The Long Memory (1953)

A man seeks revenge but will he destroy himself in the process? After a long jail term for a crime he did not commit, a man is torn between revenge (which will probably destroy him) or ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Hamer

Writers:

Howard Clewes (novel), Robert Hamer (screenplay),

Stars:

John Mills, John McCallum, Elizabeth Sellars

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Mills	...	Phillip Davidson
John McCallum	...	Supt. Bob Lowther
Elizabeth Sellars	...	Fay Lowther
Eva Bergh	...	Ilse
Geoffrey Keen	...	Craig
Michael Martin Harvey	...	Jackson (as Michael Martin-Harvey)
John Chandos	...	Boyd
John Slater	...	Pewsey
Thora Hird	...	Mrs. Pewsley
Vida Hope	...	Alice Gedge
Harold Lang	...	Boyd's Chauffeur
Mary Mackenzie	...	Gladys
John Glyn-Jones	...	Gedge
John Horsley	...	Bletchley
Fred Johnson	...	Driver

Storyline

A man seeks revenge but will he destroy himself in the process? After a long jail term for a crime he did not commit, a man is torn between revenge (which will probably destroy him) or making a new life for himself.

---

Plot Keywords:

revenge | british noir | prison | based on novel

---

Taglines:

To kiss . . . or to kill?

---

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 April 1953 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Meineid

Filming Locations:

Gravesend, Kent, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Film-Makers, Europa, Rank Organisation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first film of Denis Shaw.

---

Quotes

Ilse: It is not justice we need. Not anything as big as that. Just the right to exist, without being hurt, without doing hurt.

User Reviews

Close match between film and book

I have seen "The Long Memory" twice, and was sufficiently impressed (and like John Mills) that I bought the book when I found it. After seeing the film a second time I then started reading the book. To my delight (that's how I like films) it was close to the film, and I realized that much of the quality of the film, beyond its strong visual imagery of London dockside slums, damaged by the Blitz (you have to know this: there is no sign saying "house flattened by bomb"), and post- war austerity (rationing continued in Britain into the early 1950s!), is directly due to the book author Howard Clewes (about whom little is available on the internet).

Despite not LOOKING like the author described him, John Mills acts the character described by the author, as do the rest of the cast.

The post-World-War-II setting is crucial to appreciating the bleakness of the film. Life was tough then, for many British, and even more so for Displaced People -- war survivors and immigrants from Europe. Petty crime was rife. In fact things were probably tougher than during the flashback sequence to the Depression, when the young Mills character is accidentally drawn into cross-Channel smuggling of wanted criminals, and contraband.

The old "beachcomber's" singing of a traditional English folksong is a haunting addition to the film that does not appear in the book.