| Final Appointment | |
| Director: | Terence Fisher |
| Producer: | Francis Searle |
| Based On: | the BBC radio play Death Keeps a Date by Sidney Nelson & Maurice Harrison[1] [2] |
| Starring: | John Bentley Eleanor Summerfield Hubert Gregg |
| Cinematography: | Jonah Jones |
| Editing: | John Ferris |
| Studio: | ACT Films |
| Distributor: | Monarch Film Corporation |
| Runtime: | 65 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
Final Appointment (U.S. title: The Last Appointment [3]) is a 1954 British second feature ('B')[4] comedy thriller film directed by Terence Fisher, and starring John Bentley, Eleanor Summerfield and Hubert Gregg.[5] [6] It also features Arthur Lowe, later to become famous for his portrayal of Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army, in an early role.[7] The film was produced by Francis Searle for ACTFilms.[8] A sequel, Stolen Assignment, also featuring sleuthing journalists Mike Billings and Jenny Drew, was released the following year.[9]
A former soldier who was court-martialled during the Second World War sets out to murder the officers who passed sentence on him. After the lawyer who acted for the prosecution at the court martial receives threatening letters a newspaper reporter and his wisecracking girlfriend try to track down the killer.
The film was shot at Walton Studios outside London.
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Formula crime melodrama, in which a clever young journalist solves a crime in the intervals of exchanging back-chat with his reporter girl friend and a police inspector."[10]
Kine Weekly described the film as an "inconsequential crime melodrama."[11]
The Radio Times gave the film two out of five stars, calling it a "capable thriller."[12]