The Mysterious Mr. Davis Explained

The Mysterious Mr. Davis is a 1939 British comedy drama film directed by Claude Autant-Lara and starring Henry Kendall, Kathleen Kelly and Alastair Sim.^[1] It was made as a quota quickie and distributed by the American company RKO Pictures.^[2] It was based on the 1928 novel The Partner by Jenaro Prieto and was released the same year as an Italian adaptation The Silent Partner.^{[3] [4]}

Cast

• Henry Kendall as Julian Roscoe
• Kathleen Kelly as Audrey Roscoe
• Richard Gofe as Teddy Roscoe
• Alastair Sim as Theodore F. Wilcox - the Lunatic
• Morris Harvey as Samuel Goldenburg
• Jeanne Stuart as Anita Goldenburg
• A. Bromley Davenport as Lord Avonmouth
• Guy Middleton as Milton
• Quentin McPhearson as The Landlord
• Ben Field as The Decorator
• Fred Duprez as Wilcox
• Alfred Wellesley as The Pawnbroker
• Ethel Griffies as Mabel Wilcox
• May Hallatt as Telegraph Clerk

Critical reception

Allmovie described it as "Mild and dated."^[5]

References

1. Web site: The Mysterious Mr. Davis (1939) - Claude Autant-Lara | Cast and Crew | AllMovie. www.allmovie.com.
2. Chibnall p.290
3. Book: Goble, Alan. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. 8 September 2011. Walter de Gruyter. 9783110951943. Google Books.
4. Web site: The Mysterious Mr. Davis (1940). https://web.archive.org/web/20201001173423/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7487c400. dead. 1 October 2020. BFI.
5. Web site: The Mysterious Mr. Davis (1939) - Claude Autant-Lara | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie. www.allmovie.com.

Bibliography

• Chibnall, Steve. Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British 'B' Film. British Film Institute, 2007. (Indexed under the US title My Partner, Mr Davis.)