Castle Sinister is a 1948 British mystery film directed by Oscar Burn and starring Mara Russell-Tavernan.[1] It is based on the play Mark of Judas by Vance Youden.[2] It was remade in 1954 with the title The Devil's Jest, again starring Mara Russell-Tavernan.[3]
| Castle Sinister | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Oscar Burn |
| Screenplay by | Mary Cathcart Borer (credited as Egan Storm) |
| Based on | the play Mark of Judas by Vance Youden |
| Produced by | Wm. Howard Borer |
| Starring | Mara Russell-Tavernan |
| Cinematography | Jeff Davies |
| Edited by | N. Goude |
| Music by | Cyril E. Clarke |
Production company | Unicorn Film Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 49 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
editDuring the Second World War, an Army intelligence officer travels to Glenye Castle in Scotland to investigate the death of an officer and the disappearance of another. Both are attributed to the castle's mysterious phantom but actually are the work of an enemy agent.[3]
Cast
edit- Mara Russell-Tavernan as Gabrielle, Marchioness of Glenye
- Alistair Hunter as McTavish
- James Liggatt as Neale
- Karl Meir as Selwyn
- Robert Essex as Nigel
- Maureen O'Moor as Maggie
- Myra Celian as Lorna
- Humphrey Stamford as McWerter
- John Gauntley as Michael
- Patricia St. John as Jean
- Lucien Boré as Fairfax
- Hugh Arnald as Matthews
- Harald Melvill as Crofter
- Peter Emmott as Taxi Driver
Themes
editCastle Sinister reflects the immediate post-war British concerns of the threat posed by Nazism (rather than Communism), and the possible existence of secret Nazi organizations in Britain working to rebuild Germany.[4] It is one of few films of the period to examine the operations of enemy intelligence agents, saboteurs or traitors.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Castle Sinister". BFI Collections. British Film Institute. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ Film's credits.
- ^ a b Murphy, Robert (1 March 2001). British Cinema and the Second World War. Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd. pp. 275, 278. ISBN 978-0826451385. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ Shaw, Tony (2001). British Cinema and the Cold War: The State, Propaganda and Consensus. I.B. Tauris. p. 26. ISBN 978-1860643712.
- ^ Pronay, Nicholas (1988). "The British Post-bellum Cinema: A survey of the films relating to World War II made in Britain between 1945 and 1960". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 8 (1): 39–54. doi:10.1080/01439688800260021. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
External links
edit- Jackson, Michael W. (6 February 2021). "Castle Sinister (1948) film review". Political theory and practice: Thinking and doing. The University of Sydney. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- Castle Sinister at IMDb
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