The Man in the Back Seat (1961)

UK, 1960
57m
35mm film, black and white
mono, English

A British borderline horror film directed by Vernon Sewell. Production began on 13 March 1961 ¹Variety 5 April 1961 p.17

Plot Summary

The manager of a greyhound stadium is counting his takings for the night. On leaving with the money in a case handcuffed to his wrist he is coshed by two petty criminals, Tony and Frank, who drag his body into the back seat of their getaway car. Their attempts to break into the case prove increasingly frustrating and the manager's condition worsens. Going back to Frank's house where his wife urges him to leave Tony, the two criminals fight amongst themselves. Tony resolves to dump the body. Again driving around, the man in the back seat proves increasingly difficult to be rid of. Or is his hold on them something supernatural?

Credits

Crew
Directed by: Vernon Sewell
© Independent Artists (Production) Ltd MCMLXI [1961]
An Independent Artists picture a film by Julian Wintle and Leslie Parkyn
Production Supervisor: Arthur Alcott
Screenplay by: Malcolm Hulke and Eric Paice
Assistant Director: Jan Saunders
Continuity: Joy Mercer
Director of Photography: Reginald Wyer
Camera Operator: Noel Rowland
Film Editor: John Trumper
Music by: Stanley Black
Sound Recordist: John W. Mitchell
Re-Recording: Ken Cameron
Wardrobe: Vi Murray
Make-up: Trevor Crole-Rees
Hair Stylist: Maud Onslow
Art Director: Harry Pottle
Made at: Independent Artists Studios, Beaconsfield, England

Cast
Derren Nesbitt (Tony)
Keith Faulkner (Frank)
Carol White (Jean)
Harry Locke (Joe Carter)

Links

See also
The Body Snatcher (1945)
Dr Terror' s House of Horrors (1965)

References

Periodicals

• The Daily Cinema no.8474 (21 June 1961) p.10 – review
• Kine Weekly no.2802 (15 June 1961) p.19 – review
• Monthly Film Bulletin vol.28 no.331 (August 1961) p.115 – credits, synopsis, review
• Variety 5 April 1961 p.17 – credits (Hollywood production pulse)

Books

• The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror by Phil Hardy (ed.) p.143
• English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby p.98
• Feature Films, 1960-1969: A Filmography of English-language and Major Foreign-language United States Releases by Harris M. Lentz III p.277
• Horror and Science Fiction Films IV by Donald C. Willis p.308
• X-Cert: The British Independent Horror Film: 1951-1970 by John Hamilton pp.98-101; 226