Thu 29 Jan 2015
MEET MR. CALLAGHAN. Eros Films, UK, 1954. Derrick de Marney, Harriette Johns, Peter Neil, Adrienne Corri, Larry Burns, Trevor Reid, Delphi Lawrence. Based on the novel The Urgent Hangman by Peter Cheyney. Director: Charles Saunders.
Every once in a while, if you watch enough old movies on DVD, even the most obscure ones, you run across one that you enjoy so much you’d like to let everyone know about it. Such is the case with Meet Mr. Callaghan, and luckily I do have a blog by which I can tell you, at least, about it.
I’ve not been able to confirm that The Urgent Hangman is indeed the Peter Cheyney novel the movie’s based on — that will have to wait — but Slim Callaghan is a British PI who appears in any number of Cheyney’s novels and short stories, and at the moment one mention on IMDb is all I have to work with.
And The Urgent Hangman is the first Slim Callaghan novel, and if it’s as good as the movie, it would be well worth reading. Callaghan is one of those PIs whom, once you hire him, just won’t let go, even if you want to fire him. He’ll do everything in the book on your behalf, even if you come to detest him, as young and beautiful Cynthia Meraulton (Harriette Johns) soon discovers, and even outside the book, as demonstrated on this case.
Callaghan, you see, if one those PIs who believe in manipulating evidence, intimidating witnesses, bribing and double-crossing suspects and whatever else it takes. I was reminded in this regard of Perry Mason, whose actions are also often questionable but always make sense in the end. But Callaghan goes Mason the extra mile. Mason stays within the law, Callaghan skirts just on the other side of it.
The case: Cynthia Meraulton fears that her stepfather may be murdered and she will be set up to take the blame by one of the man’s sons, who are all included in the man’s will. Red flags go up as soon as Callaghan learns that the man has been killed, and quite probably right around the time Cynthia was in his office.
Derrick de Marney, who plays Slim Callaghan, reminded me at times of Robert Mitchum, not so much the droopy eyelids, but on occasions those too. But I’m thinking more of the laconic almost deadpan delivery, but very British in nature. It is difficult to put into words — I don’t believe I’ve come across anything like it before, and de Marney is very very good at it.
There are also several good-looking women in this movie, including Delphi Lawrence, who plays Callghan’s secretary Effie Perkins, who unlike Sam Spade’s Effie, is not loyal, far from it.
The detective work is very good, and the complicated plot holds together, but it’s the overall sense of good humor that really carries the day — not laugh out loud funny, but the mood is light enough to smile almost constantly.
There was a second Slim Callaghan movie made the next year, Amazing Mr. Callaghan, said to have been based on the novel Sorry You Have Been Troubled, but that one stars Tony Wright and was made in France by another filming company altogether, which is too bad, since I’d like to see another one made by the same crew as was responsible for this one.
January 29th, 2015 at 11:48 pm
The book and play are indeed based on THE URGENT HANGMAN though from book to play there were changes for dramatic purposes. There was an earlier Callaghan film, UNEASY TERMS, with Michael Rennie in 1948 as well and several were made in France with Tony Wright and then Eddie Constantine before he played Cheyney’s Lemme Caution. There is even an opening scene from the Wright film you mention available on YouTube.
Slim was modeled on Sam Spade (he even had a secretary named Effie) but reminded me more of Michael Shayne’s high handed way with evidence and clients. Next to Slim Parry Mason was a legal ethicist. Unlike Sam or Shayne Slim had an assistant, Windy, a Canadian who tended to show up at just the right moment.
In the books Effie is loyal, but a good deal more jealous.
In the books Slim spends more time in yellow silk pjs than Nero Wolfe, but those scenes tend to get left out of the films or passed over quickly.
De Marney was a well respected actor along with his brother Terence, and played Slim in the West End production that was hit enough to inspire the film. He was almost ideal casting for the part.
Where did you find this? I’ve looked for a copy for years. At one time there was even some question this one even existed and it was thoughts the stills might be from the stage production. It was lost a long time.
I’m glad to hear it is as good as its reputation though. That doesn’t always prove true.
I think there are seven novels and Slim shares a couple of short story collections with Lemme Caution (MR.CAUTION AND MR. CALLAGHAN for one)plus one or two Slim stories appear in other Cheyney collections.
During the war Cheyney turned out a slew of short pamphlet sized editions for the boys in the war featuring either Slim or Lemme. They are listed in Hubin apart from the other works and its a fairly lengthy list, plus Slim and Lemme appeared often in slick magazines with illustrations of Cheyney’s elegant ladies accompanying.
Cheyney is even the subject of a famous cartoon in PUNCH that shows how popular he was at the time. An elegant lady in a skimpy outfit is stretched on the chaise with a Cheyney book in hand and in the background the butler is stuffily informing the caller: “Her Ladyship has retired for the evening with Peter Cheyney.”
At the time there was no one that didn’t get the reference, not unlike an earlier Edgar Wallace cartoon with a bookseller informing his customer the “Noon” Edgar Wallace was in.
Aside from the famous Dark series of spy novels Anthony Boucher famously championed and which were a direct influence on Ian Fleming, Slim is Cheyney’s best creation. He is also the inspiration for Dennis Potter’s THE SINGING DETECTIVE with that entire West End Club milieu.
January 30th, 2015 at 12:34 am
My copy of this film is on a DVD with five other (non-Cheyney) films entitled “British Cinema: Crime & Noir” (VCI 2009). Probably available from Amazon.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:02 am
David
Cheyney is an author I still haven’t caught up with. I never seemed to have time for him. After watching this movie, I knew I wanted to. After reading your comment, I know I need to. I’ll make the time.
I don’t know why I didn’t mention the earlier Slim Callaghan movie, UNEASY TERMS, the one with Michael Rennie, so thank your for filling in the gap I left. I’ll make sure I obtain a copy as soon as I can.
I watched this movie over a month ago, and the review has been sitting in my computer as a text file ever since. The fact that Derrick de Marney was in the previous movie reviewed on this blog, SLEEPING CAR TO TRIESTE, was what prompted me to pull this one out and post it this evening. Good timing, I thought.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:11 am
Stephen
It turns out that I have that British film noir collection and didn’t even know about it. When I followed your suggestion to see if Amazon still had it, I saw on the product page that I’d purchased from them back in 2009. I’m not sure why they do that, but it’s saved me a small sum of money over the years, since as in this case, I’d totally forgotten I did.
I cam across the DVD copy I watched in a white envelope that I’d purchased from somebody and also forgotten about, or even who I obtained it from. I’ve been trying to do something about sorting through small stacks in my study of so-called “bootleg” DVDs and making a list of them, or at least do something useful with them. Maybe at a minimum, like watch them?
January 30th, 2015 at 4:40 am
I tried reading Cheyney and found the prose rather flat and fumbly. I love his 2nd-person titles, though.
January 30th, 2015 at 4:45 pm
Cheyney is not a great writer, but he is entertaining and atmospheric. His images of wartime England are strangely accurate about the society he wrote about and reflect the sort of cynical ‘probably won’t get out of this alive’ mindset many Londoners developed during the raids.
It’s melodrama, British pulp (Cheyney shared THRILLER with Charteris, Creasey, Wallace, Berkley Gray and others ), but I find his women fun, and his British eyes interesting (Callaghan, Johnny Vallon, Nicholas Gale).
And while I like James Hadley Chase too, despite his many fans who like to take shots at Cheyney no one caught Cheyney plagiarizing — twice.
As for those 2nd person fractured American slang Lemme Caution books I love them. They are great fun to read, move quickly, and if you take them for what they are actually quite good. Cheyney may not have intended for them to be fun in that way, but you can’t argue with the result. The first one, THIS MAN IS DANGEROUS actually keeps it a secret Lemme is an undercover G-Man and not a gangster right up to the last moment. Time has taken that away, but it must have been effective for readers of that first entry.
Cheyney inspired a lot of writers, many of them better than him. Gerald Fairlie’s ex Yard man eye Johnny McCall, Chase’s private eyes, John Bentley’s Dick Marlow, Ian Fleming, to a lesser extent Desmond Cory’s Johnny Fedora were all influenced by Cheyney. The first shot of James Bond in DR. NO, gambling at Blades is pure Cheyney by any account as is much of the supposed sadism in the books. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER and LIVE AND LET DIE are very Cheyney influenced. Much of Fleming’s work is Cheyney crossed with Ambler and a bit of Sapper, Buchan, Sax Rohmer, and Raymond Chandler thrown in.
Cheyney’s best private eye novel is ANOTHER LITTLE DRINK, a non Callaghan (if features Nicholas Gale who is also in DARK BAHAMA). Of the Callaghan’s my own favorite is IT COULDN’T MATTER LESS though I think many would credit THE FLOATING ADMIRAL as the best. The best of the Dark novels is probably LONDON DARK. Of the Mike Kells series SINISTER ERRAND was made into Henry Hathaway’s DIPLOMATIC COURIER with Tyrone Power, Patricia Neal, Hildegarde Neff, Karl Malden, Stephen McNally, and appearances by Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson.
At least two of Cheyney’s books feature a female spy who is a diplomat’s wife, spy master Peter Quayle, Belgian assassin Ernie Guelvada, or Irish agent Shaun O’Mara appear in most of the Dark books. Ettienne McGreggor is Cheyney’s version of the Saint.
There is a lot out there and only a little of his output was published in the US, though the Canadian editions of his books are easier to find. In addition to the series books there are also some stand alones.
Any recovering alcoholics may want to avoid the Callaghan and Gale books though. By their standard Bond’s half a fifth a day is teatotalling.
February 1st, 2015 at 11:59 am
David: Thank you for sharing this spot-on analysis of Cheyney, my absolute favorite Brit hardboiled writer. I’ve read most of them from Cheyney and Chase on down to Stephen Frances. While the Dark books are justifiably singled out as among his best work, Cheyney’s range and influence are seldom recognized.
July 31st, 2015 at 11:31 am
for those looking to catch this , sky tv subscribers in the uk and should look for the channel ‘moving pictures’ I just caught it there yesterday, I only recently found the channel and it appears to be awash with little known british crime movies , b movies etc. As for this the sparkling dialogue made the film and callaghans character is certainly played originally – a middle class intellectual english lush spouting toughest of tough guy dialogue – jeffrey barnard meets sam spade- a gem for fans of cheap thrillers.