The Straw Man

1953

1h 14m

IMDb RATING

5.5/10

YOUR RATING

Rate

POPULARITY

Play trailer

0 Videos

4 Images

Thriller

A newly married man is convicted of murdering a former lover in his apartment, and sentenced to hang. With a payout on his life worth 20,000 pounds, the insurance company sends an investigator to find out the truth.

Directors

Donald Taylor

Writers

Donald Taylor(writer by)

Doris Miles Disney(novel by)

Stars

Dermot Walsh

Clifford Evans

Lana Morris

See production, box office & company info

Photos4

Top cast

Malcolm "Mal" Farris

Jeff Howard

Ruth Hunter

Lucy Graham

Clay Rushlow

Miss Ward

Inspector Conrad

Johnny Gordon

Link Hunter

O'Brien

Porter

Directors

Donald Taylor

Writers

Donald Taylor(writer by)

Doris Miles Disney(novel by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews1

Review

Featured review

6/10

There's something of the "Armchair Theatre" about this production, much of it seems to be conducted from the sitting position - there is virtually no action at all! Clifford Evans is "Jeff Howard", an insurance investigator who finds himself investigating a murder so his company doesn't have to pay up on a policy held by the man convicted of the murder once he is hanged. Aside from the rather obvious assumption that any policy would be null and void if the bearer were actually executed for a capital offence, the story is a fair one as he has to try and discover the truth! It transpires that the unfortunate felon "Saville" (Link Hunter) had been on his honeymoon when his ex-girlfriend turned up dead. The police, somewhat hastily, put two and two together and ended up on his doorstep. "Howard" is not convinced, so sets about disproving the police case and with the help of local PI "Mal Ferris" (Dermot Walsh). Now it gets a little more clever, with a few interesting twists and turns - and some cheese - and the story hots up nicely for a fitting finale. It's chronically under-directed though; and the pace, such as it is, is glacial. That's a pity because it's a good short story from Doris Miles Disney that deserved much better care.

Geronimo196728 Mar, 2022