Alias John Preston

''Alias John Preston'' is a 1955 British second feature ('B') thriller film directed by David MacDonald and starring Betta St. John, Alexander Knox and Christopher Lee. It was written by Paul Tabori, and produced by The Danzigers.

Plot

A mysterious and wealthy man moves to a small village where he outwardly appears to be a friendly figure but nurses a dangerous secret.

Cast

* Betta St. John as Sally Sandford
* Alexander Knox as Dr Peter Walton
* Christopher Lee as John Preston
* Sandra Dorne as Sylvia (in dream)
* Patrick Holt as Sylvia's husband (in dream) redited as Pat Holt* Betty Ann Davies as Mrs Sandford
* John Stuart as Dr Underwood
* Bill Fraser as Joe Newton
* Gabrielle Gay as Mrs Doran (dressmaker)
* Peter Grant as Bob Newton
* John Longden as Richard Sandford
* Guido Lorraine as restaurant manager
* Dinah Anne Rogers as Phyllis

Critical reception

''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' wrote: "This static and stagey melodrama is unimaginatively handled, finishing with a trick ending which explains remarkably little. Alexander Knox, as the psychiatrist, brings some degree of plausibility to the proceedings, but the playing generally is characterless."

''Kine Weekly'' wrote: "Its players do their best to bring conviction to the mumbo jumbo, but the task is beyond them. Although it opens promisingly, the play borders on the ludicrous as its climax approaches ...The picture creates interest at the start, but the subsequent flashbacks, which introduce foreign characters, are crude and rob the overall of realism and point. Alexander Knox maintains a professional bearing fo the bifter end as Walton, but the others are out of their depth as soon as the tale goes schizophrenic.

'' Picture Show'' wrote: "Christopher Lee gives an excellent performance."

''The Daily Film Renter'' wrote: "A beautifully studied performance by Christopher Lee as the perspiring, nightmare-haunted psychotic distinguishes this feature from the average. Scripting is competent, and the gimmick of showing half-real dreams on the screen will keep audiences interested."

In ''The British 'B' Film'' Chibnall and McFarlane wrote: "It was a pretty botched job, over-played and under-plotted."

Leslie Halliwell said: "Watchable second feature."

In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "poor", writing: "Dreary, turgid drama: seems much longer than it is."

''TV Guide'' called the film "a poorly developed psychological drama."

Allmovie described it as "an average psychological mystery worth watching for the good performances."

In ''Offbeat: British Cinema's Curiosities, Obscurities and Forgotten Items'', Jennifer Wallis wrote: "The Danzingers' high speed production accounts for the short running time. ...In the context of such whistle-stop production, ''Alias John Preston'' is an impressive feat, and in no way a bad film per se. Its tightly compacted plot and self-conscious intensity, though, tire the viewer before becoming somewhat infuriating in their transparency."

References

External links

*

{{The Danzigers

1955 films
1955 horror films
1950s psychological thriller films
British black-and-white films
British mystery horror films
British mystery thriller films
Films directed by David MacDonald (director)
1950s psychological horror films
1950s English-language films
1950s British films
Films scored by Edwin Astley
Films scored by Albert Elms
British horror thriller films
English-language horror films
English-language thriller films