Face the Music – 1954

A Hammer production released by Exclusive Films (UK) and Lippert Films (USA)
Copyright 1953 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, England
Black & White 84 minutes

Storyline

Jazz trumpeter James Bradley (“Brad”) is working in a show at the London Palladium when he meets beautiful night-club singer Maxine Halbard. He takes her back to her flat, but absent-mindedly leaves his trumpet behind when he leaves. The next day the police return it to him – Maxine has been murdered and it seems that he was the last person to see her alive. Now under suspicion of the crime, Brad sets out to clear his name…

Watch the Trailer on YouTube

Crew


Function	Credited	Age at Release	Birth		Death	Age	Hammer Credits
Art Director	J. Elder Wills	53	26 Apr 1900		1970	69	22
Assistant Director	Jimmy Sangster	26	2 Dec 1927		19 Aug 2011	83	65
Camera Operator	Len Harris	37	19 May 1916		21 Feb 1995	78	52
Continuity	Renee Glynne	27	3 Aug 1926	03.08.1926		94	38
Directed by	Terence Fisher	49	23 Feb 1904		18 Jun 1980	76	31
Director of Photography	Walter Harvey Bsc	50	9 Feb 1903		1979	75	33
Editor	Maurice Rootes	36	12 Apr 1917		17 Jun 1997	80	7
From the novel "Face the Music" by	Ernest Borneman	38	12 Apr 1915		4 Jun 1995	80	2
Hairdresser	Nina Broe				1993		10
Make-up	Phil Leakey	45	4 May 1908		26 Nov 1992	84	48
Musical Directors	Ivor Slaney	32	27 May 1921		20 Mar 1998	76	11
Musical Directors	Ken Barker (1)	32	1 Mar 1921		7 Dec 1999	78	2
Produced by	Michael Carreras	26	21 Dec 1927		19 Apr 1994	66	83
Production Manager	Mickey Delamar	46	1908		1971	63	7
Screenplay by	Ernest Borneman	38	12 Apr 1915		4 Jun 1995	80	2
Sound Recording	Bill Salter				1983		17
Sound Recording	George Burgess	57	1897		1 Feb 1956	59	3
Trumpet Theme and Special Arrangements by	Ken Barker	32	1 Mar 1921		7 Dec 1999	78	2
Wardrobe	Molly Arbuthnot	45	19 Dec 1908		1 Nov 2001	92	48

Cast


Character	Actor	Age at Release	Birth		Death	Age	Hammer Appearances
Barbara Quigley	Eleanor Summerfield	32	7 Mar 1921		13 Jul 2001	80	3
Bellboy	Melvyn Hayes	18	11 Jan 1935	11.01.1935		86	4
Gloria Lewis Colt	Paula Byrne						1
Inspector Mulrooney	Martin Boddey	46	16 Apr 1907		24 Oct 1975	68	4
James Bradley	Alex Nicol	37	20 Jan 1916		29 Jul 2001	85	2
Jeff Colt	Arthur Lane	43	11 Jun 1910		28 Apr 1987	76	2
Johnny Sutherland	Paul Carpenter	32	8 Dec 1921		12 Jun 1964	42	5
Maurice Green	Geoffrey Keen	37	21 Aug 1916		3 Nov 2005	89	4
Max Margulis	John Salew	52	1902		14 Sep 1961	59	1
Maxine	Ann Hanslip	19	25 Jan 1934		9 Jan 2013	78	1
The Inspector	Fred Johnson	54	6 Aug 1899		4 Dec 1971	72	6

Production


FILMING BEGAN	1 June 1953
UK RELEASE	22 February 1954
STUDIO	Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England

Footnotes

American actor Alex Nicol made one more film for Hammer – “The House Across the Lake” (1954).

Fred Johnson was another of those character actors who was employed quite regularly by Hammer. His films for them include “The Curse of Frankenstein” (1957), “The Brides of Dracula” (1960) and “Taste of Fear” (1961). He probably had his quietest role in “Taste of Fear”, playing a corpse which keeps turning up throughout the film!

Details were complied viewing the actual film.
Source of viewing copy – The Hammer Graveyard Collection