The Last Shot You Hear
| The Last Shot You Hear | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gordon Hessler |
| Screenplay by | Tim Shields |
| Based on | The Sound of Murder (play) by William Fairchild |
| Produced by | Jack Parsons |
| Starring | Hugh Marlowe Zena Walker Patricia Haines William Dysart |
| Cinematography | David Holmes |
| Edited by | Robert Winter |
| Music by | Bert Shefter |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Last Shot You Hear is a 1969 British thriller film directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Hugh Marlowe, Zena Walker, Patricia Haines, and William Dysart.[1] The screenplay was by Tim Shields based on William Fairchild's 1959 playThe Sound of Murder.
The film marked the end of the association between Robert L. Lippert and 20th Century Fox which produced over 200 films.[2] It was Marlowe's last film appearance.[3]
Cast
[edit]- Hugh Marlowe as Charles Nordeck
- Zena Walker as Eileen Forbes
- Patricia Haines as Anne Nordeck
- William Dysart as Peter Marriott
- Thorley Walters as Gen. Jowett
- Lionel Murton as Rubens
- Joan Young as Mrs. Jowett
- Helen Horton as Dodie Rubens
- John Nettleton as Det. Inspector Nash
- John Wentworth as Chambers
- Alister Williamson as CID man
- Job Stewart as policeman
- Julian Holloway as brash young man
Production
[edit]Filming started November 1967.[4] Its original working title was The Jolly Girls.[5] The Shaggy Pups wrote the theme song.[6] Lippert announced he had purchased an original story by Hessler, Genoa. However, when Lippert and Fox ended their relationship the film was not made.[2][7]
Reception
[edit]Critical
[edit]The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "In striking contrast to the panache he brought to Scream and Scream Again, Gordon Hessler's direction of this earlier thriller is largely constructed round an endless repetition of prolonged close-ups, which only serve to emphasise the hackneyed theatricality of the characters and situations. The actors, perhaps because of the dialogue they are given, simply cannot stand up to this kind of scrutiny, and the result is something approaching the surreal, as though the whole surface of ie film is about to crumble away before our eyes. An obviously low budget may be partly to blame, 'but it's difficult to see what anyone could have done with the sheer, undiluted banality of the material."[8]
Box Office
[edit]According to Fox records the film required $450,000 in rentals to break even and by 11 December 1970 had made $290,000 so made a loss to the studio.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Last Shot You Hear". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ a b "'Last' to end lippert association with 20th". Los Angeles Times. 23 February 1968. ProQuest 155851742.
- ^ "LAST SHOT YOU HEAR, the". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 37. 1970. p. 81. ProQuest 1305826314.
- ^ Martin, B. (8 November 1967). "MOVIE CALL SHEET". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 155720946.
- ^ Martin, B. (2 December 1967). "MOVIE CALL SHEET". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 155787640.
- ^ Martin, B. (22 December 1967). "MOVIE CALL SHEET". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 155808620.
- ^ Martin, B. (9 January 1968). "MOVIE CALL SHEET". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 155802364.
- ^ "The Last Shot You Hear". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 37 (432): 81. 1 January 1970 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Silverman, Stephen M (1988). The Fox that got away : the last days of the Zanuck dynasty at Twentieth Century-Fox. L. Stuart. p. 327.
External links
[edit]- 1969 films
- 1970 films
- 1960s crime thriller films
- 20th Century Fox films
- British crime thriller films
- British films based on plays
- Films directed by Gordon Hessler
- Lippert Pictures films
- 1970s English-language films
- 1960s English-language films
- 1960s British films
- 1970s British films
- English-language crime thriller films
- Films scored by Bert Shefter