''The Long Memory'' is a 1951

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a profession ...

by the British writer

Howard Clewes Howard Clewes (27 October 1912 – 29 January 1988) was an English screenwriter and novelist. He wrote for eight films between 1951 and 1974. He also wrote twenty action novels from 1938 to 1979.Renata Clewes obituary; London Independent 10 ...

. After seventeen years in prison for his role in a murder, Philip Davidson returns to his former haunt on the

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

side of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. He takes up residence in a derelict

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

and plans his revenge against those who saw him sent to jail for a crime he did not commit. His progress is kept under observation by Bob Lowther, a police officer who married Davidson's girlfriend after he was convicted. Lowther has risen in the force since then, but has long had nagging doubts that his wife may have committed

perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...

. Davidson's bitterness against those who have wronged him is offset by his meeting of a young refugee woman who is equally an outsider in society. The story concludes with Davidson finding that the man he supposedly killed is alive and well in the Docklands of London.

Film adaptation

In 1953 it was adapted into the British

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

The Long Memory ''The Long Memory'' is a black-and-white 1953 British crime film directed by Robert Hamer, starring John Mills, John McCallum and Elizabeth Sellars. The screenplay was by Hamer and Frank Harvey based on the 1951 novel ''The Long Memory'' by ...

'' directed by

Robert Hamer Robert Hamer (31 March 1911 – 4 December 1963) was a British film director and screenwriter best known for the 1949 black comedy ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' and the now acknowledged 1947 classic '' It Always Rains on Sunday''. Biography Ham ...

and starring

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

John McCallum John McCallum (born 9 April 1950) is a Canadian politician, economist, diplomat and former university professor. A former Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP), McCallum was the Canadian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2019. He was asked for ...

and

Elizabeth Sellars Elizabeth Macdonald Sellars (6 May 1921 – 30 December 2019) was a Scottish actress. Early life and education Sellars was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the daughter of Stephen Sellars and Jean Sutherland. She appeared on the stage from the age o ...

. The film rights were acquired quickly after the book's publication by film producer Hugh Stewart. The film shifted the central focus from the police officer to the victim of injustice Philip Davidson.McFarlane p.87

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * McFarlane, Brian. ''The Cinema of Britain and Ireland''. Wallflower Press, 2005. 1951 British novels British crime novels British novels adapted into films Doubleday (publisher) books Novels set in Kent Novels set in London {{1950s-crime-novel-stub