Alias John Preston (1955)

Wealthy John Preston arrives in small town Deanbridge. He invests in local businesses and gets involved in community affairs. Eventually, he meets a local belle, Sally, and wins her from ... See full summary »

Director:

David MacDonald

Writer:

Paul Tabori (story)

Stars:

Betta St. John, Alexander Knox, Christopher Lee

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Betta St. John	...	Sally Sandford
Alexander Knox	...	Dr. Peter Walton
Christopher Lee	...	John Preston
Sandra Dorne	...	Sylvia - In Dream / Maria
Patrick Holt	...	Sylvia's Husband in Dream (as Pat Holt)
John Stuart	...	Dr. Underwood
Bill Fraser	...	Joe Newton
Gabrielle Gay	...	Seamstress
Peter Grant	...	Bob Newton
Betty Ann Davies	...	Mrs. Sandford
John Longden	...	Richard Sandford
Guido Lorraine	...	Headwaiter
Dinah Anne Rogers	...	Phyllis

Storyline

Wealthy John Preston arrives in small town Deanbridge. He invests in local businesses and gets involved in community affairs. Eventually, he meets a local belle, Sally, and wins her from her current boyfriend. She agrees to marry him. Then, he begins to have strange dreams about Sylvia, a beautiful woman from his past, who comes to Deanbridge to blackmail him. In his dream, Preston strangles the scheming woman, but is then confronted by a strange Frenchman. He tells his dream to Dr. Walton, who feels Preston is suppressing things in his past, and should regain his memory before marrying Sally.

---

Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | dream | memory | community | male female relationship | 

---

Taglines:

Is This Man a Devil in the Flesh?

---

Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Romance

---

Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film of Betty Ann Davies. NOTE: She died on May 14, 1955 at age 44. It was released seven months after her death.

User Reviews

ALIAS JOHN PRESTON (David MacDonald, 1955) **1/2

This obscure psychological thriller, a typical "quota quickie" of British cinema during that period, is notable in hindsight for giving the late Sir Christopher Lee perhaps his first genuine star part; while the film's veritable protagonist, he still receives third (albeit above-the-title) billing after female lead Betta St. John (she would be reunited with the future horror icon on both CORRIDORS OF BLOOD {1958} and THE CITY OF THE DEAD {1960}) and Alexander Knox (who turns up well into the proceedings of this modest 66-minute offering in a role that is basically an extension of his character in Joseph Losey's THE SLEEPING TIGER {1954})! Other respectable names are those of cinematographer Jack Cox (responsible for Alfred Hitchcock's THE LADY VANISHES {1938}) and director MacDonald (who, after a promising career, seemed unable to surmount the commercial failure of CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS {1949} – which led to him being reduced to helming the likes of DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS {1954}!).

Anyway, while the film under review is bracketed within the horror genre in the few reviews I could find, as I said, it really treads suspense territory – as the ambitious (and, unsurprisingly, supercilious) Lee begins to crack under the strain of a hazy past intermittently re-awakened in a series of "realistic" nightmares. While the first half is somewhat ordinary (another suitor for St. John, smitten since childhood, seems to be on hand merely as someone for her to fall back on after Lee – here in atypically romantic mode – finally goes off the deep end!), the couch sessions between doctor Knox and employer-cum-secret patient Lee (and which, more often than not, take the form of confrontations) grab the attention well enough. Similarly, though the dream sequences are necessarily not of the (perhaps expected) ethereal kind, the revelation packs a definite punch…though, in truth, the movie's title does rather give the game away too readily!

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 1955 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Brighton Film Studios, St Nicholas Road, Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Danziger Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

66 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1