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Face the Music (film)

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Face the Music
American Theatrical release poster
Directed byTerence Fisher
Screenplay byErnest Borneman
Based onFace the Music by Ernest Borneman
Produced byMichael Carreras
StarringAlex Nicol
Eleanor Summerfield
Paul Carpenter
CinematographyWalter J. Harvey
Edited byMaurice Rootes
Music byIvor Slaney
Kenny Baker
Production
company
Distributed byExclusive Films
Lippert Pictures (US)
Release dates
  • 29 January 1954 (1954-01-29) (US)
  • 22 February 1954 (1954-02-22) (UK)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Face the Music (U.S. title: The Black Glove) is a 1954 British crime drama film directed by Terence Fisher, and starring Alex Nicol, Eleanor Summerfield and Paul Carpenter.[1][2] It was released in the United States by Lippert Pictures.

Plot

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An American trumpet player in Britain is accused of murdering a beautiful blues singer.[3]

Cast

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Production

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It was produced by Hammer Films and shot at Bray Studios outside London with sets designed by the art director J. Elder Wills.

Critical reception

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The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Though this highly involved and improbable affair is given a contain gloss by slick camera work and competent direction, nothing could bring an essentially unconvincing story to life, The denizens of Archer Street and Soho are well portrayed, but Alex Nicol seems uneasy in the leading role. Some shots of the show at the Palladium are interesting, and the music, particularly Kenny Baker's trumpet playing, is very effective."[4]

Allmovie wrote: "Not one of Fisher's more rousing films."[3]

The Radio Times called it an "adequate mystery."[5]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Slow-paced whodunnit with phoney showbiz atmosphere. Star seems ill-at-ease."[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Face the Music". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Face the Music (1953)". Archived from the original on 17 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b "The Black Glove (1954) – Terence Fisher – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related – AllMovie".
  4. ^ "Face the Music". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 21 (240): 39. 1 January 1954 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ "Face the Music – Film from RadioTimes".
  6. ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 307. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.

Bibliography

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  • Hutchings, Peter. Terence Fisher. Manchester University Press, 2017.
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