Black Memory

Black Memory is a 1947 British crime film starring Michael Atkinson, Myra O'Connell and Michael Medwin and directed by Oswald Mitchell.^[1] It is most notable for the first screen appearance of Sid James, who would later go on to find fame in Ealing Comedies and the Carry on films. Also making her film acting debut in Black Memory was the Welsh-born actor, playwright, screenwriter and film director Jane Arden.^[2]

Plot

When his father is wrongly convicted and hanged for murder, son Danny poses as a juvenile delinquent, and ten years later manages to clear his father's name.

Cast

• Michael Atkinson - Danny Cruff
• Myra O'Connell - Joan Davidson
• Michael Medwin - Johnnie Fletcher
• Sid James (credited as Sydney James) - Eddie Clinton
• Frank Hawkins - Alf Davidson
• Jane Arden - Sally Davidson
• Winifred Melville - Mrs. Davidson
• Michael Conry - Carl Broach
• Betty Miller - Mrs. Cruff
• Arthur Brander - Rutford
• Gerald Pring - Hawkins, the headmaster
• Valerie Hulton - Miss Philpotts
• Maurice Nicholas - Johnnie, as a boy
• Malcolm Sommers - Danny, as a boy

Critical reception

TV Guide wrote, "Weak story, poor dialog; everyone's just kiddin' around" ;^[3] while Mystery File wrote, "it’s only in bits and pieces and occasional places that the plot rises above the purely pedestrian. If I were Leonard Maltin, the best I could give this movie would be 1½ stars out of five and I still think I’d be just a little bit generous if I did. Nonetheless, its historical significance is high, so I was glad to have had the opportunity to have seen it, and you may too." ^[4]

References

1. ↑ "Black Memory (1947)". 
2. ↑ "Black Memory". 1 July 1947 – via IMDb. 
3. ↑ "Black Memory". 
4. ↑ "» Movie Review: BLACK MEMORY (1947).". 

External links

• Black Memory at the Internet Movie Database