The Crooked Billet
1929 British film by Adrian Brunel
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The Crooked Billet is a 1929 British sound part-talkie drama film directed by Adrian Brunel and starring Madeleine Carroll, Carlyle Blackwell and Miles Mander.[1] It was released in both silent and sound versions, as its production came as the industry was shifting over.[2] It was made by Gainsborough Pictures at their Islington Studios. The sound version features some sequences with audible dialogue. The rest of the film featured English intertitles with a synchronized musical score and sound effects.
| The Crooked Billet | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Adrian Brunel |
| Written by | Angus MacPhail |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Starring | Madeleine Carroll Carlyle Blackwell Miles Mander Gordon Harker |
| Cinematography | Claude L. McDonnell |
| Music by | Louis Levy |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Woolf & Freedman Film Service |
Release date |
|
Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Languages | Sound Part-Talkie English Intertitles |
It was one of the first films to use RCA's synchronized sound system for dialogue.[3]
The plot has been summarized as: "An international spy searches for lost documents hidden in an old inn."[4]
It is listed on the British Film Institute's 75 Most Wanted list of lost films.[4] The film surfaced in France in December 2021 but the BFI refused to pay the asking price, so the only known 16mm copy is owned by a French individual.
Cast
- Carlyle Blackwell as Dietrich Hebburn
- Madeleine Carroll as Joan Easton
- Miles Mander as Guy Morrow
- Gordon Harker as Slick
- Kim Peacock as Philip Easton
- Danny Green as Rogers
- Frank Goldsmith as Sir William Easton
- Alexander Field as Alf
