The Man in the Road

"The Man in the Road" is a British film from 1956 based on the novel of the same name. It concerns a famous scientist who is kidnapped while driving and taken to a country nursing home. When he awakens, he can't remember who he is.

The Communists have taken him and are sending him to Russia. They tell him his name is Ivan Mason, but he just can't make the connection. They keep him hypnotized.

A drunk in the home, either a patient or a doctor, clues him in on what's going on. While walking, he's asked for a ride by a neighbor (Ella Raines) and ends up telling her his story. Needless to say, she's a little nervous around him. There is something about him that's believable, so she investigates.

Derek Farr plays the confused scientist, and the great stage actor Sir Donald Wolfit is the villain. This was Ella Raines' last film. A beautiful woman and always a nice presence in any film. With her hair a little longer, she always reminded me of Gene Tierney. She retired after this. Sadly, like Tierney, she died from a smoking-related disease - in her case, esophageal cancer, in Tierney's, emphysema.

The movie is a little too talky for a suspense film and comes off as being on the slow side. It is recommended though -- these actors all enjoyed prolific careers, so the acting is good, and it's entertaining enough. Communism was a major subject in the late '40s and '50s, and this movie fits right into the genre.

After an introductory scene in which a car is waylaid on a narrow English country lane, a corpse substituted for the driver and the car doused with gasoline and set on fire, a man (Derek Farr) wakes up in a private hospital.

His amiable but vaguely sinister attending physician, Prof. Cattrell (Donald Wolfit) tells the man that he was the victim of a hit-and-run accident, and his name -- according to the wallet found in his suit -- is Ivan Mason.

There's just one problem: Mason can't remember his past. Or rather, what he does remember doesn't jibe with who they tell him he is, and every time he has one of these "false" memories he gets a blinding headache. Mason slowly begins to suspect there's something not quite right going on, even as Cattrell confronts him with all sorts of evidence that he really is Mason.

Both the amnesia and the headaches are the results of Cattrell's hypnosis, as part of a devious Commie plot to get Mason -- in actuality a top nuclear physicist -- to voluntarily go to Russia. Where, of course, his amnesia will be "cured" and all his nuclear secrets extracted.

Although when you think about it, the plan seems both cumbersome and far-fetched, the players make it look fairly convincing. One of the great things about these British B films is the level of acting talent they could draw on for supporting characters, actors like Wolfit and Cyril Cusack and Karel Stepanek. Sure, the leading man is rather wooden, but strikingly beautiful Ella Raines (in what was, sadly, her last big-screen appearance) more than compensates for Farr's deficiencies.

Stanley Pavey's black-and-white cinematography is crisply competent, with plenty of shadows and low angle shots to instill an appropriately paranoid atmosphere.

This is a distinctly minor thriller, compared to the likes of "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold", but still, it has its moments, and (mostly) manages to hold the viewer's interest until the end.

An all-star cast (in Britain, at least) does its darndest to keep this talky adaptation of a popular novel afloat. A man awakes to find he cannot remember who he is. He is apparently a patient in a rural nursing home,to boot. Turns out he's a noted scientist the commies have kidnapped and hypnotized, with plans to take him with them to the Soviet Union, where they will pick his science-filled noggin. He befriends a fellow in the home who tells him of the bad guys' nefarious plan, and a little later makes the acquaintance of a pretty American writer who lives in a cottage down the road. Together, they work to unravel the mystery of his identity. Sir Donald Wolfit plays the main villain and Ella Raines is the pretty and resourceful neighbor. These names will mean nothing to most of you, but they were pretty big in their time. In fact, this was Raines' last motion picture. Wolfit, also a noted stage actor, kept working in films for another 10 years, and may be remembered best (probably much to his chagrin) for a nifty little programmer called "Blood of the Vampire," which was made about the same time as this. This modestly budgeted British flick is typically heavy on talk, but there's just enough action and a tiny bit of suspense in the second half to maintain the viewer's attention.

Typical in the Zeitgeist of "Anti-Commie" Movies Proliferating During the "Cold War" Era in America and Britain.

Containing some "Noir" Tropes (Amnesia, Dark Suspense, & Atmosphere) it Manages to be an Intriguing, if Often Used Story of Soviet Spies of the Eastern Bloc on Western Soil.

Brain-Washing (Hypnotizing) a "Person of interest" for Nefarious, Scientific, or Political One-Ups-Man-Ship, Striving to Gain an "Upper-Hand" on the "Free-World".

The Acting is the Usual British-Stage-Craft, put to Good Sinister Use with Russian-Spy-Craft.

A Talkie 1st-Half, Setting the Stage, for a More Robust 2nd-Half where the "Game is Afoot" and Expands Beyond the Confines of the Corridors, into the Country where Our Hero and Victim Conveniently Finds a Warm and Naive Welcome from Ella Rains (in Her Final Movie).

After a Slow-Start and an Uncomfortable Inclusion of an Alcoholic (Cyril Cusak) that Knows the "Skinny", but can Barely Maintain Sobriety Long Enough to Help.

Slightly Above Average Minor Movie in a Genre (Spy-Espionage) that Gained Much Momentum After WWII, Peaking with Bond, James Bond.

Worth a Watch.

Derek Farr is ambushed on a road,drugged and told by sinister doctor Donald Woolfit that his memory has gone and that he is someone else.Its a dastardly commie plot to take him to Moscow. Ella Raines,in her last film,is parachuted into the plot after 35 minutes.All very routine.