On a brief trip to Spain, songwriter Philip Graham bumps into an old pal with whom he fought during the war and who is now in a rush to get to London to keep an important appointment. Unfortunately, he cannot retrieve an envelope from the hotel safe before he leaves, so he persuades Graham to follow him to the UK a few days later with his car and the envelope. Graham drives his friend to the airport, but on his way back to the hotel a kidnap attempt is made on him – clearly a case of mistaken identity. As arranged, he makes the trip to London, but there he finds his friend murdered in his room. Opening the envelope which he is convinced is at the heart of the mystery, Graham discovers that it contains microfilm detailing a new, and very secret, pharmaceutical process – and it seems that someone will stop at nothing to get hold of the film!
Production Details
A Hammer production released by Exclusive Films (UK) and Lippert Films (USA) Alternative titles:- Deadly Game; Big Deadly Game
Copyright 1954 by Exclusive Films Ltd.
RCA Sound Recording
Produced at Bray Studios, England
From the novel by Nicholas Bentley
Black & White 70 minutes
Filming Began: 1st February 1954
UK Release: 4th April 1955
Studio:
Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire
Location:
Trafalgar Square, St James’s, London, England
Stills from film
Click an image for enlarged slideshow
Cast & Crew
Cast – Verified complete
Crew – Believed complete
Red = Uncredited
Crew | Name | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Credits | Uncredited | Total Hammer | |
Art Director | J. Elder Wills | 54 | 26 Apr 1900 | 1970 | 69 | 22 | 22 | ||
Assistant Director | Jack Causey | 41 | 1914 | 1977 | 63 | 6 | 1 | 7 | |
Camera Operator | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/len-harris/# | 38 | 19 May 1916 | 21 Feb 1995 | 78 | 53 | 2 | 55 | |
Continuity | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/renee-glynne/# | 28 | 3 Aug 1926 | 6 Apr 2022 | 95 | 41 | 3 | 44 | |
Dance arranger | Lalagia | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Director | Daniel Birt | 47 | 23 Jun 1907 | 15 May 1955 | 47 | 2 | 2 | ||
Editor | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/james-needs/# | 35 | 17 Oct 1919 | 4 Feb 2003 | 83 | 111 | 1 | 112 | |
Executive Producer | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/michael-carreras/# | 27 | 21 Dec 1927 | 19 Apr 1994 | 66 | 86 | 9 | 95 | |
Hair Stylist | Eileen Bates | 3 | 3 | ||||||
Make-up | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/phil-leakey/# | 46 | 4 May 1908 | 26 Nov 1992 | 84 | 50 | 50 | ||
Music Composer | Michael Krein | 47 | 1908 | 1966 | 58 | 1 | 1 | ||
Photography | Walter Harvey BSc | 52 | 9 Feb 1903 | 1979 | 75 | 34 | 34 | ||
Producer | Robert Dunbar | 40 | 6 Jun 1914 | 29 Apr 2000 | 85 | 5 | 5 | ||
Production Manager | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/jimmy-sangster/# | 27 | 2 Dec 1927 | 19 Aug 2011 | 83 | 66 | 2 | 68 | |
Recordist | Sid Wiles | 56 | 2 Feb 1899 | Jul 1973 | 74 | 6 | 6 | ||
Screenplay | Daniel Birt | 47 | 23 Jun 1907 | 15 May 1955 | 47 | 2 | 2 | ||
Screenplay | Robert Dunbar | 40 | 6 Jun 1914 | 29 Apr 2000 | 85 | 5 | 5 | ||
Sound Camera | Don Alton | 41 | 1914 | 18 Jan 1987 | 73 | 9 | 9 | ||
Wardrobe | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/molly-arbuthnot/# | 46 | 19 Dec 1908 | 31 Oct 2001 | 92 | 48 | 5 | 53 | |
Cast | Name | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Credits | Uncredited | Total Hammer | |
Darius | Finlay Currie | 77 | 20 Jan 1878 | 9 May 1968 | 90 | 1 | 1 | ||
Girl | Jane Asher | 8 | 5 Apr 1946 | 05.04.1946 | 78 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Gonzales | Roger Delgado | 37 | 1 Mar 1918 | 18 Jun 1973 | 55 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
Hotel Manager | Armand Guinie | 60 | 1895 | 2 | 2 | ||||
Inspector Goldfinch | https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/george-woodbridge/# | 48 | 16 Feb 1907 | 31 Mar 1973 | 66 | 9 | 1 | 10 | |
Lolita | Maureen Swanson | 22 | 25 Nov 1932 | 16 Nov 2011 | 78 | 1 | 1 | ||
Lucy | Toots Pounds | 57 | 17 Nov 1897 | 7 Jan 1976 | 78 | 2 | 2 | ||
Man in tea shop | Russell Waters | 46 | 10 Jun 1908 | 19 Aug 1982 | 74 | 4 | 4 | ||
Maxwell Carey | Ferdy Mayne | 39 | 11 Mar 1916 | 30 Jan 1998 | 81 | 4 | 4 | ||
Mitzi | Simone Silva | 26 | 15 Aug 1928 | 30 Nov 1957 | 29 | 1 | 1 | ||
Nancy | Mary Parker | 24 | 31 Oct 1930 | 13 May 2023 | 92 | 1 | 1 | ||
Philip Graham | Lloyd Bridges | 42 | 15 Jan 1913 | 10 Mar 1998 | 85 | 1 | 1 | ||
Porter | Patrick Westwood | 30 | 10 Dec 1924 | 21 Apr 2017 | 92 | 1 | 1 | ||
Rope-Soles | Seymour Green | 42 | 9 Oct 1912 | 7 May 1998 | 85 | 1 | 1 | ||
Sergeant Ramirez | Leslie Wright | 2 | 2 | ||||||
Tony Rosco | Peter Dyneley | 33 | 13 Apr 1921 | 19 Aug 1977 | 56 | 1 | 1 |
Original Poster
Click to enlarge
Footnotes
American actor Lloyd Bridges, who died in 1998, was the father of actors Beau and Jeff Bridges. His own screen career started in the mid-forties and his films include many westerns, in particular the classic High Noon (1952). In the 1960s, he became a familiar face on television as the star of the long-running underwater adventure series Sea Hunt. In later years he turned his hand to zany comedy with roles in Airplane! (1980), Airplane II the Sequel (1982), Hot Shots! (1991) and Hot Shots Part Deux (1993).
A young Jane Asher appears uncredited here. She was also uncredited in The Quatermass Xperiment. Her only credit with Hammer was in Somewhere in a Crowd from the Journey to the Unknown TV series.