Cloudburst (film)
Encyclopedia
Cloudburst is a 1951 British drama film, directed by Francis Searle
, starring Robert Preston
and featuring Elizabeth Sellars
, Harold Lang
, Colin Tapley
and Sheila Burrell. The script is based on a play written by Leo Marks
, a wartime cryptographer for the Special Operations Executive
, and later the author of a memoir about his wartime work, Between Silk and Cyanide
(1998). The film is about a World War II
veteran, a former operative for the SOE
, who seeks revenge on the driver and passenger of a hit-and-run automobile that struck and killed his wife.
Francis Searle
Francis Searle was an English film director, writer and producer. He was active in the post Second World War cinema industry. Amongst the films he directed were The Lady Craved Excitement , One Way Out and It All Goes to Show .-References:...
, starring Robert Preston
Robert Preston (actor)
-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
and featuring Elizabeth Sellars
Elizabeth Sellars
Elizabeth Sellars is a British actress.Sellars was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She appeared on the stage from age 15 and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts...
, Harold Lang
Harold Lang
Harold Lang was an American dancer and actor.-Biography:Lang began his professional career as a ballet dancer, making his professional debut with the San Francisco Ballet in 1938 and then going on to perform with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo two years later and American Ballet Theatre in 1943...
, Colin Tapley
Colin Tapley
Colin Tapley was a British actor. Born in New Zealand, he served in the Royal Air Force and an expedition to Antarctica before winning a Paramount Pictures talent contest and moving to Hollywood. He acted in several films before returning to Britain during the Second World War as a flight...
and Sheila Burrell. The script is based on a play written by Leo Marks
Leo Marks
Leopold Samuel Marks was an English cryptographer, screenwriter and playwright.-Early life:Born the son of an antiquarian bookseller in London, he was first introduced to cryptography when his father showed him a copy of Edgar Allan Poe's story, "The Gold-Bug"...
, a wartime cryptographer for the Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
, and later the author of a memoir about his wartime work, Between Silk and Cyanide
Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's Story 1941-1945
Between Silk and Cyanide is the title of a book by former Special Operations Executive cryptographer Leo Marks, describing his work during the Second World War. More fully, its title is Between Silk and Cyanide, The Story of SOE's Code War...
(1998). The film is about a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran, a former operative for the SOE
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
, who seeks revenge on the driver and passenger of a hit-and-run automobile that struck and killed his wife.
Cast
- Robert PrestonRobert Preston (actor)-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
as John Graham - Elizabeth SellarsElizabeth SellarsElizabeth Sellars is a British actress.Sellars was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She appeared on the stage from age 15 and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts...
as Carol Graham - Colin TapleyColin TapleyColin Tapley was a British actor. Born in New Zealand, he served in the Royal Air Force and an expedition to Antarctica before winning a Paramount Pictures talent contest and moving to Hollywood. He acted in several films before returning to Britain during the Second World War as a flight...
as Inspector Davis - Sheila BurrellSheila BurrellSheila Mary Burrell was a British actress. A cousin of Lord Olivier, she was born in Blackheath, London, the daughter of a salesman. She attended St John's, Bexhill-on-Sea and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, London...
as Lorna Dawson - Harold LangHarold LangHarold Lang was an American dancer and actor.-Biography:Lang began his professional career as a ballet dancer, making his professional debut with the San Francisco Ballet in 1938 and then going on to perform with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo two years later and American Ballet Theatre in 1943...
as Mickie Fraser / Kid Python - Mary GermaineMary Germaine-Cast:* Laughter in Paradise * Where's Charley? * The Floating Dutchman * Father's Doing Fine * House of Blackmail * Out of the Clouds * The Green Carnation -External links:...
as Peggy Reece - George WoodbridgeGeorge Woodbridge (actor)George Woodbridge was an English character actor in films and television from the 1930s to the 1970s...
as Sergeant Ritchie - Lyn Evans as Chuck Peters
- Thomas HeathcoteThomas HeathcoteThomas Heathcote was a British character actor.He was educated at Bradfield College, near Reading in Berkshire, England. His films included A Night to Remember , Village of the Damned , Billy Budd , A Man for All Seasons , Night of the Big Heat and Quatermass and the Pit...
as Jackie - Edith SharpeEdith Sharpe-Selected filmography:* The Education of Elizabeth * Music Hath Charms * The Tenth Man * When the Bough Breaks * That Dangerous Age * Landfall * No Place for Jennifer...
as Mrs. Reece - Daphne AndersonDaphne Anderson-External links:...
as Kate - Edward LexyEdward Lexy-Filmography:* Under Secret Orders * Mademoiselle Docteur * Farewell Again * Knight Without Armour * Action for Slander * Smash and Grab * The Green Cockatoo...
as Cardew - James Mills as Thompson
- Noel HowlettNoel HowlettNoel Howlett was an English actor, principally remembered as the incompetent headmaster, Morris Cromwell, in the ITV 1970s cult television programme Please Sir!...
as Johnson - Martin BoddeyMartin BoddeyMartin Boddey was a British film and television actor.He was a founder member of the Lord's Taverners charity.-Selected filmography:* The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery * Cairo Road...
as Desk Sergeant