Operation Diplomat is a 1953 British drama film directed by John Guillermin and produced by Ernest G. Roy.[2][3][4]
Operation Diplomat | |
---|---|
Directed by | John Guillermin |
Written by | A. R. Rawlinson John Guillermin |
Based on | a story by Francis Durbridge |
Produced by | Ernest G. Roy |
Starring | Guy Rolfe |
Cinematography | Gerald Gibbs |
Edited by | Joseph Sterling |
Music by | Wilfred Burns |
Production company | Nettleford |
Distributed by | Butcher's Film Service |
Release dates | December 1953 (UK) July 1954 (US)[1] |
Running time | 70 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
This was one of Guillermin's earliest films. A profile of the director calls it "perhaps the first example of prime Guillermin ... a 70-minute programmer so tautly directed that every image counts, every detail matters, every actor's movement feels perfectly timed – a true gem."[5]
A surgeon operating on an unknown patient discovers that he is involved in the kidnapping of a British diplomat. After his personal secretary is murdered for revealing the patient's identity the police are called in.
When the film was released The Monthly Film Bulletin called it an "energetic yet improbable figure with too many points left unexplained".[6]
More recently a writer for TV Guide concluded that "this film is hard to swallow, but the non-stop action helps cover up the gaping holes in the plot",[7] and a writer for Filmink asserted that "it's crisply done".[8]