House of Secrets, also known as Triple Deception, is a 1956 British crime thriller film directed by Guy Green and starring Michael Craig, Anton Diffring and Gérard Oury.[1] It was wrirtten by Robert Buckner andBryan Forbes based on the 1955 novel Storm Over Paris by Sterling Noel.
| House of Secrets | |
|---|---|
.jpg) UK theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Guy Green |
| Written by | Robert Buckner Bryan Forbes |
| Based on | novel Storm Over Paris by Sterling Noel |
| Produced by | Vivian Cox Julian Wintle |
| Starring | Michael Craig Anton Diffring Gérard Oury |
| Cinematography | Harry Waxman |
| Edited by | Sidney Hayers |
| Music by | Hubert Clifford |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Rank Film Distributors |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
editNaval officer Larry Ellis bears a striking resemblance to counterfeiter Steve Chancellor and is mistakenly arrested in his place. Chancellor is killed in a car crash and Ellis goes undercover to impersonate the dead man, to lead the police to his gang who plan to inundate the UK with huge amounts of forged bank notes.
Ellis devises a plan for smuggling the counterfeit notes into England, but his impersonation is rumbled. The plane he is travelling on with the money (which has been replaced by plain paper) is rigged to explode, but he bales out in time.
Cast
edit- Michael Craig as Larry Ellis / Steve Chancellor
- Anton Diffring as Anton Lauderbach
- Gérard Oury as Julius Pindar
- Brenda De Banzie as Madame Isabella Ballu
- Geoffrey Keen as Colonel Burleigh, CIA
- David Kossoff as Henryk van de Heide, CIA
- Barbara Bates as Judy Anderson
- Alan Tilvern as Brandelli
- Julia Arnall as Diane Gilbert
- Gordon Tanner as Curtice
- Eugene Deckers as Vidal
- Eric Pohlmann as Gratz
- Jean Driant as Gratz's assistant (uncredited)
- Carl Jaffe as Walter Dorffman
Production
editIt was shot in Technicolor and VistaVision at Pinewood Studios near London and on location in Paris and Marseille[2] The film's sets were designed by the art director Alex Vetchinsky, and the costumes by Julie Harris.
Michael Craig called his part "a sort of forerunner to the James Bond type of movie" which "in spite of all our best efforts it ended up being fairly boring." He was paid £30 a week.[3]
Critical reception
editThe Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A somewhat juvenile spy story with attractive and well chosen Parisian backgrounds. The police, wise and mannerly, and the crooks, suave and heavily accented, give the impression of having been faithfully transcribed from the pages of The Skipper and Rover. The acting, particularly of the foreigners, is also solidly traditional; the photography and art direction, on the other hand, are often distinctly above average."[4]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Thick-ear Boys' Own-style thriller with limited acting but good fight scenes and photography."[5]
References
edit- ^ "House of Secrets". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ Schwartzman, Arnold (19 November 1991). "Interview with Guy Green side 3". British Entertainment History Project.
- ^ Craig, Michael (2005). The Smallest Giant: An Actor's Life. Allen and Unwin. p. 74.
- ^ "House of Secrets". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 23 (264): 155. 1 January 1956 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 325. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
External links
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