The Man Who Wouldn’t Talk * (1958, Anna Neagle, Anthony Quayle, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Katherine Kath, Dora Bryan, Patrick Allen, Hugh McDermott) – Classic Movie Review 13,156

The creaky 1958 British courtroom drama film The Man Who Wouldn’t Talk stars Anna Neagle as a brilliant barrister defending a US scientist (Anthony Quayle) charged with killing his CIA spy ‘wife’ (Zsa Zsa Gabor).

Director Herbert Wilcox’s creaky 1958 British courtroom drama film The Man Who Wouldn’t Talk stars Anna Neagle, Anthony Quayle, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Katherine Kath, Dora Bryan, Patrick Allen, and Hugh McDermott. It is written by noted crime writer Edgar Lustgarten from a story by Stanley Jackson.

It is a horridly humdrum, desperately dreary courtroom drama with Anthony Quayle as an American scientist called Frank Smith charged by the British police and put on trial for murdering a secret agent posing as his wife (Zsa Zsa Gabor), but not putting up any defence because of his oath of secrecy. Luckily, however, he is championed by England’s leading Queen’s Counsel, the brilliant barrister Mary Randall (Anna Neagle), whose powers of deduction are second to none.

Frank Smith is on a secret mission for the CIA and has to make contact with a defecting Hungarian scientist, who wants to pass virus secrets to the West. Frank arrives in London escorted by CIA agent Eve Trent, posing as a newly married couple on honeymoon. Eve is found shot dead inside their hotel room. Frank is accused of murdering his ‘wife’ and faces the death penalty if convicted of murder.

Contrived and forced, with some flat, unconvincing performances and dull, old-fashioned direction, it is pretty bad, but nevertheless blessed with a good cast of character actors (not to mention the unexpected participation of Zsa Zsa Gabor as a CIA secret agent!) to provide distraction from the stale, uninvolving plot.

The cast are Anna Neagle as Mary Randall QC, Anthony Quayle as Frank Smith, Zsa Zsa Gabor as Eve Trent, Katherine Kath as Miss Delbeau, Dora Bryan as telephonist, Patrick Allen as Kennedy, Hugh McDermott as Bernie, Leonard Sachs as Professor Horvard, Edward Lexy as Hobbs, John Paul as Castle, John Le Mesurier as judge, Anthony Sharp as Baker, Lloyd Lamble as Bellamy, Cyril Chamberlain as liftman, John Welsh as George Fraser, Anthony Pendrell, Keith Banks, Ballard Berkeley, Jan Conrad, John Harvey, Jennifer Jayne, Diana King, and Gordon Whiting.

The Man Who Wouldn’t Talk is directed by Herbert Wilcox, runs 97 minutes, is made by Everest/ Herbert Wilcox Productions (as Wilcox-Neagle), is released by British Lion Film Corporation (UK), is written by Edgar Lustgarten and Stanley Jackson, is shot in black and white by Gordon Dines, is produced by Herbert Wilcox, and is scored by Stanley Black.

Release date: 21 January 1958 (UK).

It is produced at Walton Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England.

Edgar Lustgarten is remembered for hosting the series of British short films Scotland Yard (1953–61) and The Scales of Justice (1962–67), filmed at Merton Park Studios, SW London. His 1952 crime novel Game for Three Losers was filmed as one of Merton Park’s Edgar Wallace Mysteries: the 55 minutes 1965 British drama film Game for Three Losers, directed by Gerry O’Hara and starring Michael Gough, Mark Eden and Toby Robins.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,156

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