| Alias John Preston | |
| Director: | David MacDonald |
| Producer: | Edward J. Danziger Harry Lee Danziger Sidney Stone (as Sid Stone) |
| Starring: | Christopher Lee Alexander Knox Betta St. John |
| Music: | Edwin Astley Albert Elms |
| Cinematography: | Jack E. Cox (as Jack Cox) |
| Editing: | Jack Baldwin Cynthia Moody |
| Studio: | Danziger Productions (as Danziger Photoplays) |
| Distributor: | British Lion Film Corporation (UK) |
| Runtime: | 66 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
Alias John Preston is a 1955 British 'B'[1] thriller film directed by David MacDonald and starring Christopher Lee, Betta St. John and Alexander Knox.[2] [3] A mysterious and wealthy man moves to a small village where he outwardly appears to be a friendly figure but nurses a dangerous secret.[4]
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This static and stagey melodrama is unimaginatively handled, finishing with a trick ending which explains remarkably little. Alexander Knox, as the psychiatrist, brings some degree of plausibility to the proceedings, but the playing generally is characterless."[5]
Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film wrote: "It was a pretty botched job, over-played and under-plotted."[1]
Leslie Halliwell said: "Watchable second feature."[6]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "poor", writing: "Dreary, turgid drama: seems much longer than it is."[7]
TV Guide called the film "a poorly developed psychological drama",[8] while Allmovie described it as "an average psychological mystery worth watching for the good performances."[9]
In Offbeat: British Cinema's Curiosities, Obscurities and Forgotten Items, Jennifer Wallis wrote: "The Danzingers' high speed production accounts for the short running time. ...In the context of such whistle-stop production, Alias John Preston is an impressive feat, and in no way a bad film per se. Its tightly compacted plot and self-conscious intensity, though, tire the viewer before becoming somewhat infuriating in their transparency."[10]