''Mine Own Executioner'' is a 1947 British

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

starring

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed radio, theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" ...

and directed by

Anthony Kimmins Anthony Martin Kimmins, Order of the British Empire, OBE (10 November 1901 – 19 May 1964) was an English Film director, director, playwright, screenwriter, Film producer, producer, and actor. Biography Kimmins was born in Harrow, London, on 10 ...

, and based on the novel of the same name by Nigel Balchin. It was entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival. The title is derived from a quotation of

John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...

's " Devotions", which serves as an epigraph for the original book.

Plot

Felix Milne (Meredith) is an overworked psychologist with psychological problems of his own. Molly Lucian seeks Milne's help in treating her husband Adam, traumatised from his experiences in a Japanese POW camp. Adam is about to become severely schizophrenic. To make matters worse, Felix finds his own home life deteriorating.

Cast

as Felix Milne * Kieron Moore as Adam Lucian *

Dulcie Gray Dulcie Winifred Catherine Savage Denison (''née'' Bailey; 20 November 1915 – 15 November 2011), known professionally as Dulcie Gray, was a British actress, mystery writer and lepidopterist. While at drama school in the late 1930s she met a ...

as Patricia Milne * Michael Shepley as Peter Edge * Christine Norden as Barbara Edge * Barbara White as Molly Lucian * Walter Fitzgerald as Dr. Norris Pile * Edgar Norfolk as Sir George Freethorne *

John Laurie John Paton Laurie (25 March 1897 – 23 June 1980) was a Scottish stage, film, and television actor. He appeared in scores of feature films with directors including Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Michael Powell and Laurence Olivier, generally p ...

as Dr. James Garsten * Martin Miller as Dr. Hans Tautz *

Clive Morton Clive Morton (16 March 1904 – 24 September 1975) was an English actor. Best known for playing upper class Englishmen, he made many screen appearances, especially on television. Career In 1955, Morton appeared in Laurence Olivier's film vers ...

as Robert Paston *

Joss Ambler Joss Ambler (23 June 1900 – 1959) was an Australian-born British film and television actor. He usually played somewhat pompous and irascible figures of authority, particularly in comedy films. He was an effective foil to George Formby in both ...

as Julian Briant * Jack Raine as Inspector Pierce * Laurence Hanray as Dr. Lefage *

Helen Haye Helen Haye (born Helen Hay, 28 August 1874 – 1 September 1957) was a British stage and film actress.
New York Times. 3 Septem ...

as Lady Maresfield * John Stuart as Dr. John Hayling

Production

The American actor Burgess Meredith was cast in the lead. At the same time, his wife

Paulette Goddard Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress and socialite. Her career spanned six decades, from the 1920s to the early 1970s. She was a prominent leading actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood ...

was also hired by

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

to appear in ''

An Ideal Husband ''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...

'' (1947). Australian Frederic Hilton worked as technical adviser.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' noted a "serious, adult and highly interesting film drama both in point of view and execution," singling out the work of writer Balchin, director Kimmins, and producer Korda, alongside stars Burgess Meredith and Kieron Moore. As of 30 June 1949, the film had earned £143,632 in the UK of which £101,963 went to the producer. The film was picketed on its US release by the

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It p ...

, an anti-British group active at the time. The picketing was part of the group's call to boycott British films and products, and had little to do with ''Mine Own Executioner'' itself.

References

External links

*
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mine Own Executioner 1947 films 1947 drama films 1940s psychological thriller films British drama films British black-and-white films Films based on British novels Films directed by Anthony Kimmins Films scored by Benjamin Frankel Films set in London Films produced by Alexander Korda Films with screenplays by Nigel Balchin Medical-themed films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films English-language thriller films