"Four Days" from 1951 is one of those British B movies that I love. You can tell the film was made in probably the four days of the title, but there are some interesting camera shots and one great fight.
Hugh McDermott plays Francis, a man whose business is in trouble; as a result, he's been neglecting his wife Lucienne (Kathleen Byron). A ne'er do well, Johnny (Peter Reynolds), one of her husband's employees, has been making time with her.
When Francis returns unexpectedly from a successful trip to America, he catches Johnny and Lucienne together. Johnny's been forging company checks, and looming over him is the fact that Francis now will certainly turn him in. Panicked, Lucienne spikes Francis' brandy with pills. It's not a success. The next day, Francis attempts suicide and when he comes to, he doesn't remember anything of the previous four days.
Well, here's a man whose built his company from nothing. He's just made an important deal that will return them to earlier success and, finding the wife he's been ignoring has a boyfriend, decides to throw himself off of a cliff. Odd. I found it odd.
One of the reasons it was unclear to me I guess is because I'm dense or maybe the attempted murder scene threw me off. Johnny is also going to drink brandy until Francis signals him not to. He then knocks Francis' glass from his hand. Francis in turn has a fit and throws the brandy decanter across the room. I admit I thought he was angry with Johnny but I guess he did realize that Francis was trying to kill him.
The other thing that was a little curious to me was that Lucienne was ready to leave this guy and suddenly she hates Johnny and is madly in love with her husband again.
Someone said the film could have been great if it had ended earlier - I actually could have used a little more development.
Nevertheless, the acting was fine - Byron went on to have a very important role in Black Narcissus and worked into the 20th Century. Not a great beauty, she nevertheless has a compelling look. McDermott went on to character roles - here, he is very dapper.
Hugh McDermott plays Francis, a man whose business is in trouble; as a result, he's been neglecting his wife Lucienne (Kathleen Byron). A ne'er do well, Johnny (Peter Reynolds), one of her husband's employees, has been making time with her.
When Francis returns unexpectedly from a successful trip to America, he catches Johnny and Lucienne together. Johnny's been forging company checks, and looming over him is the fact that Francis now will certainly turn him in. Panicked, Lucienne spikes Francis' brandy with pills. It's not a success. The next day, Francis attempts suicide and when he comes to, he doesn't remember anything of the previous four days.
Well, here's a man whose built his company from nothing. He's just made an important deal that will return them to earlier success and, finding the wife he's been ignoring has a boyfriend, decides to throw himself off of a cliff. Odd. I found it odd.
One of the reasons it was unclear to me I guess is because I'm dense or maybe the attempted murder scene threw me off. Johnny is also going to drink brandy until Francis signals him not to. He then knocks Francis' glass from his hand. Francis in turn has a fit and throws the brandy decanter across the room. I admit I thought he was angry with Johnny but I guess he did realize that Francis was trying to kill him.
The other thing that was a little curious to me was that Lucienne was ready to leave this guy and suddenly she hates Johnny and is madly in love with her husband again.
Someone said the film could have been great if it had ended earlier - I actually could have used a little more development.
Nevertheless, the acting was fine - Byron went on to have a very important role in Black Narcissus and worked into the 20th Century. Not a great beauty, she nevertheless has a compelling look. McDermott went on to character roles - here, he is very dapper.