Mantrap – 1953

A Hammer production released by Exclusive Films (UK) and United Artists (USA)
From the Original Story “Queen in Danger” by Elleston Trevor
Copyright 1952 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
Produced at Exclusive Studios, Bray
Black & White 79 minutes
Storyline
Mervyn Speight has escaped from prison, where he has been for the murder of a young woman two years earlier. He insists that he is an innocent man who was framed and lawyer Hugo Bishop, believing him, sets out to prove his story…
Crew
Function | Credited | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Credits |
Adaptation by | Paul Tabori | 44 | 8 May 1908 | 9 Nov 1974 | 66 | 6 |
Art Director | J. Elder Wills | 52 | 26 Apr 1900 | 1970 | 69 | 22 |
Assistant Director | Bill Shore | 5 | ||||
Camera Operator | Len Harris | 36 | 19 May 1916 | 21 Feb 1995 | 78 | 52 |
Conducted by | Marcus Dodds | 34 | 19 Apr 1918 | 10 May 1984 | 66 | 4 |
Continuity | Renee Glynne | 26 | 3 Aug 1926 | Living | 94 | 38 |
Dialogue Director | Nora Roberts | 1968 | 5 | |||
Directed by | Terence Fisher | 48 | 23 Feb 1904 | 18 Jun 1980 | 76 | 31 |
Director of Photography | Reginald Wyer | 51 | 30 Oct 1901 | 1970 | 68 | 1 |
Editor | James Needs | 33 | 17 Oct 1919 | 2003 | 83 | 111 |
Lois Maxwell's Wardrobe by | Jane Ironside | 2 | ||||
Make-up | Dick Bonner-Moris | 42 | 1911 | 20 Sep 1964 | 53 | 4 |
Model Gowns by | Ricci Michaels Ltd. | |||||
Music Composed by | Doreen Carwithen | 30 | 15 Nov 1922 | 5 Jan 2003 | 80 | 3 |
Played by | The Philarmonia Orchestra | 1 | ||||
Produced by | Alexander Paal | 42 | 18 May 1910 | 8 Nov 1972 | 62 | 4 |
Produced by | Michael Carreras | 25 | 21 Dec 1927 | 19 Apr 1994 | 66 | 83 |
Production Manager | Victor Wark | 39 | 1 Apr 1913 | 4 Jan 1993 | 79 | 1 |
Recordist | Jack Miller | 2 | ||||
Screenplay by | Paul Tabori | 44 | 8 May 1908 | 9 Nov 1974 | 66 | 6 |
Screenplay by | Terence Fisher | 48 | 23 Feb 1904 | 18 Jun 1980 | 76 | 31 |
Cast
Character | Actor | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Appearances |
Alphonse | Arnold Diamond | 37 | 18 Apr 1915 | 18 Mar 1992 | 76 | 4 |
Barker | Conrad Phillips | 27 | 13 Apr 1925 | 13 Jan 2016 | 90 | 4 |
Derval | Liam Gaffney | 41 | 22 Jun 1911 | 1 Jul 1994 | 83 | 1 |
Detective | Terry Carney | 1 | ||||
Doctor | Jack Stuart | 54 | 18 Jul 1898 | 17 Oct 1979 | 81 | 1 |
Du Vancet | John Penrose | 38 | 5 May 1914 | 22 May 1983 | 69 | 2 |
Fashion Compere | Barbara Shelly (asBarbara Kowin) | 20 | 13 Feb 1932 | Living | 88 | 8 |
Frisnay | Lloyd Lamble | 38 | 8 Feb 1914 | 17 Mar 2008 | 94 | 3 |
Hugo Bishop | Paul Henreid | 44 | 10 Jan 1908 | 29 Mar 1992 | 84 | 2 |
Jerrard | Hugh Sinclair | 49 | 19 May 1903 | 29 Dec 1962 | 59 | 2 |
Joanna | Christina Forrest | 22 | 5 Feb 1930 | 1 Oct 1990 | 60 | 1 |
Laura | Jane Welsh | 47 | 14 Jan 1905 | 27 Nov 2001 | 96 | 1 |
Marjorie | Anna Turner | 34 | 6 May 1918 | 29 Mar 2014 | 95 | 2 |
Plain Clothes Man | Geoffrey Murphy | 31 | 2 Jan 1921 | 15 Jun 1989 | 68 | 1 |
Receptionist | Sally Newland | 1 | ||||
Rex | Anthony Forwood | 37 | 3 Oct 1915 | 18 May 1988 | 72 | 6 |
Speight | Kieron Moore | 28 | 5 Oct 1924 | 15 Jul 2007 | 82 | 2 |
Susie | Mary Laura Wood | 28 | 8 Mar 1924 | 30 Mar 1990 | 66 | 1 |
Thelma | Lois Maxwell | 25 | 14 Feb 1927 | 29 Sep 2007 | 80 | 2 |
Vera | Kay Kendall | 26 | 21 May 1926 | 6 Sep 1959 | 33 | 2 |
Victor | Bill Travers | 30 | 3 Jan 1922 | 20 Mar 1994 | 72 | 1 |
Footnotes
Like Hammer, actor Kieron Moore later tried his hand at horror, starring in “Doctor Blood’s Coffin” (1960) and “The Day of the Triffids” (1962).
Kay Kendall, who is also in Hammer’s “Wings of Danger” (1952), became a popular film actress until her premature death in 1959, at the age of just 33.
Len Harris, mentioned here for the first time, became Hammer’s regular Camera Operator for the next ten years.
Conrad Phillips, who plays Barker in this film, became William Tell in the ITC TV series of the early 1960s. He also appears in the horror film “Circus of Horrors” (1960).
Details were complied viewing the actual film.
Source of viewing copy – The Hammer Graveyard Collection