Sleeping Dogs Lie (1998)

It's the post WWI era Toronto. Despite Prohibition, Daniel Small continues to operate Corman Distilleries, while his son, Ambrose Small, has just sold his chain of theaters for $1 million. ... See full summary »

Director:

Stefan Scaini

Writers:

Raymond Storey, Fred McClement (inspired by the book "The Strange Case of Ambrose Small")

Stars:

Wendy Crewson, Joel S. Keller, Leon Pownall

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wendy Crewson	...	Theresa Small
Joel S. Keller	...	Cole Willis (as Joel Keller)
Leon Pownall	...	Inspector Mitchell
Shawn Doyle	...	Hammond
Leslie Yeo	...	Daniel Small
Shannon Lawson	...	Vivian Doughty
Cedric Smith	...	J.J. Gallagher
Art Hindle	...	Ambrose Small
Eric Peterson	...	Jack Doughty
Michael Murphy	...	Edgar Tratt
Yoav Deckelbaum	...	Yosef Dolgoy
Susannah Hoffmann	...	Shayna Francov
Richard Blackburn	...	Thomas Flynn
Michael Caruana	...	Walter (as Michael Coruana)
Brad Garrick	...	Tink (as Bradley Garrick)

Storyline

It's the post WWI era Toronto. Despite Prohibition, Daniel Small continues to operate Corman Distilleries, while his son, Ambrose Small, has just sold his chain of theaters for $1 million. Daniel acquired Corman from the family of Ambrose's wife, Theresa Small. Theresa being wealthy from the liquor business is ironic due to her temperance stance. The sale of the theaters doesn't sit well with Ambrose's business manager, Jack Doughty, to who the theaters represented his livelihood. Immediately following the sale, Ambrose disappears without a trace. Initially, Theresa doesn't want the police involved since she believes he is just out carousing, while his business associates believe he has met with some foul play. Increasingly, the public, especially the anti-Catholic forces, believe devout Catholic Theresa had Protestant Ambrose murdered so that she could funnel his money into the Catholic church. Believing her husband still alive, Theresa hires the young Cole Willis to find Ambrose. ...

---

Plot Keywords:

missing man | public opinion | prohibition | bigotry | catholic | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Also Known As:

El extraño caso de Ambrose Small

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ambrose Small Productions, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Sullivan Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 90 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Edgar Tratt: You trust too easy, kid; protect the wrong people. First and foremost, protect yourself.

---

Soundtracks

"All the nice girls love a sailor"
By A.J. Mill and Bennett Scott

User Reviews

Clever Turn on a historical mystery

Great period piece that leads us through many twists and turns as it presents what might have really happened to Ambrose Small. Through clever story telling, the audience finds itself running down all the blind alleys, second guessing "who did it", and sometimes even rooting for the bad guy! Wendy Crewson's performance is simply stellar! She conveys just the right mix of saint and sinner, nun and vixen, to captivate and convince. And, in the end, whether she is the hero or the villian, we don't care. We just know that we have enjoyed the ride!