When airline pilot Nick Talbot disappears after a plane crash and is presumed dead, his friend Van decides to investigate. He finds Nick very much alive and heavily involved with a gang of smugglers…
Production Details
A Hammer production released by Exclusive Films (UK) and Lippert Films (USA)
Adapted from the novel “Dead on Course” by Elleston Trevor and Packham Webb
Copyright MCMLII by Exclusive Films Ltd.
All characters in this photoplay are fictitious and bear no resemblance to any real person, living or dead
RCA Sound System
London Philarmonic Orchestra
Black & White 73 minutes
Filming Began: 1st September 1951
UK Release: 26th May 1952
Studio:
Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, London
Stills from film
Click an image for enlarged slideshow
Cast & Crew
Red = Uncredited
Crew | Name | Age at Release | Birth | Hidden | Death | Age | Hammer Credited | Hammer Uncredited | Total Hammer |
Art Director | Andrew Mazzei | 64 | 2 Aug 1887 | 6 Aug 1975 | 88 | 1 | 1 | ||
Assistant Director | Jimmy Sangster | 24 | 2 Dec 1927 | 19 Aug 2011 | 83 | 65 | 2 | 67 | |
Camera Operator | Peter Bryan | 32 | 28 Sep 1919 | 1 Sep 1972 | 52 | 22 | 22 | ||
Casting | Michael Carreras | 24 | 21 Dec 1927 | 19 Apr 1994 | 66 | 82 | 5 | 87 | |
Chief Electrician | Jack Carter | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Director | Terence Fisher | 48 | 23 Feb 1904 | 18 Jun 1980 | 76 | 31 | 31 | ||
Director of Photography | Walter Harvey BSc | 49 | 9 Feb 1903 | 1 Jan 1979 | 75 | 34 | 34 | ||
Editor | James Needs | 32 | 17 Oct 1919 | 4 Feb 2003 | 83 | 110 | 1 | 111 | |
Focus Puller | Harry Oakes | 31 | 16 Jan 1921 | 11 Dec 2012 | 91 | 53 | 53 | ||
Focus Puller | Neil Binney | 20 | 01 Jun 1931 | 01.06.1931 | 92 | 17 | 10 | 27 | |
Hair Stylist | Bill Griffiths | 52 | 9 Oct 1899 | 5 | 5 | ||||
Make-up | Phil Leakey | 44 | 4 May 1908 | 26 Nov 1992 | 84 | 48 | 48 | ||
Musical Director | Malcolm Arnold | 30 | 21 Oct 1921 | 23 Sep 2006 | 84 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
Producer | Anthony Hinds | 29 | 18 Sep 1922 | 30 Sep 2013 | 91 | 84 | 1 | 85 | |
Production Manager | Arthur Barnes | 66 | 1 Jan 1886 | 1 Jan 1956 | 70 | 20 | 20 | ||
Publicist | Bill Luckwell | 38 | 1 Oct 1913 | 2 Feb 1967 | 53 | 1 | 1 | ||
Recordist | Bill Salter | 1983 | 17 | 17 | |||||
Screenplay | John Gilling | 39 | 29 May 1912 | 22 Nov 1984 | 72 | 21 | 21 | ||
Wardrobe | Ellen Trussler | 31 | 01 Jan 1921 | 01.01.1921 | 103 | 1 | 1 | ||
Cast | Name | Age at Release | Birth | Hidden | Death | Age | Hammer Credited | Hammer Uncredited | Total Hammer |
Alexia | Kay Kendall | 26 | 21 May 1926 | 6 Sep 1959 | 33 | 2 | 2 | ||
Avril | Naomi Chance | 24 | 18 Sep 1927 | 18 Mar 2003 | 75 | 4 | 4 | ||
Blonde | June Ashley | 40 | 7 Oct 1911 | 1 Nov 2017 | 106 | 1 | 1 | ||
Blonde | June Mitchell | 18 | 30 Jun 1933 | 2 Aug 2009 | 76 | 2 | 2 | ||
Blonde | Natasha Sokolova | 34 | 1 Sep 1917 | 1 Jan 1969 | 51 | 1 | 1 | ||
Boyd Spencer | Arthur Lane | 41 | 11 Jun 1910 | 28 Apr 1987 | 76 | 2 | 2 | ||
Club Dancer | John Wilder | 2 | 2 | ||||||
Club Dancer | Pat Ryan | 36 | 1 Jan 1916 | 1 Jan 1992 | 76 | 4 | 4 | ||
Doctor | Douglas Muir | 47 | 5 Nov 1904 | 30 Nov 1966 | 62 | 1 | 1 | ||
Duty Officer | Nigel Neilson | 32 | 12 Dec 1919 | 1 Jan 2000 | 80 | 1 | 1 | ||
First Flying Officer | James Steele | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Jeannette | Diane Cilento | 20 | 2 Apr 1932 | 6 Oct 2011 | 79 | 2 | 2 | ||
Louis, Club Waiter | Emille Stemmler | 41 | 1911 | 6 | 6 | ||||
Man in Hotel Bar | Victor Harrington | 42 | 27 Aug 1909 | 23 Jul 1980 | 70 | 7 | 7 | ||
Maxwell | Colin Tapley | 43 | 7 May 1909 | 1 Dec 1995 | 86 | 3 | 3 | ||
Mrs C. Smith | Courtney Hope | 65 | 19 Dec 1886 | 17 Jan 1975 | 88 | 4 | 4 | ||
Nick Talbot | Robert Beatty | 42 | 19 Oct 1909 | 3 Mar 1992 | 82 | 1 | 1 | ||
Nurse | Sheala Raynor | 46 | 15 Mar 1906 | 17 Feb 1998 | 91 | 2 | 2 | ||
O'Gorman | Laurie Taylor | 33 | 13 Jul 1918 | 6 Aug 2003 | 85 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
Receptionist | Kathleen Stuart | 26 | 9 Dec 1925 | 11 May 1972 | 46 | 1 | 1 | ||
Sam | Anthony Miles | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
Second Flying Officer | Russ Allen | 35 | 9 May 1917 | 17 Oct 1992 | 75 | 1 | 1 | ||
Signal Operator | Darcy Conyers | 32 | 19 Jul 1919 | 1 Nov 1973 | 54 | 2 | 2 | ||
Snell | Harold Lang | 29 | 1 Jan 1923 | 16 Nov 1970 | 47 | 8 | 1 | 9 | |
Talbot | Ian Fleming | 63 | 10 Sep 1888 | 1 Jan 1969 | 80 | 2 | 2 | ||
Truscott | Jack Allen | 44 | 23 Oct 1907 | 25 May 1995 | 87 | 1 | 1 | ||
Van | Zachary Scott | 38 | 21 Feb 1914 | 3 Oct 1965 | 51 | 1 | 1 | ||
Woman in Hotel Lobby | Aileen Lewis | 38 | 9 Apr 1914 | 12 Feb 2014 | 99 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
Original Poster
Click to enlarge
Footnotes
Zachary Scott was the American brought over for this one. A star of many Westerns, he had also played the title role in “The Mask of Dimitrios” (1944).
Diane Cilento, introduced in this film, went on to marry Sean Connery and is the mother of his actor son, Jason.
Kay Kendall died at the age of 33 from myeloid leukemia.