''Midnight Menace'' is a 1937 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

Sinclair Hill Sinclair Hill (10 June 1896 – 6 March 1945) was a British film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. He directed nearly fifty films between 1920 and 1939. He was born as George Sinclair-Hill in London in 1894. He was awarded an O ...

and starring Charles Farrell,

Margaret Vyner Margaret Leila Vyner, also known by her married name Margaret Williams (3 December 1914 in Armidale, New South Wales – 30 October 1993 in Reading, England) was an Australian-born model and actress who appeared in British films. She collabora ...

, Fritz Kortner and Danny Green. The screenplay concerns an international arms manufacturing firm's plans to start a war in Europe by bombing

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It was released in the United States as ''Bombs Over London''.

Production

The film was made at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

. Its original script was written by

Alexander Mackendrick Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 – December 22, 1993) was an American-born Scottish film director and screenwriter. He directed nine feature films between 1949 and 1967, before retiring from filmmaking to become an influential profess ...

.Philip Kemp, Lethal Innocence : The Cinema of Alexander Mackendrick, London, Methuen, 1991, pp. 6–7. The film's sets were designed by

Wilfred Arnold Wilfred Arnold (1903–1970), also known as C. Wilfred Arnold, was a British art director.Ryall p.98 He was a prolific contributor to British films, designing the sets for more than a hundred. His brother Norman Arnold was also an art directo ...

Cast

* Charles Farrell as Brian Gaunt *

as Mary Stevens * Fritz Kortner as Peters * Danny Green as Socks * Wallace Evennett as Smith * Monti DeLyle as Pierre *

Dino Galvani Dino Galvani (born Candido Galvanoni; 27 October 189014 September 1960) was an Italian-British actor, who made his career in Britain on stage and radio and in films. He is remembered for his role in the popular BBC radio comedy series ''ITMA'' fr ...

as Tony * Arthur Finn as Mac, Newspaper Editor * Laurence Hanray as Sir George, Lead Conspirator * Arthur Gomez as Baron von Kleisch, Delegate *

Raymond Lovell Raymond Lovell (13 April 1900 – 1 October 1953) was a Canadian actor who performed in British films. He mainly played supporting roles, often somewhat pompous characters. Lovell initially trained as a physician at Cambridge University, but g ...

as Harris * Evan John as Doctor Marsh * Reynes Barton as Conference President * Terence O'Brien as Secret Agent Fearns * Dennis Val Norton as Vronsky, Peters' Aide * Billy Bray as Banks * Sydney King as Graham Stevens * Andreas Malandrinos as Zadek * Victor Tandy as Groves

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927–1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* 1937 films 1930s thriller films British thriller films Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films set in London British black-and-white films Films directed by Sinclair Hill 1930s English-language films 1930s British films Films scored by John Reynders English-language thriller films {{1930s-thriller-film-stub