The Four Just Men [The Secret Four] **** (1939, Hugh Sinclair, Griffith Jones, Francis L Sullivan, Frank Lawton, Anna Lee, Alan Napier, Basil Sydney) – Classic Movie Review 9532

Director Walter Forde’s 1939 British Ealing Studios black and white movie The Four Just Men [The Secret Four] is a spiffing film of Edgar Wallace’s famed spy thriller story about four righteous vigilante Brits (Hugh Sinclair, Griffith Jones, Francis L Sullivan and Frank Lawton).

The fantastic four call themselves The Four Just Men and make a pact to bump off wicked politician Sir Hamar Ryman (Alan Napier), whom they believe is a traitor. James Terry (Lawton) goes undercover and risks his life to discover info about a plot to block off the Suez Canal.

The Four Just Men is very old and faded but attractively so, and it is still full of tension and intrigue. The performances and Forde’s direction are all very sparky and jolly, with the movie providing just the right hint of underlying darkness and danger.

Also in the cast are Anna Lee, Alan Napier, Basil Sydney, George Merritt, Lydia Sherwood, Ellaline Terriss, Garry Marsh, Edward Chapman, Atole Stewart, Alan Napier, Roland Pertwee, Jon Pertwee, Arthur Hambling, Henrietta Watson, Percy Walsh, Frederick Piper, Basil Radford and Edward Rigby.

The screenplay is by Angus MacPhail, Sergei Nolbandov and Roland Pertwee, based on the novel by Edgar Wallace.

It is filmed at Ealing Studios, London, England, with sets designed by Wilfred Shingleton.

There is an earlier silent film version in 1921.

Weirdly, since the ‘heroes’ are vigilantes ready for murder or sabotage, The Four Just Men was re-released in 1944 with an updated ending featuring newsreel of Winston Churchill and the Allied war effort as a fulfillment of the ideals of the Four.

The adviser on the House of Commons scenes is Aneurin Bevan.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9532

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