Floods of Fear
| Floods of Fear | |
|---|---|
 British quad poster | |
| Directed by | Charles Crichton |
| Written by | Charles Crichton (screenplay) Vivienne Knight (additional dialogue) |
| Based on | A Girl, a Man, and a River by John Hawkins and Ward Hawkins |
| Produced by | Sydney Box |
| Starring | Howard Keel Anne Heywood Cyril Cusack |
| Cinematography | Christopher Challis |
| Edited by | Peter Bezencenet |
| Music by | Alan Rawsthorne |
Production company | Rank Organisation |
| Distributed by | J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (UK) Universal Pictures (USA) |
Release date | 18 November 1958 (London) (UK) |
Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £300,000[1] |
Floods of Fear is a 1958 British thriller film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Howard Keel, Anne Heywood and Harry H. Corbett.[2][3]
Plot[]
During a flood, convicts Donovan (Howard Keel) and Peebles (Cyril Cusack) escape, but they become marooned in a house, along with one of their prison guards Sharkey (Harry H. Corbett) and a young woman Elizabeth Mathews (Anne Heywood) who lives there. Having managed to escape, Donovan is determined to prove his innocence and that he was wrongly jailed for murdering a woman.
Cast[]
- Howard Keel as Donovan
- Anne Heywood as Elizabeth Matthews
- Cyril Cusack as Peebles
- Harry H. Corbett as Sharkey
- John Crawford as Jack Murphy
- Eddie Byrne as Sheriff
- John Phillips as Dr. Matthews
- Mark Baker as Watchman
- James Dyrenforth as Mayor
- Jack Lester as Businessman
- Peter Madden as Banker
- Guy Kingsley Poynter as Deputy Sheriff
- Gordon Tanner as Lt-Colonel
- Robert Mackenzie as Police Captain
- Vivian Matalon as Farmer
- Gordon Sterne as Farmer
- Bill Edwards as 1st Deputy
- Graydon Gould as 2nd Deputy
- Kevin Scott as 3rd Deputy
- Ed Devereaux as Sergeant
Production[]
Howard Keel recalled the filming in his autobiography Only Make Believe: My Life in Show Business: "All the flood scenes were filmed on one of the large stages at Pinewood Studios. The water had to be both dirty and cold, and it was. They couldn't heat it for fear it might get rancid. That was another tough picture. Anne Heywood never once protested about the water. [Charles] Crichton, who had a great sense of humor, had directed some very funny pictures. Cyril Cusack and I were good friends. We had a little contest over Anne. He was a real cutie, as well as a hell of an actor, but I won out."[4]
Critical reception[]
TV Guide wrote, "Heywood is a joy to watch as she stands up to the impending aquatic doom" ;[5] while the Radio Times wrote, "well performed by an able cast Dallas star Howard Keel, Steptoe and Son's Harry H Corbett, Cyril Cusack and, in particular, damsel in distress Anne Heywood this is typical, and unremarkable, British 1950s B-movie fare."[6]
References[]
- ^ Andrew Spicer, Sydney Box Manchester Uni Press 2006 p 159
- ^ folsominc2 (12 February 1959). "Floods of Fear (1958)". IMDb.
- ^ "Floods of Fear". BFI. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012.
- ^ "Floods of Fear". Turner Classic Movies.
- ^ "Floods Of Fear". TVGuide.com.
- ^ Alan Jones. "Floods of Fear". RadioTimes.
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- English-language films
- 1959 films
- British films
- British thriller films
- 1950s thriller films
- Films directed by Charles Crichton
- Films shot at Pinewood Studios
- Films based on American novels
- Flood films
- 1950s British film stubs
- Thriller film stubs