| The Sinister Man | |
| Director: | Clive Donner |
| Producer: | Jack Greenwood |
| Based On: | novel The Sinister Man by Edgar Wallace |
| Starring: | Patrick Allen Gerald Anderson William Gaunt John Bentley |
| Music: | Charles Blackwell |
| Cinematography: | Bert Mason |
| Editing: | Derek Holding |
| Distributor: | Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors |
| Runtime: | 58 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
The Sinister Man is a 1961 British crime drama film directed by Clive Donner and starring Patrick Allen and John Bentley.[1] [2] It was one of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries, British second-features, produced at Merton Park Studios in the 1960s.[3]
The body of an Oxford professor is found floating in the river Thames. He had previously been studying an archeological artefact known as the Kytang Wafers, and this is now missing. Scotland Yard investigates. The wafers are bits of ancient text that could alter the relations between Red China and a Tibetan type nation called "Kytang". An autopsy reveals that the professor was murdered by a karate blow.
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Hectic penny dreadful, without subtlety or surprise. Clive Donner's direction has intermittent punch, but the jaded format of these Edgar Wallace quickies is beginning to defeat any attempt at even the simplest kind of style."[4]
Leslie Halliwell said: "Very tolerable minor thriller in the Edgar Wallace series: short, sharp and snappy."[5]
MemorableTV.com described the film as "definitely one of the great Edgar Wallace entries with a fab cast that includes a pre-Steptoe Wilfred Brambell, Patrick Allen, William Gaunt and Burt Kwouk. John Bentley who took the lead as Superintendent Willis was a popular actor in the late fifties and early sixties but is all but forgotten these days."[6]
Classic Movie Ramblings wrote "The Sinister Man isn’t exactly a good movie but it has plenty of energy and a few intriguingly odd moments. I found it to be strangely appealing."[7]
The film is included in Volume 2 of The Edgar Wallace Mystery series, released on region 2 DVD by Network, in 2012.[8]