The Man in Black

Henry Clavering suspects his second wife Bertha is trying to drive his daughter (by his first marriage) insane, to stop her inheriting his money. He decides to use his yoga skills to pretend to be dead, and thereby expose her villainy.

Production Details

A Hammer Production of The B.B.C. Sensation
United Programmes Sound System

Black & White 72 minutes

Filming dates: 8th August – 9th September 1949
UK Release: 6th March 1950

Filming:
Oakley Court Hotel, Oakley Green, Windsor, Berkshire

Stills from film

Click an image for enlarged slideshow

Cast & Crew

Crew believed complete

CREW	NAME	CREDITED	AGE AT RELEASE	BIRTH	HIDE	DEATH	AGE	CREDITS	UNCERDITED	TOTAL HAMMER
Art Department	Tom Money	No	33	1917		1974	57	2	21	23
Art Depatment	Mick Lyons	No	49	1901		22 Jun 1959	58		10	10
Art Director	Denis Wreford	Yes	45	1905		1988	83	5		5
Assistant Director	Jimmy Sangster	Yes	22	2 Dec 1927		19 Aug 2011	83	66	2	68
Boom Operator	Percy Britten	No	30	1 Oct 1919		1996	76		23	23
Camera Operator	Peter Bryan	Yes	30	28 Sep 1919		Sep 1972	52	28		28
Casting	Prudence Sykes	Yes						11	2	13
Clapper Loader	Harry Oakes	No	29	16 Jan 1921		11 Dec 2012	91	3	56	59
Continuity	Renee Glynne	Yes	23	3 Aug 1926		6 Apr 2022	95	41	3	44
Director	Francis Searle	Yes	40	14 Mar 1909		31 Jul 2002	93	18		18
Director of Photography	Cedric Williams	Yes	37	1913		1999	86	7		7
Editor	John Ferris	Yes						7		7
Editor	Ray Pitt	No						5	3	8
Electrician	Jack Curtis	No						3	24	27
Focus Puller	Michael Reed	No	20	7 Jul 1929		15 Dec 2022	93	6	3	9
Focus Puller	Neil Binney	No	18	1 Jun 1931	1 Jun 1931		94	17	10	27
Hair Stylist	Monica Hustler	Yes	23	21 Nov 1926			99	18		18
Make-up	Phil Leakey	Yes	41	4 May 1908		26 Nov 1992	84	50		50
Musical Director	Frank Spencer	Yes	38	19 Jun 1911		Feb 1975	63	22	1	23
Musical Director	Rupert Grayson	Yes						8		8
Original Story	Francis Searle	Yes	40	14 Mar 1909		31 Jul 2002	93	18		18
Producer	Anthony Hinds	Yes	27	18 Sep 1922		30 Sep 2013	91	87	3	90
Production Manager	Arthur Barnes	Yes	64	1886		1956	70	20		20
Recordist	Edgar Vetter	Yes	37	27 Jan 1913		15 Dec 1988	75	15		15
Screenplay	John Gilling	Yes	37	29 May 1912		22 Nov 1984	72	19		19
Second Assistant Director	Jack Causey	No	36	1914		1977	63	6	1	7
Sound Assistant	Gordon Everett	Yes	26	18 Mar 1923		9 Jun 1991	68	1	6	7
Still Photographer	John Jay	No	29	14 Nov 1920		29 Apr 2005	84	13	22	35
CAST		Yes
Bertha Clavering	Betty Anne Davies	Yes	39	24 Dec 1910		14 May 1955	44	2		2
Doctor	Gerald Case	Yes	45	26 Jan 1905		22 May 1985	80	3		3
Elsie	Mollie Palmer	Yes	29	11 Jan 1921		27 Apr 2009	88	2		2
Henry Clavering/Hodson	Sidney James	Yes	36	8 May 1913		26 Apr 1976	62	7		7
Janice	Sheala Burrell	Yes	27	9 May 1922		19 Jul 2011	89	4	1	5
Joan	Hazel Penwarden	Yes	24	1926		17 Aug 2023	97	1		1
Mrs. Carter	Courtney Hope	Yes	63	19 Dec 1886		17 Jan 1975	88	4		4
Removal Man	David Keir	No	66	7 Feb 1884		30 Oct 1971	87	1	3	4
Sandford	Lawrence Baskcombe	Yes	66	13 Oct 1883		12 Feb 1962	78	1		1
The Man in Black Storyteller	Valentine Dyall	Yes	42	7 May 1907		24 Jun 1985	78	3	1	4
Victor	Anthony Forwood	Yes	34	3 Oct 1915		18 May 1988	72	6		6

Original Poster

Click to enlarge

Footnotes

This was the debut film for actress Sheila Burrell, who also appeared for Hammer in Cloudburst (1951), The Rossiter Case (1951), Women Without Men(1956) and Paranoiac (1963).

Hammer’s 4K Restoration Collectors Edition DVD

4K Restoration Official Trailer