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Mr. Denning Drives North

Film still

Mr. Denning Drives North - 1951 | 93 mins | Mystery | B&W

The Production Team

Director: Anthony Kimmins.
Producer: Anthony Kimmins and Stephen Mitchell.
Script: Alec Coppel. (from the novel by Alec Coppel)
Cinematography: John Wilcox.
Editing: Gerald Turney-Smith.
Original Music: Benjamin Frankel.

The Cast

John Mills - Tom Denning
Phyllis Calvert - Kay Denning
Eileen Moore - Liz Denning
Sam Wanamaker - Chick Eddowes
Herbert Lom - Mados
Raymond Huntley - Wright
Russell Waters - Harry Stoper
Wilfrid Hyde-White - Woods
Freda Jackson - Ma Smith
Trader Faulkner - Ted Smith
Sheila Shand - Gibbs Matilda
Bernard Lee - Inspector Dodds
Ronald Adam - Coroner

Plot Synopsis

Little-seen thriller from director Anthony Kimmins that walks a line between suspense and black-comedy; unsure what it really wants to be. Featuring a great performance from John Mills, there's also a strong supporting cast of watchable stalwarts including Bernard Lee, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Herbert Lom and Phyllis Calvert.

A successful aircraft manufacturer, Mr. Denning (John Mills), encounters trouble when he attempts to prevent his daughter Liz (Eileen Moore) running off with an undesirable blackmailer-boyfriend (Herbert Lom). He visits the rogue with the intention of buying him off, but during a sudden fit of rage he accidentally kills him. He drives North with the corpse in the back seat and temporarily disposes of the body in a roadside ditch. When police reports of the body being discovered fail to surface, Denning returns to the site to make more permanent arrangements but finds the corpse has mysteriously disappeared. A passing gypsy is charged with the murder. With only an inexpensive ring to go on for clues, Liz’s fiancé, Chick (Sam Wanamaker), sets out to uncover the truth.