The Ringer (1931 film)
The Ringer is a 1931 British crime film directed by Walter Forde and starring Patric Curwen, Esmond Knight, John Longden and Carol Goodner. Scotland Yard detectives hunt for a dangerous criminal who has recently returned to England.[1] The film was based on an Edgar Wallace story The Gaunt Stranger, which is the basis for his play The Ringer.[2] Forde remade the same story in 1938 as The Gaunt Stranger. There was also a silent film of The Ringer in 1928, and a 1952 version starring Donald Wolfit.[3]
| The Ringer | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Poster with Esmond Knight and Carol Goodner | |
| Directed by | Walter Forde |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Written by | Edgar Wallace (novel) Sidney Gilliat Angus MacPhail Robert Stevenson |
| Starring | Patric Curwen Esmond Knight John Longden Carol Goodner |
| Cinematography | Alex Bryce |
| Edited by | Ian Dalrymple |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Ideal Films |
Release date | April 1931 |
Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
It was made at Beaconsfield Studios.[4]
Cast
- Patric Curwen as Dr. Lomond
- Esmond Knight as John Lenley
- John Longden as Inspector Wembury
- Carol Goodner as Cora Ann Milton
- Gordon Harker as Samuel Hackett
- Franklin Dyall as Maurice Meister
- Dorothy Bartlam as Mary Lenley
- Henry Hallett as Inspector Bliss
- Arthur Stratton as Sgt. Carter
- Kathleen Joyce as Gwenda Milton
- Eric Stanley as Commissioner
Critical reception
The New York Times wrote, "at the Cameo is a picturization of the late Edgar Wallace's play The Ringer. This film, which hails from England, is the sort of melodrama that provides more amusement than excitement";[5] while in The BFI Companion to Crime, Phil Hardy wrote, "this is the best version of this oft-filmed play...Directed by Forde with a slickness and pace unusual in British films of the period, especially considering the film's stage origins...Hokum, but enjoyable."[6]
References
- "The Ringer". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009.
- "Past Masters: EDGAR WALLACE".
- "Network ON AIR > Edgar Wallace Presents: The Ringer". Archived from the original on 7 October 2015.
- Wood p.73
- Mordaunt Hall (2 June 1932). "Movie Review: Sari Maritza, a Continental Film Favorite, in Her First American Picture, a Drama of Soviet Russia". New York Times.
- Attenborough, Richard (1997). The BFI Companion to Crime. ISBN 9780520215382.
Bibliography
- Wood, Linda. British Films, 1927–1939. British Film Institute, 1986.