''The Share Out'' (also known as ''The Shareout'') is a 1962

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

second feature A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, s ...

film directed by

Gerard Glaister John Leslie Glaister DFC (21 December 1915 – 5 February 2005), known as Gerard or Gerrard Glaister, was a British television producer and director best known for his work with the BBC. Amongst his most notable successes as a producer were ''Co ...

and starring

Bernard Lee John Bernard Lee (10 January 190816 January 1981) was an English actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven Eon-produced James Bond films. Lee's film career spanned the years 1934 to 1979, though he had appeared on stage from ...

Alexander Knox Alexander Knox (16 January 1907 – 25 April 1995) was a Canadian actor and writer. He appeared in over 100 film, television, and theatrical productions over a career spanning from the 1920s until the late 1980s. He was nominated for an Oscar ...

and

Moira Redmond Moira Redmond (14 July 1928 – 16 March 2006) was an English actress. Biography Redmond was born in Bognor Regis, Sussex, England. Her parents were actors and director managers, although she was also cared for by other relatives. Her grandf ...

. Part of the long-running series of

Edgar Wallace Mysteries The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''Th ...

films made at

Merton Park Studios Merton Park Studios, opened in 1929, was a British film production studio located at Long Lodge, 269 Kingston Road in Merton Park, South London. In the 1940s, it was owned by Piprodia Entertainment, Nikhanj Films and Film Producers Guild. Peter M ...

, it is based on the 1920 Wallace novel '' Jack O'Judgment''.

Plot

Colonel Calderwood runs a property company as a front for blackmail. Intending to shortly wind down the company, Calderwood has converted its funds into diamonds, which will be shared equally between himself and his partners John Crewe and Monet, and company secretary Diana Marsh, none of whom trust each other or Calderwood. Detective Superintendent Meredith of Scotland Yard is suspicious of the company's activities, but is unable to persuade any of its blackmail victims to help the police. Meredith enlists private investigator Mike Stafford to infiltrate the company. Calderwood immediately tasks Stafford with spying on Diana Marsh. Monet is murdered. Calderwood murders Crewe. Stafford shoots Calderwood. Diana and Stafford have fallen in love, and as they are about to flee the country, Meredith arrests them for plotting the murders.

Cast

as Detective Superintendent Meredith *

as Colonel Calderwood *

as Diana Marsh * William Russell as Mike Stafford *

Richard Vernon Richard Evelyn Vernon (7 March 1925 – 4 December 1997) was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles. Prematurely balding and greying, Vernon settled into playi ...

as John Crewe * Richard Warner as Mark Speller * John Gabriel as Monet * Jack Rodney as Gregory * Stanley Morgan as Detective Saregeant Anson * Robert Perceval as Britton * Ann Harriman as receptionist * Julie Shearing as Judy *

Fanny Carby Fanny Carby (2 February 1925 – 20 September 2002) was a British character actress. She had two different roles on ''Coronation Street'': she played Mary Hornigold in 1965, then in 1987 she took the role of Vera Duckworth's domineering mo ...

as Mrs. Wall * Ian Hamilton as waiter * Walter Horsbrugh as registrar

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "Unlike other films in this series, this case of dishonour among thieves catches something of the true Edgar Wallace flavour. The plot's intricacies are carried with a flourish and the characters' ingenious capacity for double-crossing is enjoyably portrayed by a strong cast. As the persistent cop, Bernard Lee is so good he almost upsets the balance of this essentially modest entertainment."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1729235, The Share Out