Little Red Monkey
1955 British film by Ken Hughes
Little Red Monkey (U.S. title: The Case of the Red Monkey) is a 1955 British thriller film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Richard Conte, Rona Anderson and Russell Napier. The screenplay was by Hughes and James Eastwood, based on the 1953 BBC Television series of the same name written by Eric Maschwitz.
Detectives from Scotland Yard investigate a series of murders of leading nuclear scientists, and are intrigued by strange reports received about the crimes.
The film was an international hit, and along with Confession (1955) proved a breakthrough for Anglo-Amalgamated. After its success the company began making more expensive productions, often hiring American stars for international appeal.
01Cast
- Richard Conte as Bill Locklin
- Rona Anderson as Julia Jackson
- Russell Napier as Superintendent John Harrington
- Sylva Langova as Hilde Heller, chief spy
- Colin Gordon as Harry Martin, reporter
- Donald Bisset as Editor Harris
- John King-Kelly as spy henchman
- Bernard Rebel as Vinson, spy henchman
- Arnold Marlé as Professor Leon Dushenko
- John Horsley as Detective Sergeant Gibson
- Jane Welsh as Superintendent McCollum
- Theodore Wilhelm as Secretary of the International Social Club
- Colin Tapley as Sir Clive Raglan
- Noel Johnson as Detective Sergeant Hawkins
- Jessica Kearns as airport hostess
- Geoffrey Denys as Doctor Mayhew
- Gianfranco Parolini as Inspector May
- Guy Deghy as Social Club Recreation Director
- Peter Godsell as Tommy McCollum
- Ed Devereaux as American sailor
- George Margo as American sailor
- André Mikhelson as East German Chief of Border Guards
- Tony Sympson as cab driver
02Production
The film was made by Anglo-Amalgamated at Merton Park Studios, a co-production with Anglo Guild. The movie also had the involvement of Todon Productions, the company of Donna Reed and her husband Tony Owen.
03Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin said: "Some efficient photography and editing eke out the meagre excitements".
Variety wrote: “Like many British-produced pictures, it lacks American-type pace and is a routine entry in the program market. Conte portrays a U.S. State Dept. officer ... but displays little of the dash and ingenuity such a part calls for."
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928-1959 David Quinlan rated the film as “average” and wrote: “Conte and direction a cut above the rest in this moderately exciting thriller".
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Ken Hughes honed his skills as a director of thrillers working on the Scotland Yard B-movie series. Consequently, this quota quickie has a great deal more substance and style than many of its contemporaries. ... Hughes keeps the action on the boil, while Russell Napier and Rona Anderson are fine as a Scotland Yard detective and his niece."
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Little Red Monkey”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Little Red Monkey film poster.jpg by The distributor of the film, the publisher of the poster or the graphic artist., Fair use
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