Arno	...	Mrs. Rusman
Frederick Morant	...	Concert Agent
Grace Denbigh Russell	...	Orchestra Leader
Eleanor Summerfield	...	Miss Carteret
Olive Walter	...	Mrs. Langridge
Pat Susands	...	Shaw
Henry Morrelle	...	Judge
Maurice Denham	...	Defending Counsel
Leo Britt	...	John Newcombe
Keith Lloyd	...	Bungey Baker
Margaret Boyd	...	Mrs. Turnbull
Hubert Leslie	...	Angus Baird (as J. Hubert Leslie)
Deidre Doyle	...	Annie Baird
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ronald Adam	...	Det Sgt Hawkins. (Deaf Man.) (uncredited)
Leo Bieber	...	Orchestra Conductor (uncredited)
John Boxer	...	Policeman Making Charge Statement (uncredited)
Madge Brindley	...	Lady With Children At Station (uncredited)
Gerald Campion	...	Newspaper seller at station (uncredited)
Dennis Harkin	...	Man in Phone Box At Station (uncredited)
Campbell Singer	...	Police Station Sergeant (uncredited)

Directed by
Ronald Neame

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Winston Graham		writer
Margaret Kennedy		writer
Valerie Taylor		writer

Produced by
Anthony Havelock-Allan	....	producer

Original Music by
William Alwyn

Cinematography by
Guy Green

Film Editing by
Geoffrey Foot
Jack Harris

Casting by
Pat MacDonnell		(uncredited)
Adele Raymond		(uncredited)

Production Design by
John Bryan

Art Direction by
Wilfred Shingleton

Costume Design by
Joy Ricardo

Production Management
Norman Spencer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Pollock	....	assistant director
Philip Shipway	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Allan Harris	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
John Hoesli	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
T. Hopewell Ash	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Geoffrey Woodward	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
L.E. Overton	....	sound recordist
Charles Poulton	....	sound recordist
Winston Ryder	....	sound editor
Jack Slade	....	sound editor
David Bowen	....	sound assistant (uncredited)
George Croll	....	dubbing crew (uncredited)
Peter Davies	....	first assistant dubbing mixer (uncredited)
John Dennis	....	chief production mixer (uncredited)
Willows George	....	dubbing crew (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
George Blackwell	....	foreground miniatures (uncredited)
Henry Harris	....	back projection plates (uncredited)
Jack Higgins	....	foreground miniatures (uncredited)
Syd Howell	....	back projection plates (uncredited)
Douglas Woolsey	....	back projection plates (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ernest Steward	....	camera operator
Peter Bryan	....	second camera operator (uncredited)
John Godar	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Peter Hall	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Charles Trigg	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Elizabeth Hennings	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Jack Harris	....	editorial associate
Margery Saunders	....	second assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Muir Mathieson	....	conductor: Philharmonic Sinfonie Orchestra

Other crew
Maggie Unsworth	....	continuity (as Margaret Sibley)
Vicky Fuggle	....	production secretary (uncredited)
Adele Reynolds	....	assistant continuity (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Cineguild

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1947) (UK) (theatrical)
• Eagle-Lion Films (1949) (USA) (theatrical)
• R&B Video (2005) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Cineguild

First-rate British Noir Murder Drama

This is a superb example of a high-calibre British postwar murder mystery. It was the first film ever directed by Ronnie Neame, who is mostly famous for his classics 'Tunes of Glory' (1960) and 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' (1969). The cinematography by Guy Green (later a director) is inspired and intensely expressionist in the German manner. Neame really shows what a brilliant director he was, not only coaxing excellent performances out of his actors, but keeping the pace and the tension despite the fact that the identity of the murderer is revealed very early. Francis L. Sullivan is, as usual, hair-raising as the prosecuting counsel, although his role should have been more prominent if the film had not been so short at only 76 minutes. (One suspects things were cut out before release, as the buildup of Sullivan really does fizzle out without explanation.) The scenes towards the end of the film really do become incredibly menacing and powerful, as Marius Goring, who plays the murderer in an eerie and intense style, can be seen calculating what he must do next, and sets about it with the methodical determination of a man who now has nothing to lose. Hugh Williams is excellent as the rather formal husband of Greta Gynt, an equally formal wife who is an opera star. It is difficult for such people to cope with real situations of danger, as their behaviour is so mannered, even in their most private moments, that quick thinking and quick action are impossibilities for them, what with all the thawing out they have to do first, not to mention the necessity of changing for dinner, straightening the black tie, and making sure every hair is in place. Sometimes when your life is in danger, such formalities can be rather impeding! But that is part of the irony of this tale, of which a subliminal motif is: things like that don't happen to people like us. In this film, the doomed victim is Rosalie Crutchley, who really was a fascinating wench at that early age, in fact, someone to whom you can imagine almost anything could happen, and it does.