The Dark Man

Short but effective suspense thriller shot on England's south-east coast. Although we know the bad guy from the start, the suspense is nevertheless maintained until the final shoot out on the rifle ranges which provide an unusual setting. Accents & dialogues typical of 50s England. Definitely worth viewing !

I wanted to see 'The Dark Man'for a while mainly because of Maxwell Reed; i seem lately to have watched him in a few of his 'Clouded Yellow'/'Night Beat'/'Dear Murderer'/'Square Ring'. I got a copy of Dark Man off ebay finally.It is a short 'B' film, however it is well done for its style, punchy and effective. Unfortunately, i think the shortened US version is the one doing the rounds, not the longer UK version.I'd be interested in seeing the original longer release. A very young Natasha Parry is the leading lady and does the job very nicely, though the age difference between her and Edward Underdown is a bit too great for easy belief. Maxwell Reed is the title's otherwise unnamed 'Dark Man' and he fits the role well both in his looks and behaviour. He brings an edgy presence to the film, the dark side of Underdown's whiter than white policeman. The 2 men have a passing physical resemblance as well. There is interesting location filming down on the coast and a very unusual finale on the shooting range. The way Maxwell Reed stalks Natasha Parry, building her fear, is effective and realistic; a simple beach scene has dark undertones. The director also writer Jeffrey Dell didn't helm many projects, a pity based on this effort.

You can punch a lot of holes in this one.

From 1951, The Dark Man, directed and written by Jeffrey Dell, stars (and is) Maxwell Reed. He was Joan Collins' first husband, and ever since I heard what she said about him, I've never been able to stand him. Good thing he always plays creeps.

In this film, on a lonely road, he (Dark Man) kills a cab driver who could recognize him (his second murder that we know about). A young actress, Molly Lester (Natasha Perry) out on her bike hears the shot and sees him in the distance.

When a fellow thespian reads that the police are looking for witnesses, a reluctant Molly tells an officer (Edward Underdown) what she knows, and he informs her that her life is in danger. She will have to be guarded. There's a romantic interest, though he's 43 and she's 21.

Well, when you're being guarded, that means all the time, one would think. In Molly's case, I guess it's when they get around to it. At one point, Dark Man breaks into her apartment, removes the lightbulbs, and attacks her.

The guy has killed twice. Does he kill her? No. He turns on the gas. She lives.

Okay, then he picks her up in a cab. He wants to kill her because she may recognize him. Obviously she doesn't know who the heck he is or why he is heading out to a remote place.

It's well photographed, keeping Dark Man tall and in the dark. I wouldn't have recognized him either.

A terrific British B movie of the period! One of the filming locations listed is Camber Sands, but the denouement takes place at Dungeness where the Lighthouse and the Railway Station of the Hythe/Romney and Dymchurch Narrow Gauge Railway feature strongly - the line swings around the Dungeness terminus and can be seen quite clearly.

This was the first video i bought to go with my new video player about a decade ago. Having spent a part of my childhood in the area where it was filmed it was fun to spot the locations, the heroine getting on the bus to go to the beach at what looks like Hastings only to get off near the Romney marshes, which is some way to go for a quick bit of sunbathing. The story of the criminal classes up to no good and an innocent bystander in danger has been told many times before,and since. Maxwell Reed as the moody Dark Man is worth the price of the video alone, William Hartnell ( future Dr who)always watchable. But the main reason is seeing the final scenes at the "pre-nuclear" Dungeness coastline. The only negative is with the UK video release which has part of the story missing, I assume this is a copy of the US release which was shorter.