Dead Man’s Chest ** (1965, John Thaw, Ann Firbank, John Meillon, John Collin) – Classic Movie Review 3,817

The 1965 British Edgar Wallace Mystery crime drama mystery film Dead Man’s Chest features John Thaw and John Meillon as two young journalists who simulate a murder, but are in deep trouble when the scheme backfires and the mock victim disappears.

John Thaw stars in the 1965 film thriller Dead Man’s Chest as provincial English newspaperman David Jones, who finds things go very wrong when he pretends to commit his buddy and colleague Johnnie Gordon (John Meillon)’s murder to make a point and clinch an argument about the effect of the unreliability of circumstantial evidence. It proved the last in the 48-film British second-feature film series The Edgar Wallace Mysteries.

The duo plan to fake Johnnie Gordon (Meillon)’s death, put him alive in a wooden chest, drive him to a location, and call the police, but then the van containing the chest and presumably Meillon inside is stolen by crooks as the getaway vehicle for their robbery.

Jones goes to the police for help in a panic that Gordon will suffocate, and they don’t believe a word of his story, and arrest Jones for murder, based on the planted circumstantial evidence. And with both the chest and Gordon missing, either separately or together, things look bad for Jones.

Director Patrick Dromgoole’s 1965 Edgar Wallace adaptation (adapted by Donal Giltinian) is a moderate support film thriller, talky (even in its hour-long running time) but involving and slickly handled. However, an interesting mid-Sixties British cast adds some intense and entertaining acting to the proceedings in the cheap-looking production, though.

The film has a surprisingly light and jokey tone, deliberately inconsequential, in contrast to the other films in the series, and the amusing Alastair Sim-style turn by Graham Crowden as the lads’ nutty Scottish editor Murchie is the film’s highlight, with Geoffrey Bayldon a pleasure to watch as the lawyer helping the hero, and Arthur Brough enjoyable as the apartment building supervisor Groves. John Thaw is fine but seems less comfortable with the comedy, and the film’s two actresses – Ann Firbank as Thaw’s wife Mildred Jones and Renny Lister as Meillon’s girlfriend Flora – don’t seem very relaxed and at ease with the admittedly very odd material either.

You could see that with the authentic Hitchcock touch, as in jokey The Trouble with Harry, this could have worked a treat. But as it is, it’s quite a brave try, and certainly entirely entertaining enough.

The film ends up in a weird, not entirely satisfying place. It’s a strange, rather mystifying end to a really rather great B picture series.

Also in the cast are Ann Firbank, John Meillon, John Collin, John Albineri, Peter Bowles, Graham Crowden, Arthur Brough, Michael Robbins, Jack Rodney, Renny Lister, Geoffrey Bayldon, Victor Platt, Michael Collins, Geoffrey Matthews, Charlie Bird, and Paul Whitsun-Jones.

Dead Man’s Chest is directed by Patrick Dromgoole, runs 60 minutes, is made by Merton Park Studios, is released by Anglo-Amalgamated, is written by Donal Giltinian, is shot by James Wilson, is produced by Jack Greenwood, is scored by Bernard Ebbinghouse, and is designed by Peter Mullins.

The cast

The cast are John Thaw as David Jones, Ann Firbank as Mildred Jones, John Meillon as Johnnie Gordon, John Collin as Detective Inspector Briggs, Peter Bowles as Joe, John Abineri as Arthur, Arthur Brough as Groves, Graham Crowden as Murchie, Jack Rodney as Knocker, Renny Lister as Flora, Geoffrey Bayldon as Lane, Michael Robbins as Sgt Harris, Victor Platt as Constable Jackson, Michael Collins as Sgt Matson, Geoffrey Mathews as prison warder, Charlie Bird as prison warder, and Paul Whitsun-Jones as chef.

The Edgar Wallace Mysteries

The Edgar Wallace Mysteries is a British second-feature film series, produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. The 48 films in the series were released between 1960 and 1965.

In 1960 producers Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy acquired the film rights to all Edgar Wallace’s books and stories. Their film adaptations were loose, with few even using Wallace’s titles. They made no attempt to set the films in the period settings of Wallace’s stories, probably to save money on costumes and sets as the budget was only £22,000 for an episode. They played as supporting features on the ABC Cinemas circuit, apart from ten released by the rival Rank circuit.

Most of the series featured a title sequence with shadowed bust of Edgar Wallace revolving slowly against a backdrop of swirling mist, to the accompaniment of the ‘Man of Mystery’ theme written by Michael Carr and later recorded by The Shadows as a number 5 hit record in the UK.

The series has had an afterlife on TV, shown in Britain by ITV, Channel 4, Bravo, and Talking Pictures TV from 2018. And in July 2012, Network DVD began to release the series on DVD.

Crossroads to Crime (1960) and Seven Keys (1961) were not shot as part of the series but were later included. Urge to Kill (1960) may not originally have been intended as part of the series.

1. Urge to Kill (March 1960)
2. Clue of the Twisted Candle (September 1960)
3. The Malpas Mystery (October 1960)
4. Marriage of Convenience (November 1960)
5. The Man Who Was Nobody (December 1960)
6. Partners in Crime (February 1961)
7. The Clue of the New Pin (February 1961)
8. The Fourth Square (June 1961)
9. Man at the Carlton Tower (July 1961)
10. Clue of the Silver Key (August 1961)
11. Attempt to Kill (September 1961)
12. Man Detained (October 1961)
13. Never Back Losers (December 1961)
14. The Sinister Man (December 1961)
15. Backfire! (February 1962)
16. Candidate for Murder (February 1962)
17. Flat Two (February 1962)
18. The Share Out (February 1962)
19. Number Six (April 1962)
20. Time to Remember (July 1962)
21. Solo for Sparrow (September 1962)
22. Playback (September 1962)
23. Locker Sixty Nine (September 1962)
24. Death Trap (October 1962)
25. The Set Up (January 1963)
26. Incident at Midnight (January 1963)
27. The £20,000 Kiss (January 1963)
28. On the Run (February 1963)
29. Return to Sender (March 1963)
30. Ricochet (March 1963)
31. The Double (April 1963)
32. To Have and to Hold (July 1963)
33. The Partner (September 1963)
34. Accidental Death (November 1963)
35. Five to One (December 1963)
36. Downfall (January 1964)
37. The Verdict (February 1964)
38. We Shall See (April 1964)
39. The Rivals (May 1964)
40. Who Was Maddox? (June 1964)
41. Face of a Stranger (September 1964)
42. Act of Murder (September 1964)
43. Never Mention Murder (November 1964)
44. The Main Chance (November 1964)
45. Game for Three Losers (April 1965)
46. Change Partners (July 1965)
47. Strangler’s Web (August 1965)
48. Dead Man’s Chest (October 1965)

The series were Urge to Kill (March 1960), Clue of the Twisted Candle (September 1960), The Malpas Mystery (October 1960), Marriage of Convenience (November 1960), The Man Who Was Nobody (December 1960), Partners in Crime (February 1961), The Clue of the New Pin (February 1961), The Fourth Square (June 1961), Man at the Carlton Tower (July 1961), Clue of the Silver Key (August 1961), Attempt to Kill (September 61), Man Detained (October 1961), Never Back Losers (December 1961), The Sinister Man (December 1961), Backfire! (February 1962), Candidate for Murder (February 1962), Flat Two (February 1962), The Share Out (February 1962), Number Six (April 1962), Time to Remember (July 1962), Solo for Sparrow (September 1962), Playback (September 1962), Locker Sixty-Nine (September 1962), Death Trap (October 1962), The Set Up (January 1963), Incident at Midnight (January 1963), The £20,000 Kiss (January 1963), On the Run (February 1963), Return to Sender (March 1963), Ricochet (March 1963), The Double (April 1963), The Rivals (May 1963), To Have and to Hold (July 1963), The Partner (September 1963), Accidental Death (November 1963), Five to One (December 1963), Downfall (January 1964), The Verdict (February 1964), We Shall See (April 1964), Who Was Maddox? (June 1964), Face of a Stranger (September 1964), Act of Murder (September 1964), Never Mention Murder (November 1964), The Main Chance (November 1964), Game for Three Losers (April 1965), Change Partners (July 1965), Strangler’s Web (August 1965), and Dead Man’s Chest (October 1965).

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3,817

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