The Clue of the New Pin is a 1929 all-talking sound British crime film directed by Arthur Maude and starring Benita Hume, Kim Peacock, and Donald Calthrop. The soundtrack was recorded using the British Phototone sound-on-disc system. It was made at Beaconsfield Studios. This film is important historically as being Britain's first all-talking feature film produced entirely in Britain. The first all-talking British feature production, a film entitled Black Waters, had been produced in the United States due to a lack of sound recording equipment in Britain.
| The Clue of the New Pin | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Arthur Maude |
| Written by | Edgar Wallace (novel) Kathleen Hayden |
| Produced by | S.W. Smith |
| Starring | Benita Hume Kim Peacock Donald Calthrop John Gielgud |
| Cinematography | Horace Wheddon |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Producers Distributing Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7,292 feet[1] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Languages | Sound (All-Talking) English |
The film was one of only 10 filmed in British Phototone, a sound-on-disc system which used 12-inch discs. All of the other nine films made in this process were short films.[2] In March 1929, this film and The Crimson Circle, filmed in the De Forest Phonofilm sound-on-film system, were 'trade-shown' to cinema exhibitors.[3]
This film is an adaptation of the 1923 novel The Clue of the New Pin by Edgar Wallace. It was later remade in 1961.
Plot edit
A wealthy recluse is murdered in an absolutely sealed room.
Cast edit
- Benita Hume as Ursula Ardfern
- Kim Peacock as Tab Holland
- Donald Calthrop as Yeh Ling
- John Gielgud as Rex Trasmere
- Harold Saxon-Snell as Walters
- Johnny Butt as Wellington Briggs
- Colin Kenny as Inspector Carver
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Low p.349
- ^ BFI Database entry
- ^ BFI Database entry
Bibliography edit
- Low, Rachael. History of the British Film, 1918-1929. George Allen & Unwin, 1971.
External links edit
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