Kurt at 01:20, 20 September 2024

2024-09-20T01:20:57Z

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	\| name = They Met in the Dark		\| name = They Met in the Dark
	\| image = They Met in the Dark (1943).jpg		\| image = They Met in the Dark (1943).jpg
	\| caption = ~~French theatrical poster~~		\| caption =
	\| director = [[Karel Lamač]]		\| director = [[Karel Lamač]]
	\| producer = [[Marcel Hellman]]		\| producer = [[Marcel Hellman]]

Kurt at 01:19, 20 September 2024

2024-09-20T01:19:54Z

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	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| name = They Met in the Dark		\| name = They Met in the Dark
	\| image = ~~"They_Met_in_the_Dark"_~~(1943).~~jpeg~~		\| image = They Met in the Dark (1943).jpg
	\| caption = French theatrical poster		\| caption = French theatrical poster
	\| director = [[Karel Lamač]]		\| director = [[Karel Lamač]]

Kurt at 13:08, 19 September 2024

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	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=April 2016}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=April 2016}}~~
	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| name = They Met in the Dark		\| name = They Met in the Dark
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	==External links==		==External links==
	*{{IMDb title\|0036428}}		*{{IMDb title\|0036428}}

	~~{{Karel Lamač}}~~

	[[Category:1943 films]]		[[Category:1943 films]]

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2024-09-19T13:06:56Z

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en>Tassedethe: v2.05 - Repaired 1 link to disambiguation page - (You can help) - Ronald Ward

2024-09-08T16:43:28Z

v2.05 - Repaired 1 link to disambiguation page - (You can help) - Ronald Ward

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = They Met in the Dark
| image = "They_Met_in_the_Dark"_(1943).jpeg
| caption = French theatrical poster
| director = [[Karel Lamač]]
| producer = [[Marcel Hellman]]
| writer = [[Anatole de Grunwald]] [[Miles Malleson]] [[Basil Bartlett]] Victor McClure James Seymour
| based_on =''[[The Vanishing Corpse]]'' by [[Anthony Gilbert (author)|Anthony Gilbert]]
| starring = [[James Mason]] [[Joyce Howard]] [[Tom Walls]]
| music = [[Benjamin Frankel]]
| cinematography = [[Otto Heller]]
| editing = [[Winifred Cooper]] [[Terence Fisher]]
| studio =Excelsior Films
| distributor = [[General Film Distributors]] (UK)
| released = {{Film date|1943|11|01|UK|df=yes}}
| runtime = 104 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
}}
'''''They Met in the Dark''''' is a 1943 British [[comedy]] [[thriller film]] directed by [[Karel Lamač]] and starring [[James Mason]], [[Joyce Howard]] and [[Edward Rigby]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/92838/They-Met-in-the-Dark/articles.html|title=They Met in the Dark (1943) - Articles - TCM.com|work=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref> The screenplay concerns a cashiered [[Royal Navy|Royal Naval]] officer and a young woman who join forces to solve a murder and hunt down a German [[spy ring]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/53922|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113222246/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/53922|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-01-13|title=They Met in the Dark|work=BFI}}</ref> The film features a single song sung by [[Phyllis Stanley]], "Toddle Along" (Ben Frankel, Moira Heath).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://movies.tvguide.com/they-met-in-the-dark/review/120344|title=They Met In The Dark|work=TV Guide}}</ref> The film is very loosely based on the 1941 novel ''[[The Vanishing Corpse]]'' by [[Anthony Gilbert (author)|Anthony Gilbert]].

It was shot at [[Teddington Studios]] in [[London]]. The film's sets were designed by the [[art director]] [[Norman G. Arnold]].

==Plot==

Commander R. F. Heritage is dismissed from the [[Royal Navy]] during the [[Second World War]] after being found guilty of losing some top secret documents.

He revisits his places of the previous few days - mainly involving a string of women.

He starts with Mary, a manicurist, in [[Blackpool]]. They originally meet in the Hotel Monopole. She has something to impart but then arranges to reconvene in the Bell & Dragon public house outside town. She’s not there and he is sent to a remote cottage up the road.

Meanwhile a young Canadian woman, Miss Verity, arrives at the cottage and finds Mary dead, clutching a note with the words "Child's Theatrical Agency". She barricades the door when Heritage knocks and he leaves. She has seen his face and, when he comes back the next day, she takes the bus to Blackpool and reports the murder to the police. Heritage follows her to the police station. They return to the cottage with the police, but the body is missing. The police threaten to charge Miss Verity with filing a false police report.

Both head to Child's Theatrical Agency in London and from there to the [[BBC]]. Heritage brings a different woman, a sophisticated singer, who is coming for an audition. He then wanders off, looking for something. The Canadian woman follows him.

On the train north to [[Liverpool]] - where Child has a dance academy - she doesn’t realise she is being interrogated by enemy agents. The female agent tries to have her shot in the dark as they go through a tunnel but manages to steal Miss Verity’s handbag. Heritage rescues her at the barrier when she tries to leave without a ticket.

Meanwhile, Child and his hypnotist - the Great Riccardo - also arrive in Liverpool and hypnotise a Royal Navy officer (Petty Officer Grant) into giving away some secret plans regarding HMS Dandelion, commanded by Lippinscott. They want to hypnotise Miss Verity to see what she knows.

In a bar, Heritage's former [[Batman (military)|batman]] Mansel starts a fight to cause a diversion. Heritage then rescues Miss Verity from the hypnotist.

In the bar Carter sends a woman (Bobby) to chat with Commander Lippinscott. As they sit, the harmonica player sends a coded message (hidden in the notes of the music).

Lippinscott and Heritage eventually get together and it appears both are pawns in a bigger game to trap the traitors.

In the morning Bobby leaves in a car with Lippinscott, The spies go into their hotel bedroom.

Miss Verity tails one of the spies to the countryside by hiding in the back of his car. She in turn is trailed by Mansel and the police. Here the Great Riccardo is trying to dispose of the body of the manicurist hidden inside his garden scarecrow by burning and burying it.

Back in the hotel, experts in disguise decode the musical notation played by the harmonica player proving the sinister plot. Carter and Dr Benson then do a magic act. They pickpocket the message from Lippinscott during the act but do not realise the message in his pocket is blank. Heritage gets on stage as a volunteer and exposes the whole scam, explaining that the room is surrounded by police. Heritage and Miss Verity kiss and she is at a loss what to say further.

==Cast==
* [[James Mason]] as Richard Francis Heritage
* [[Joyce Howard]] as Laura Verity
* [[Tom Walls]] as Christopher Child
* [[Phyllis Stanley]] as Lily Bernard
* [[Edward Rigby]] as Mansel
* [[Ronald Ward (actor)|Ronald Ward]] as Carter
* [[David Farrar (actor)|David Farrar]] as Commander Lippinscott
* [[Karel Stepanek]] as Riccardo
* [[Betty Warren]] as Fay
* [[Patricia Medina]] as Mary, the manicurist
* Walter Crisham as Charlie
* [[George Robey]] as Pawnbroker
* [[Ronald Chesney]] as Max, Mouth Harmonica Player
* Peggy Dexter as Bobby
* [[Finlay Currie]] as Merchant Captain
* [[Brefni O'Rorke]] as Detective Inspector Burrows
* [[Leonard Sharp (actor)|Leonard Sharp]] as Bus Conductor
* [[Terence de Marney]] as Code Expert
* [[Anthony Dawson]] as 2nd Code Expert

==Critical reception==
''[[Radio Times]]'' noted "an old-fashioned, run-of-the-mill and unlikely espionage thriller-come-romance, it was topical during the Second World War years, but is rather unrewarding now";<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/film/mgvnv/they-met-in-the-dark|title=They Met in the Dark|author=Robin Karney|work=RadioTimes}}</ref> while ''Britmovie'' wrote, "there are capable performances from all involved but it’s [[Tom Walls]], the urbane [[Aldwych farce]]ur, who steals the limelight when cast against type as a charming villain."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/films/They-Met-in-the-Dark_1943|title=They Met in the Dark|work=britmovie.co.uk}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0036428}}

{{Karel Lamač}}

[[Category:1943 films]]
[[Category:1940s spy thriller films]]
[[Category:British spy thriller films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Karel Lamač]]
[[Category:Films scored by Benjamin Frankel]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Anatole de Grunwald]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films shot at Teddington Studios]]
[[Category:Films based on British novels]]
[[Category:Films set in Blackpool]]
[[Category:Films set in Liverpool]]
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
[[Category:1940s British films]]

They Met in the Dark - Revision history

Kurt at 01:20, 20 September 2024

Kurt at 01:19, 20 September 2024

Kurt at 13:08, 19 September 2024

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Tassedethe: v2.05 - Repaired 1 link to disambiguation page - (You can help) - Ronald Ward