''Burnt Evidence'' is a 1954 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

Daniel Birt Daniel Birt (23 June 1907 – 15 May 1955) was an English film director and editor. Career Birt began his career as an editor in 1932 with an assistant credit on '' The Lucky Number'' and went on to edit 12 films during the 1930s. World W ...

and starring

Jane Hylton Jane Hylton (16 July 1926 – 28 February 1979, born as Audrey Gwendolene Clark) was an English actress who accumulated 30 film credits, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, before moving into television work in the latter half of her career in the ...

Duncan Lamont Duncan William Ferguson Lamont (17 June 1918 – 19 December 1978) was a British actor.Brian McFarlane (Ed): ''The Encyclopedia of British Film'' (BFI/Methuen • London • 2000) p397''Picture Show Who's Who on the Screen'' (Amalgamated Pre ...

and

Donald Gray Donald Gray (born Eldred Owermann Tidbury, 3 March 1914 – 7 April 1978) was a South African actor, well known for his starring role in the British TV series ''Mark Saber'', for providing the voices of Colonel White, Captain Black and the M ...

. The film was produced by Ronald Kinnoch for ACT Films. It was made as a

second feature A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

. Shooting took place at

Beaconsfield Studios Beaconsfield Film Studios is a British television and film studio in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. The studios were operational as a production site for films in 1922, and continued producing films - and, later, TV shows - until the 1960s. Br ...

and on location in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art director

Ray Simm Ray Simm was a British art director. He was nominated three times for the BAFTA Award for Best Production Design for '' The Slipper and the Rose'', ''The Wrong Box'' and ''Darling'', for which he won. Selected filmography * '' The Faithful Ci ...

Plot

Diana Taylor is considering leaving her husband, Jack, who has been trying but failing to build his own business as a builder/decorator. Her suitor, Jimmy Thompson, is Jack's army friend. Jack deduces the relationship and, when Jimmy comes to Jack's business to discuss the situation, a fight ensues. A gun is produced and one of them is killed, but a subsequent fire makes it difficult to determine which man has died. While the police search for the survivor, Diana struggles with her feelings.

Cast

as Diana Taylor *

as Jack Taylor *

as Jimmy Thompson * Meredith Edwards as Bob Edwards *

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of ...

as Alf Quinney *

Irene Handl Irene Handl (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British author and character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Austria-born father ...

as Mrs. Raymond * Hugo Schuster as Hartl *

Kynaston Reeves Philip Arthur Reeves (29 May 18935 December 1971), known professionally as Kynaston Reeves, was an English character actor who appeared in numerous films and many television plays and series. Early life Reeves was born in London on 29 May 189 ...

as Pathologist *

Hugh Moxey Hugh Vincent Moxey (27 September 1909, Somerset, – 9 March 1991, Wandsworth), was a British film and television actor. Moxey spanned his career for 40 years, where he was best remembered in supporting roles in 1950s British war films, incl ...

as Assistant Commissioner * Tony Hilton as Tubby * Stanley Vilven as Attwood *

Hamilton Keene Hamilton George Keene (15 November 1896, in Hampstead – 4 October 1975, in Chelsea). He was a British stage and film actor.Edwards p.188 He appeared in more than thirty British films, originally in more prominent roles during the early 1930s a ...

as Fire Officer * Gwen Bacon as Mrs. Thompson * Jack Taylor as Detective Sergeant Dutton *

Arthur Lovegrove Arthur Lovegrove (15 July 1913 – 7 November 1981) was a British actor and playwright. His comedy ''Goodnight Mrs Puffin'' starring Irene Handl, ran for 3 years in London's West End, from 1961. Filmography * ''Noose'' (1948) - Drummer (un ...

as Fireman *

Stratford Johns Alan Edgar Stratford Johns (22 September 1925 – 29 January 2002), known as Stratford Johns, was a British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for his starring role as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the long-running ...

as Fireman

Critical reception

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

'' called it a "Routine thriller"; while ''

Sky Cinema Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

'' called it a "Relentlessly sombre thriller."

References

External links

* 1954 films 1950s thriller films British thriller films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Daniel Birt Films with screenplays by Ted Willis, Baron Willis British black-and-white films Films shot in London Films shot at Beaconsfield Studios 1950s British films {{1950s-UK-film-stub