''The Man in Black'' is a 1950 British

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 Francis Searle and starring Betty Ann Davies,

Sheila Burrell Sheila Mary Burrell (9 May 1922 – 19 July 2011) was a British actress. A cousin of Laurence Olivier, she was born in Blackheath, London, the daughter of a salesman. She attended St John's, Bexhill-on-Sea and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dram ...

and

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mi ...

. It was adapted by

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve class ...

from the popular British radio series '' Appointment with Fear'' featuring

Valentine Dyall Valentine Dyall (7 May 1908 – 24 June 1985) was an English character actor. He worked regularly as a voice actor, and was known for many years as "The Man in Black", the narrator of the BBC Radio horror series '' Appointment with Fear'' ...

. Dyall (The "Man in Black" of the radio series) here provides the on screen introduction to the film, as "The Story-Teller".

Plot

After the death of her

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

father during a freak "yoga accident", Joan Clavering returns home to her widowed and suddenly very wealthy step-mother Bertha. The latter conspires with her daughter Janice to drive Joan insane and deprive her of her rightful inheritance.

Critical reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' wrote, "The story is drivel, with some unintentionally campy plot developments. It was adapted from a British radio series, perhaps proving that some dramas are better heard than seen." ''Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings'' wrote, "One of Hammer's earlier forays into horror. This one is highly recommended."

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

called it a "clever little thriller with some surprises and a rare noncomic role for James."

References

External links

* 1948 films 1940s thriller films British thriller films Films directed by Francis Searle Hammer Film Productions horror films British black-and-white films Films based on radio series 1950s English-language films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films 1950s British films {{1940s-thriller-film-stub