Emergency (1962 film)

Emergency is a 1962 British second feature drama film directed by Francis Searle and starring Glyn Houston, Zena Walker and Dermot Walsh.[1][2]

Emergency
Directed byFrancis Searle
Written by
Produced by
  • Ronald Liles
  • Francis Searle
Starring
CinematographyWalter J. Harvey
Edited byJim Connock
Music byJohn Veale
Production
company
Butcher's Film Service
Distributed byButcher's Film Distributors
Release date
December 1962
Running time
60 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

A small girl is hit by a truck and urgently needs a blood transfusion for a life-saving operation. Her blood group is extremely rare, and Police locate the only three possible donors: an imprisoned murderer awaiting execution, a treasonous atomic scientist, and a soccer player about to play a crucial match.

Cast

Production

The film is a remake of Emergency Call (1952). It was shot at Twickenham Studios and on location in West London. Sets were designed by art director Duncan Sutherland.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Bearing a strong resemblance to Butcher's ten-year-old Emergency Call, this film is as unlikely and complex as it was then. The characterisation, too, is improbable, with a convicted murderer, a professional footballer and an atomic scientist who is the pawn of a foreign power making up the blood donors."[3]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Francis Searle's anaemic little movie recreates the agony of an estranged couple and their young daughter who is in desperate need of a blood donor. Glyn Houston is the earnest Scotland Yard flatfoot looking for likely candidates while parents Zena Walker and Dermot Walsh look suitably in need of tranquillisers. Things get quite dramatic before the hour and the budget is up.[4]

References
  1. "Emergency". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  2. Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  3. "Emergency". Monthly Film Bulletin. 29 (336): 80. 1 January 1954.
  4. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 286. ISBN 9780992936440.
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