Man Detained is a 1961 British second feature ('B')[1] crime film directed by Robert Tronson and starring Bernard Archard, Elvi Hale and Paul Stassino.[2] The screenplay was by Richard Harris, based on the 1916 Edgar Wallace novel A Debt Discharged.[3] It is part of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios from 1960 to 1965.

Man Detained
Directed byRobert Tronson
Written byRichard Harris
Based onA Debt Discharged
by Edgar Wallace
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBert Mason
Edited byRobert Jordan Hill
Music byBernard Ebbinghouse
Production
company
Merton Park Studios
Distributed byAnglo-Amalgamated
Release date
  • October 1961 (1961-10)
Running time
59 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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Frank Murray breaks into the office safe of photographer Thomas Maple. Maple hushes up the fact that £10,000 was taken. When Murray is arrested the police find that the stolen money is counterfeit. Maple is murdered by crime boss James Helder, who had been having an affair with Maple's wife Stella, whom he then abandons. Seeking revenge, Stella alerts Detective Inspector Verity. Helder kidnaps Maple's secretary Kay Simpson because she knows too much. Verity arrests Helder and rescues Kay.

Cast

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Production

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The film's sets were designed by the art director Peter Mullins.

Critical reception

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The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Taut and vivid addition to the Edgar Wallace series, coolly played by Elvi Hale as the secretary who is a bit too clever for her own good. There are few surprises, but the presentation is quite sound and the thing bowls along at a smart pace."[4]

References

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  1. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 237. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ^ "Man Detained". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  3. ^ Goble, Alan (1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. p. 246. ISBN 9783598114922.
  4. ^ "Man Detained". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 28 (324): 171. 1 January 1961 – via ProQuest.
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