The citizens of a tiny Cornish village are tormented during World War II by a headless ghost which is haunting the local tin mine.The citizens of a tiny Cornish village are tormented during World War II by a headless ghost which is haunting the local tin mine.The citizens of a tiny Cornish village are tormented during World War II by a headless ghost which is haunting the local tin mine.
Phyllis Barry
- Ruby
- (uncredited)
David Clyde
- Tom Andrews
- (uncredited)
Clyde Cook
- Herbert
- (uncredited)
Harold De Becker
- Peddler
- (uncredited)
Art Foster
- Saul Bevans
- (uncredited)
Creighton Hale
- Luke
- (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes
- Civil Defense Officer
- (uncredited)
Crauford Kent
- Army Commander
- (uncredited)
Hank Mann
- Roger Porley
- (uncredited)
Frank Mayo
- Simon Tewksbury
- (uncredited)
Jack Mower
- Policeman
- (uncredited)
Leo White
- Headless Man
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsAlthough set in England, when Lt. Hilton reports to his superior officer, there is a recruiting poster for the Queen's York Rangers on the wall - which was, and still is as of 2019, part of the Canadian (not British) Army, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Zulu (1964)
Featured review
Did Warners make a film on the Universal lot?
It would sure look that way. Fog-shrouded forests are more akin to the Universal landscape of the Wolfman films or those of Sherlock Holmes than of the urban crime thrillers at Warners. While it starts out as a pure horror film, it soon settles nicely into a wartime thriller which may "cheat" a bit on the Grand Guignol, but it's still enjoyable and it's briskly paced at around an hour.
Lester Matthews, who was seen likely to inherit Valerie Hobson in "The Werewolf of London" is the doctor of the title. Some in the village think that he may be a spy who descended on the moors with a parachute and may be up to no good - he keeps asking about the tin mine. It's WWII time, and tin is a most needed commodity. But the locals are afraid to work the mine as there happens to be a headless ghost prowling around.
Matthews as Doctor Holmes (interesting choice of character names) goes to check out the mine, but meanwhile he's being checked out by the innkeeper - a man whose face is covered by a mask since he was involved in a mine explosion that horribly scarred his face. Meanwhile, checking them both out is the village idiot and a headless ghost - suddenly there's more mine traffic than anyone's seen in years.
This is one of those films in which one has to drop all questions - at 57 minutes, there isn't time to ask any, and just enjoy the atmosphere. Not only the moors and the mine, but the performances of a Britain as only Hollywood could conceive it and transplanted British actors could play it. The characters in the inn could well have come from Whale's "The Invisible Man" - or perhaps more aptly Beebe's "The Invisible Man's Revenge." No matter, they're colorful and led by local squire John Loder who had the pleasure of going home to Hedy Lamarr at the time. He lent a solid presence to several "B" horrors of the 40s - such as "The Brighton Strangler" and "A Game of Death." Also in the cast is a most youthful Eleanor Parker looking radiant. Matt Willis is the mentally challenged villager, and damned if he doesn't resemble Lon Chaney Jr's Lennie - just as he resembled Chaney's Wolfman in "Return of the Vampire."
The sharp cinematography is by Henry Sharp (a deliberate pun) who photographed Vidor's "The Crowd" as well as Lang's "Ministry of Fear" and the Technicolor opus "Dr. Cyclops." This was quite a talent to snare for a "B" film, one would want to credit the producer for such a coup, but for some reason there isn't one credited. Bryan Foy was over at Warners and in charge of their "B" unit, but his name isn't on screen. If someone thought the project unworthy, they were wrong - it may have had only slightly better than a PRC or Monogram budget, but the results were light years apart. It's closer to Val Lewton, or 20th-Fox' "The Undying Monster" and from this writer's perspective, that's praise indeed.
Lester Matthews, who was seen likely to inherit Valerie Hobson in "The Werewolf of London" is the doctor of the title. Some in the village think that he may be a spy who descended on the moors with a parachute and may be up to no good - he keeps asking about the tin mine. It's WWII time, and tin is a most needed commodity. But the locals are afraid to work the mine as there happens to be a headless ghost prowling around.
Matthews as Doctor Holmes (interesting choice of character names) goes to check out the mine, but meanwhile he's being checked out by the innkeeper - a man whose face is covered by a mask since he was involved in a mine explosion that horribly scarred his face. Meanwhile, checking them both out is the village idiot and a headless ghost - suddenly there's more mine traffic than anyone's seen in years.
This is one of those films in which one has to drop all questions - at 57 minutes, there isn't time to ask any, and just enjoy the atmosphere. Not only the moors and the mine, but the performances of a Britain as only Hollywood could conceive it and transplanted British actors could play it. The characters in the inn could well have come from Whale's "The Invisible Man" - or perhaps more aptly Beebe's "The Invisible Man's Revenge." No matter, they're colorful and led by local squire John Loder who had the pleasure of going home to Hedy Lamarr at the time. He lent a solid presence to several "B" horrors of the 40s - such as "The Brighton Strangler" and "A Game of Death." Also in the cast is a most youthful Eleanor Parker looking radiant. Matt Willis is the mentally challenged villager, and damned if he doesn't resemble Lon Chaney Jr's Lennie - just as he resembled Chaney's Wolfman in "Return of the Vampire."
The sharp cinematography is by Henry Sharp (a deliberate pun) who photographed Vidor's "The Crowd" as well as Lang's "Ministry of Fear" and the Technicolor opus "Dr. Cyclops." This was quite a talent to snare for a "B" film, one would want to credit the producer for such a coup, but for some reason there isn't one credited. Bryan Foy was over at Warners and in charge of their "B" unit, but his name isn't on screen. If someone thought the project unworthy, they were wrong - it may have had only slightly better than a PRC or Monogram budget, but the results were light years apart. It's closer to Val Lewton, or 20th-Fox' "The Undying Monster" and from this writer's perspective, that's praise indeed.
helpful•350
- clore_2
- Oct 6, 2003
Details
- Runtime57 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was The Mysterious Doctor (1943) officially released in Canada in English?
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