Dead Man's Shoes (1940 film) explained

Dead Man's Shoes is a 1940 British mystery drama film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Leslie Banks, Joan Marion and Wilfrid Lawson.

Plot

A man has lost his memory and rises to a position of authority and respect. One day he is confronted by a man who claims to have been involved with him in the past. The film is considered an antecedent of British Film Noir.^[2]

Cast

• Leslie Banks as Roger de Vetheuil
• Joan Marion as Viola de Vetheuil
• Geoffrey Atkins as Paul de Vetheuil
• Wilfrid Lawson as Lucien Sarrou
• Judy Kelly as Michelle Allain
• Nancy Price as Madame Pelletier
• Walter Hudd as Gaston Alexandri
• Peter Bull as Defence Counsel
• Henry Oscar as President of the Court
• Ludwig Stössel as Doctor Breithaut
• Roddy McDowall as Boy

Production

Inspired by the 1938 French film Crossroads, it was made by Associated British Picture Corporation at the company's Elstree Studios. The film was completed in late 1939, but was not released until the following year.

Bibliography

• Spicer, Andrew. Historical Dictionary of Film Noir. Scarecrow Press, 2010.

Notes and References

1. ‘The highest salary ever paid to a human being’: Creating a Database of Film Costs from the Bank of England . Chapman. Llewella. Edinburgh University Press. Journal of British cinema and television, 2022-10. 19. 4. 470-494 at 480.
2. Spicer p.439