At the Stroke of Nine

At the Stroke of Nine is a 1957 British crime film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Patricia Dainton, Stephen Murray, Patrick Barr and Dermot Walsh.^[2] A female journalist is kidnapped by a madman who forces her to write articles about him and threatens to kill her.

At the Stroke of Nine
Original British lobby card
Directed by	Lance Comfort
Written by	Harry Booth Brian Clemens Michael Deeley Jon Penington
Produced by	Harry Booth Michael Deeley Jon Penington
Starring	Patricia Dainton Stephen Murray Patrick Barr Dermot Walsh
Cinematography	Gerald Gibbs
Music by	Edwin Astley
Production company	Towers of London Productions
Distributed by	Grand National (UK)
Release date	June 1957 (1957-06)
Running time	71 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£20,000[1]

Plot

When reporter Sally Bryant chases a major scoop, she is captured by concert pianist Stephen Garrett, who says he will murder her within the next five days. He forces her to send daily reports of her ordeal to her newspaper. The typeface of the reports gives a clue to the police, who reach Garrett's house in time to prevent him from strangling Sally. Garrett falls out of a window to his death.

Cast

• Patricia Dainton as Sally Bryant
• Stephen Murray as Stephen Garrett
• Patrick Barr as Frank
• Dermot Walsh as MacDonnell
• Clifford Evans as Inspector Hudgell
• Leonard White as Thompson
• Reginald Green as Toby
• Alexander Doré as Carter
• Leonard Sharp as news vendor
• Robert Hartley as Westcott
• Frank Atkinson as porter
• William Moore as Campion
• Marianne Stone as secretary
• George Lee as young reporter
• William Hepper as clerk
• Donald B. Edwards as Gray

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This implausible melodrama has little to recommend it. The villain has no virtues and the hero no vices; the heroine registers suitable cold terror: and the script calls for little more from them."^[3]

TV Guide wrote, "the frantic search for the loonie by police offers some interesting scenes with fair suspense."^[4]

References

1. Michael Deeley, Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies, Pegasus Books, 2009 p 20
2. "At the Stroke of Nine". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
3. "At the Stroke of Nine". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 24 (276): 86. 1 January 1957 – via ProQuest.
4. "At The Stroke Of Nine Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.

External links

• At the Stroke of Nine at IMDb