Man in the Middle (film)
| Man in the Middle | |
|---|---|
.jpg) British quad poster | |
| Directed by | Guy Hamilton |
| Produced by | Walter Seltzer |
| Screenplay by |
Willis Hall Keith Waterhouse |
| Based on |
The Winston Affair (1959 novel) by Howard Fast |
| Starring |
Robert Mitchum France Nuyen Barry Sullivan |
| Music by | John Barry |
| Cinematography | Wilkie Cooper |
| Edited by | John Bloom |
Production company |
Talbot Productions |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation |
Release dates | 5 February 1964 |
Running time | 94 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,000,000 (US/ Canada)[1] |
Man in the Middle is a 1964 CinemaScope film, starring Robert Mitchum and directed by Guy Hamilton. The movie, set in World War II India, tells the story of the murder trial of an American Army officer who killed a British soldier. Mitchum plays Lieut. Col. Barney Adams, who has been assigned as the accused man's defense counsel. The film is also known as The Winston Affair, the title of the novel the film was based on, which was written by Howard Fast.
Plot summary
In the midst of World War II, Lieut. Col. Barney Adams’s superiors call on him to defend troubled US army Lieutenant Winston who has confessed to murdering a British non-commissioned officer. Military court officials want the cleanest possible trial for the lieutenant. They believe that Liet. Col. Adams, a war hero and distinguished lawyer, is the best man for the job. But when Adams begins to investigate the murder, he finds that this seemingly open-and-shut case is actually much more complicated. Before long he is absorbed in a dramatic struggle for a fair trial against the most overwhelming odds.
Friction develops between American and British troops stationed in India during World War II and culminates in physical outbreaks between the troops when Lieutenant Winston (Keenan Wynn), an American, shoots British Staff Sergeant Quinn (Bill Mitchell) before 11 witnesses. American General Kempton (Barry Sullivan) assigns Lieut. Col. Barney Adams (Robert Mitchum) to defend Winston at his court-martial, assuring him that the Army Lunacy Commission has found Winston fit and sane.
Adams is informed by nurse Kate Davray (France Nuyen) that Colonel Burton (Alexander Knox), who headed the lunacy commission, refused to accept the report of the hospital's psychiatric head, Major Kaufman (Sam Wanamaker), who believes Winston is a psychopath. Burton is anxious to have Winston convicted and hanged to patch the strained relations between the two forces. Adams instructs Kaufman to bring his report to the trial, but when Burton is informed of this order he transfers Kaufman to a distant hospital. Adams visits British Major Kensington (Trevor Howard), a qualified psychiatrist who also considers Winston to be psychopathic but has been warned not to interfere. Kensington believes Winston killed Quinn out of a feeling of victimization because Quinn, a sergeant, had the same duties as Winston, a lieutenant.
Winston, in an interview with Adams, raves that he killed Quinn for defiling the white race by consorting with a black woman. Though he despises Winston, Adams refuses to rig the trial, and he holds back his defense, waiting for Kaufman to arrive as a witness. When he learns that Kaufman has been killed in an accident on the way to the trial, Adams calls Kensington to the stand after establishing that no member of the lunacy commission is a qualified psychiatrist. As Kensington describes Winston's mental illness to the court, Winston cracks and begins raving. Adams wins his case and spends a few days of peace and happiness with nurse Davray before leaving the area. The friction between the troops is eased, and they prepare to enter battle in complete unity.
Cast
- Robert Mitchum as Lieutenant Colonel Barney Adams
- France Nuyen as Kate Davray
- Barry Sullivan as General Kempton
- Trevor Howard as Major Kensington
- Keenan Wynn as Lieutenant Winston
- Sam Wanamaker as Major Kaufman
- Alexander Knox as Colonel Burton
- Gary Cockrell as Lieutenant Morse
- Robert Nichols as Lieutenant Bender
- Michael Goodliffe as Colonel Shaw
- Errol John as Sergeant Jackson
- Paul Maxwell as Major Smith
- Lionel Murton as Captain Gunther
- Russell Napier as Colonel Thompson
- Jared Allen as Captain Dwyer
- David Bauer as Colonel Mayburt
- Edward Underdown as Major Wyclif
- Howard Marion-Crawford as Major Poole
- Al Waxman as Corporal Zimmerman
- Terence Cooper as Major Clement
- Basdeo Panday as the Indian Correspondent
References
- ↑ "Big Rental Pictures of 1964", Variety, 6 January 1965 p 39. Please note this figure is rentals accruing to distributors not total gross.
External links
- Man in the Middle at the Internet Movie Database
- Man in the Middle at Rotten Tomatoes
- Man in the Middle at AllMovie
- Man in the Middle at the TCM Movie Database
- Man in the Middle at the American Film Institute Catalog
- in the Middle.htm Man in the Middle at Box Office Mojo
- New York Times review by Bosley Crowther, 5 March 1964