''The Crouching Beast'' is a 1935 British

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Victor Hanbury W. Victor Hanbury (1897 – 14 December 1954) was a British film director and producer. Entering the film industry in 1919 after service in the First World War, he became a director and producer in the early 1930s. His last film as a director w ...

and starring

Fritz Kortner Fritz Kortner (born Fritz Nathan Kohn, 12 May 1892 – 22 July 1970) was an Austrian stage and film actor and theatre director. Life and career Kortner was born in Vienna as Fritz Nathan Kohn into a Jews, Jewish family. He studied at the Vien ...

, Wynne Gibson and Richard Bird. It was written by L. du Garde Peach based on the 1928 novel '' The Crouching Beast'' by Valentine Williams. The film was distributed by the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

studio

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

in order to fulfil its British quota. However it was considerably more expensive than many of the

quota quickies Quota may refer to: Economics * Import quota, a restriction on the quantity of goods that can be imported into a country * Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture * Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe * ...

produced by American companies during the era.

Plot

In 1915 during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, a British secret agent is killed while stealing secret Turkish plans for the Gallipoli Campaign. Before his death, the British agent manages to pass his information to an American journalist. Travelling to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, she manages to make contact with the British network, but the ruthless head of Turkish intelligence is close on her trail.

Cast

as Ahmed Bey * Wynne Gibson as Gail Dunbar * Richard Bird as Nigel Druce *

Andrews Engelmann Andrews Engelmann (23 March 1901 – 25 February 1992) was a Russian-born German actor. He worked primarily in Germany, where he specialised in playing Russian roles, but also appeared in a number of British films during his career. He was born as ...

as Prince Dmitri *

Isabel Jeans Isabel Jeans (16 September 1891 – 4 September 1985) was an English stage and film actress known for her roles in several Alfred Hitchcock films and her portrayal of Aunt Alicia in the 1958 musical film '' Gigi''. Early life and career Bo ...

as The Pellegrini * Fred Conyngham as Rudi von Linz *

Peter Gawthorne Peter Gawthorne (1 September 1884 – 17 March 1962) was an Anglo-Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in the films of Will Hay and other popular British comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-up ...

as Kadir Pasha *

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

as Major Abbott *

Marjorie Mars Marjorie Mars (31 January 1903 – 22 December 1991) was a British stage actress who also appeared in film and television. She appeared frequently in the West End. She made her West End debut in the musical '' A Night Out'' at the Winter Garden T ...

as Ottillie

Production

The films was shot at

Welwyn Studios Welwyn Studios was a British film studio located at Broadwater Road, Welwyn Garden City, in Hertfordshire. The facility operated between 1928 and 1950. The studios were first constructed by British Instructional Films, and converted to make so ...

with sets designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Duncan Sutherland Duncan Sutherland (1 August 1905 – 1967) was a Scottish-born art director, based in England where he designed the film set, sets for over eighty films and television series between the early 1930s and mid-1960s. Sutherland spent much of the 19 ...

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "A film which misses through redundant episodes, poor dialogue, and indifferent acting, the pace and excitement which it might have had. ... Nobody minds a familiar story if it is told effectively and with some distinction; here the fine acting and appearance of Fritz Kortner is negatived by the very English Turks, the very English young German officer, and the cardboard settings of cafe´ and street life. Wynne Gibson is not well cast for the snappy journalist, ready for adventure and risk. It is fair entertainment and would have been better without the occasional attempts at humour." '' Picture Show'' wrote: "The menacing figure of 'Clubfoot' loses much of his menace in this somewhat highly coloured melodrama, which shows him completely outwitted by American girl and an Englishman. ... Story suffers from its direction, which does not make most of situations and thrills."

References

External links

* 1935 films 1930s spy drama films British spy drama films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Victor Hanbury Films set in 1915 Films set in Istanbul World War I spy films Films based on British novels Films shot at Welwyn Studios Films scored by Jack Beaver Films about the Gallipoli campaign Films set in the Ottoman Empire British black-and-white films British war drama films 1930s war drama films 1935 drama films 1930s British films English-language war drama films English-language spy drama films {{1930s-UK-film-stub