The Upturned Glass *** (1947, James Mason, Rosamund John, Pamela Mason, Ann Stephens, Henry Oscar) – Classic Movie Review 7989

The slick 1947 British film noir thriller The Upturned Glass stars James Mason as a neurosurgeon intent on avenging the murder of his lover.

Director Lawrence Huntington’s 1947 The Upturned Glass is a slickly handled British black and white film noir thriller with James Mason starring as prominent neurosurgeon Michael Joyce, who is intent on avenging the murder of his one-time lover, Emma Wright (Rosamund John), a married woman who supposedly fell from her country manor’s second-story bedroom window.

Michael attends the coroner’s inquest, where Emma’s young daughter Ann (Ann Stephens) and Emma’s sister-in-law Kate Howard (Pamela Kellino) testify, and the death is ruled accidental. The suspicious Michael romances Kate to gain information and learns she intended to blackmail Emma for financial gain.

The Upturned Glass is a modest, unremarkable enough crime thriller piece, but there is a tense atmosphere and there are some genuinely creepy moments, especially towards the finale, and the magnetic Mason keeps it floating, leading a good all-round cast. The screenplay by John P Monaghan and Pamela Kellino [Pamela Mason] is based on a story by John P Monaghan [Jno P Monaghan].

Also in the cast are Pamela Kellino [Pamela Mason], Rosamund John, Ann Stephens, Henry Oscar, Morland Graham, Brefni O’Rorke, Peter Cotes, Howard Douglas, Sheila Huntington, Jane Hylton, Susan Shaw, Richard Afton, Hélène Burls, Janet Burnell, Cyril Chamberlain, Nuna Davey, Maurice Denham, Lyn Evans, George Merritt, John P Monaghan, Glyn Rowland, John Stone, Beatrice Varley and Margaret Withers.

Mason was the biggest male star in British films and made it just before leaving for the US, and in March 1947 J Arthur Rank sent film editor Alan Osbiston to the US for his view on the cut. Mason is co-producer of the film with Sydney Box and Betty E Box, getting a huge salary and a percentage of the profits. 

It cost £196,000, and made a reported profit of £45,800.

Originally Mason and his wife Pamela Kellino planned a film on the Brontë family called The Upturned Glass but abandoned it after learning of the Hollywood film Devotion, and developed a psychological thriller of the same title, though the eventual script has nothing to do with an upturned glass. It is based on a story by American serviceman Jno P Monaghan, whom the Masons befriended while touring the US for the American Red Cross. Kellino and Monaghan jointly developed the story, and Monaghan appears in a small role as an American military truck driver.

Filming began at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith London, in June 1946.

The cast are James Mason as Michael Joyce, Rosamund John as Emma Wright, Pamela Kellino as Kate Howard, Ann Stephens as Ann Wright, Morland Graham as Clay, Brefni O’Rorke as Dr. Farrell, Henry Oscar as Coroner, Jane Hylton as Miss Marsh, Sheila Huntington as 1st Girl Student, Susan Shaw as 2nd Girl Student, Peter Cotes as Male Student, Nuna Davey as Mrs. Deva, Judith Carol as Joan Scott-Trotter, John P Monaghan [Jno P Monaghan] as American military truck driver, Maurice Denham as Mobile Policeman, Janet Burnell as Sylvia, Margaret Withers as Party Guest, Beatrice Varley as Injured Girl’s Mother, Hélène Burls as Farm Laborer’s Wife, Howard Douglas as Lorry Driver, Richard Afton as Lorry Driver’s Mate, Lyn Evans as County Policeman, Cyril Chamberlain, Lyn Evans, George Merritt, Glyn Rowland, John Stone, and Margaret Withers.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7989

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