Emergency (1962 film)

1962 film directed by Francis Searle

Emergency

Original film quad poster

Directed by| Francis Searle
Written by|

* Don Nicholl
* Jim O'Connolly
* Lewis Gilbert
* Vernon Harris

Produced by|

* Ronald Liles
* Francis Searle

Starring|

* Glyn Houston
* Zena Walker
* Dermot Walsh

Cinematography| Walter J. Harvey
Edited by| Jim Connock
Music by| John Veale

Production
company

Butcher's Film Service

Distributed by| Butcher's Film Distributors

Release date

* December 1962 (1962-12)

Running time

| 60 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English

Emergency is a 1962 British second feature ('B')[1] drama film directed by Francis Searle and starring Glyn Houston, Zena Walker and Dermot Walsh.[2] It was written by Don Nicholl, Jim O'Connolly, Lewis Gilbert and Vernon Harris.

## Plot

[edit]

A small girl is hit by a truck and urgently needs a blood transfusion for a life-saving operation. Her blood group is extremely rare, and the Police locate the only three possible donors: an imprisoned murderer awaiting execution, a treasonous atomic scientist, and a soccer player about to play a crucial match.

## Cast

[edit]

* Glyn Houston as Inspector Harris
* Zena Walker as Joan Bell
* Dermot Walsh as John Bell
* Colin Tapley as Dr. Lloyd
* Garard Green as Professor Graham
* Anthony Dawes as Sergeant Phillips
* Patrick Jordan as Jimmy Regan
* Edward Ogden as Tommy Day
* Helen Forrest as Mrs. Day
* Sidney Vivian as Shaw
* John Boxer as Prison Governor

## Production

[edit]

The film is a remake of Emergency Call (1952). It was shot at Twickenham Studios and on location in West London. Sets were designed by art director Duncan Sutherland.

## Critical reception

[edit]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Bearing a strong resemblance to Butcher's ten-year-old Emergency Call, this film is as unlikely and complex as it was then. The characterisation, too, is improbable, with a convicted murderer, a professional footballer, and an atomic scientist who is the pawn of a foreign power making up the blood donors."[3]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Francis Searle's anaemic little movie recreates the agony of an estranged couple and their young daughter in desperate need of a blood donor. Glyn Houston is the earnest Scotland Yard flatfoot looking for likely candidates while parents Zena Walker and Dermot Walsh look suitably in need of tranquillisers. Things get quite dramatic before the hour and the budget is up.[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 154\. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
2. ^ "Emergency". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
3. ^ "Emergency". Monthly Film Bulletin. 29 (336): 80. 1 January 1954.
4. ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 286\. ISBN 9780992936440.

## External links

[edit]

* Emergency at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Francis Searle

* A Girl in a Million (1946)
* Things Happen at Night (1947)
* Celia (1949)
* The Man in Black (1949)
* The Lady Craved Excitement (1950)
* Someone at the Door (1950)
* A Case for PC 49 (1951)
* Cloudburst (1951)
* The Rossiter Case (1951)
* Love's a Luxury (1952)
* Never Look Back (1952)
* Whispering Smith Hits London (1952)
* Murder at 3am (1953)
* Wheel of Fate (1953)
* Profile (1954)
* One Way Out (1955)
* The Gelignite Gang (1956)
* Undercover Girl (1958)
* Murder at Site 3 (1959)
* Trouble with Eve (1960)
* Ticket to Paradise (1961)
* Freedom to Die (1961)
* Emergency (1962)
* Dead Man's Evidence (1962)
* Gaolbreak (1962)
* Night of the Prowler (1962)
* The Marked One (1963)

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