Park Plaza 605 (U.S. title: Norman Conquest) is a 1953 British second feature ('B')[1] crime film directed by Bernard Knowles and starring Tom Conway, Eva Bartok, and Joy Shelton.[2][3] It was written by Bertram Oster, Albert Fennell, Knowles and Clifford Witting based on the 1950 novel Dare-devil Conquest by Edwy Searles Brookes (as Berkeley Gray).[4]
| Park Plaza 605 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) U.S. theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Bernard Knowles |
| Written by |
|
| Based on | novel Dare-Devil Conquest by Berkeley Gray |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Eric Cross |
| Edited by | Clifford Boote (as Cifford Boot) |
| Music by | Philip Green |
Production company | B & A Productions (as B & A Productions Limited) |
| Distributed by | Eros Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
editPrivate investigator Norman Conquest stumbles across a cryptic message being sent by carrier pigeon and his curiosity leads him to room 605 of the Park Plaza Hotel, where he meets a mysterious foreign blonde woman, and finds himself embroiled in a murder investigation with himself as the prime suspect.
Cast
edit- Tom Conway as Norman Conquest
- Eva Bartok as Nadina Rodin
- Joy Shelton as Pixie Everard
- Sid James as Superintendent Bill Williams
- Richard Wattis as Theodore Feather
- Carl Jaffe as Boris Roff
- Frederick Schiller as Ivan Burgin
- Robert Adair as Baron von Henschel
- Anton Diffring as Gregor
- Ian Fleming as Colonel Santling
- Edwin Richfield as Mr Reynolds
- Michael Balfour as Ted Birston
- Martin Boddey as Stumpy
- Terence Alexander as hotel manager
- Victor Platt as taxi driver
- Leon Davey as Mandeville Livingstone
- Richard Marner as Barkov
- Tony Hilton as lift attendant
- Alan Rolfe as police inspector
- Derek Prentice as hall porter
- Frank Sieman as Captain Kramer
- Brian Moorehead as first mate
- Billie Hill as Mrs Pottle
- Anthony Woodruff as clerk
Critical reception
editThe Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "An Involved and indifferently made thriller; the actors give the impression that they have all been there before."[5]
Radio Times called Park Plaza 605 a "fair British B-feature."[6]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Indifferent thriller with tired performances."[7]
References
edit- ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
- ^ "Park Plaza 605". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ bkoganbing (11 September 1953). "Norman Conquest (1953)". IMDb.
- ^ "Park Plaza 605". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.
- ^ "Park Plaza 605". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 21 (240): 11. 1 January 1954 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Allen Eyles. "Park Plaza 605". RadioTimes.
- ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 359. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
External links
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