The Night Won't Talk.

The underrated Hy Hazell on the left.

This whodunit murder mystery is reputed to be one of Corsair Pictures finest B-movies. When a beautiful young artists model Stella Smith is found strangled in her bed, Scotland Yard find themselves with three suspects. Firstly there's her ex-husband Martin Soames played by the sinister Elwyn Brook-Jones, secondly we have a sexually disturbed artist (Ballard Berkeley) and finally her violent new boyfriend Clayton Hawkes (character actor John Bailey) who because of service in WW2 is prone to blackouts. The only way that Scotland Yard is going to catch the killer is to set a trap with the help of Theodore Castle played by Hy Hazell an actress that was almost never asked to extend her obvious acting talent beyond some quite mediocre parts (see also Yellow Balloon 1953).

John Bailey plays the murder suspect Clayton Hawkes.

Based on an original story by Roger Burford and adapted for the screen by Corsair Pictures in house screenwriter Brock Williams The Night Won't Talk (1952) was directed by Daniel Birt who was best known for his very first feature film The Three Weird Sisters made in 1948. He was originally a respected editor in pre WW2 British films before he became a documentary maker for Sydney Box's Verity Films prior to making feature films. Reverting to B-movies before his early death in 1955 at the age of 48. The DOP was Brendon Stafford who had a busy if not an especially distinguished career spending most of his post war livelihood shooting B-movie’s and TV series including Danger Man and The Prisoner. Gilbert Vinter composed music for the film.

Filmed at the Viking Studio 1-5 St Mary Abbots Place Kensington London and on location in and around Kensington and Chelsea its certainly a film of its time with lines like 'the girl asked for it' when the police are discussing the murder of Stella Smith and the modelling work she was involved in, not politely correct by today's standards that's for sure! But harmless pulp fiction all the same with a typical woman scorned narrative.