| The Ringer | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Poster withEsmond Knight andCarol Goodner | |
| Directed by | Walter Forde |
| Written by | Sidney Gilliat Angus MacPhail Robert Stevenson |
| Based on | The Gaunt Stranger byEdgar Wallace |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Starring | Patric Curwen Esmond Knight John Longden Carol Goodner |
| Cinematography | Alex Bryce |
| Edited by | Ian Dalrymple |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Ideal Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Ringer is a 1931 British crime film directed byWalter Forde and starringPatric Curwen,Esmond Knight,John Longden andCarol Goodner.Scotland Yard detectives hunt for a dangerous criminal who has recently returned to England.[1] The film was based on the 1925Edgar Wallace storyThe Gaunt Stranger, which is the basis for his playThe Ringer.[2] Forde remade the same story in 1938 asThe Gaunt Stranger. There was also asilent film ofThe Ringer in 1928, anda 1952 version starringDonald Wolfit.[3]
It was made atBeaconsfield Studios inBuckinghamshire byGainsborough Pictures in a co-production withBritish Lion Films.[4] The film's sets were designed by theart directorNorman G. Arnold. The author's sonBryan Edgar Wallace acted as aproduction manager.
The New York Times wrote, "at the Cameo is a picturization of the late Edgar Wallace's playThe Ringer. This film, which hails from England, is the sort of melodrama that provides more amusement than excitement";[5] while inThe BFI Companion to Crime,Phil Hardy wrote, "this is the best version of this oft-filmed play...Directed by Forde with a slickness and pace unusual in British films of the period, especially considering the film's stage origins...Hokum, but enjoyable."[6]