Mine Own Executioner

1947 British psychological thriller drama film

Mine Own Executioner

Film poster

Directed by| Anthony Kimmins
Written by| Nigel Balchin
Based on| Mine Own Executioner by Nigel Balchin
Produced by| Anthony Kimmins
Jack Kitchin
Alexander Korda (exec producer)
Starring| Burgess Meredith
Kieron Moore
Cinematography| Wilkie Cooper
Edited by| Richard Best
Music by| Benjamin Frankel

Production
company

London Films

Distributed by| British Lion Films

Release date

* 22 November 1947 (1947-11-22) (UK)

Running time

| 108 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English
Budget| £295,000[1]
Box office| £158,734 (UK)[2]

Mine Own Executioner is a 1947 British psychological thriller drama film starring Burgess Meredith and directed by Anthony Kimmins, and based on the novel of the same name by Nigel Balchin. It was entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival.[3] The title is derived from a quotation of John Donne's "Devotions", which serves as an epigraph for the original book.

## Plot

[edit]

Felix Milne (Meredith) is an overworked psychologist with psychological problems of his own. Molly Lucian seeks Milne's help in treating her husband Adam, traumatised from his experiences in a Japanese POW camp. Adam is about to become severely schizophrenic. To make matters worse, Felix finds his own home life deteriorating.

## Cast

[edit]

* Burgess Meredith as Felix Milne
* Kieron Moore as Adam Lucian
* Dulcie Gray as Patricia Milne
* Michael Shepley as Peter Edge
* Christine Norden as Barbara Edge
* Barbara White as Molly Lucian
* Walter Fitzgerald as Dr. Norris Pile
* Edgar Norfolk as Sir George Freethorne
* John Laurie as Dr. James Garsten
* Martin Miller as Dr. Hans Tautz
* Clive Morton as Robert Paston
* Joss Ambler as Julian Briant
* Jack Raine as Inspector Pierce
* Laurence Hanray as Dr. Lefage
* Helen Haye as Lady Maresfield
* John Stuart as Dr. John Hayling

## Production

[edit]

The American actor Burgess Meredith was cast in the lead. At the same time, his wife Paulette Goddard was also hired by Alexander Korda to appear in An Ideal Husband (1947).[4]

Australian Frederic Hilton worked as technical adviser.[5]

## Reception

[edit]

The New York Times noted a "serious, adult and highly interesting film drama both in point of view and execution," singling out the work of writer Balchin, director Kimmins, and producer Korda, alongside stars Burgess Meredith and Kieron Moore.[6]

As of 30 June 1949, the film had earned £143,632 in the UK of which £101,963 went to the producer.[1]

The film was picketed on its US release by the Sons of Liberty, an anti-British group active at the time.[7] The picketing was part of the group's call to boycott British films and products, and had little to do with Mine Own Executioner itself.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 354
2. ^ Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000
3. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Mine Own Executioner". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
4. ^ "British Film News 17-YEARS-OLD OPHELIA FOR SCREEN "HAMLET"". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 15 May 1947. p. 10. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
5. ^ "English Studios Didn't Surprise Mr. Meredith". The Sunday Times. Perth: National Library of Australia. 15 June 1947. p. 13 Supplement: SUPPLEMENT TO THE SUNDAY TIMES. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
6. ^ W, -- a (19 January 1949). "Another Cinema Psychological Study" – via NYTimes.com.
7. ^ "UK bitter at US picketing of films". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 21 August 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 7 July 2012.

## External links

[edit]

* Mine Own Executioner at IMDb
* Review of film at Variety

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Anthony Kimmins

* Bypass to Happiness (1934)
* The Diplomatic Lover (1934)
* Once in a New Moon (1935)
* His Majesty and Company (1935)
* All at Sea (1935)
* Keep Fit (1937)
* I See Ice (1938)
* It's in the Air (1938)
* Trouble Brewing (1939)
* Come On George! (1939)
* Mine Own Executioner (1947)
* Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948)
* Flesh and Blood (1951)
* Mr. Denning Drives North (1952)
* Who Goes There! (1952)
* The Captain's Paradise (1953)
* Aunt Clara (1954)
* Smiley (1956)
* Smiley Gets a Gun (1958)
* The Amorous Prawn (1962)

* v
* t
* e

Films by Alexander Korda

As director|

* Watchhouse in the Carpathians (1914)
* The Duped Journalist (1914)
* Tutyu and Totyo (1914)
* Lyon Lea (1915)
* The Officer's Swordknot (1915)
* White Nights (1916)
* The Grandmother (1916)
* Tales of the Typewriter (1916)
* The Man with Two Hearts (1916)
* The One Million Pound Note (1916)
* Cyclamen (1916)
* Struggling Hearts (1916)
* The Laughing Saskia (1916)
* Miska the Magnate (1916)
* St. Peter's Umbrella (1917)
* The Stork Caliph (1917)
* Magic (1917)
* Harrison and Barrison (1917)
* Faun (1918)
* The Man with the Golden Touch (1918)
* Mary Ann (1918)
* Ave Caesar! (1919)
* White Rose (1919)
* Yamata (1919)
* Man of Gold (1919)
* Neither at Home or Abroad (1919)
* Number 111 (1919)
* The Prince and the Pauper (1920)
* Masters of the Sea (1922)
* A Vanished World (1922)
* Samson and Delilah (1922)
* The Unknown Tomorrow (1923)
* Everybody's Woman (1924)
* Tragedy in the House of Habsburg (1924)
* Dancing Mad (1925)
* Madame Wants No Children (1926)
* A Modern Dubarry (1927)
* The Stolen Bride (1927)
* The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927)
* Yellow Lily (1928)
* Night Watch (1928)
* Love and the Devil (1929)
* The Squall (1929)
* Her Private Life (1929)
* Lilies of the Field (1930)
* Women Everywhere (1930)
* The Princess and the Plumber (1930)
* The Men Around Lucy (1931)
* Rive gauche (1931)
* Marius (1931)
* Longing for the Sea (1931)
* The Golden Anchor (1932)
* Service for Ladies (1932)
* Wedding Rehearsal (1932)
* The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
* La dame de chez Maxim's (1933)
* The Girl from Maxim's (1933)
* The Private Life of Don Juan (1934)
* Rembrandt (1936)
* That Hamilton Woman (1941)
* Perfect Strangers (1945)
* An Ideal Husband (1947)

As producer only|

* Men of Tomorrow (1932)
* That Night in London (1932)
* Women Who Play (1932)
* Strange Evidence (1933)
* Counsel's Opinion (1933)
* Cash (1933)
* Catherine the Great (1934)
* The Private Life of the Gannets (1934) (short)
* The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
* Things Are Looking Up (1935)
* Sanders of the River (1935)
* The Ghost Goes West (1935)
* Things to Come (1936)
* I Stand Condemned (1936)
* Men Are Not Gods (1936)
* Forget Me Not (1936)
* The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936)
* Fire Over England (1937)
* I, Claudius (1937) (unfinished)
* Dark Journey (1937)
* Elephant Boy (1937)
* Farewell Again (1937)
* Storm in a Teacup (1937)
* Knight Without Armour (1937)
* The Squeaker (1937)
* Paradise for Two (1937)
* The Divorce of Lady X (1938)
* South Riding (1938)
* The Challenge (1938)
* Prison Without Bars (1938)
* Q Planes (1939)
* The Four Feathers (1939)
* The Rebel Son (1939)
* The Spy in Black (1939)
* The Lion Has Wings (1939)
* Over the Moon (1939)
* 21 Days (1940)
* Conquest of the Air (1940)
* The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
* Old Bill and Son (1941)
* Lydia (1941)
* To Be or Not to Be (1942)
* Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book (1942)
* The Shop at Sly Corner (1947)
* A Man About the House (1947)
* Mine Own Executioner (1947)
* Night Beat (1948)
* Anna Karenina (1948)
* The Winslow Boy (1948)
* The Fallen Idol (1948)
* Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948)
* That Dangerous Age (1949)
* The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949)
* Saints and Sinners (1949)
* The Third Man (1949)
* The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955)
* A Kid for Two Farthings (1955)
* The Deep Blue Sea (1955)
* Storm Over the Nile (1955)
* Richard III (1955)
* Smiley (1956)

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