Fate Takes a Hand
1961 British film by Max Varnel
- Ronald Howard
- Christina Gregg
Production
company
company
Danziger Productions Ltd.
Release date
- February 1962 (1962-02) (UK)
Running time
Fate Takes a Hand is a 1961 British anthology drama film directed by Max Varnel and starring Ronald Howard and Christina Gregg.[1]
Plot
The recovery of a post bag stolen in a robbery fifteen years earlier has varying consequences for the lives of five of the recipients of the letters when the Post Office decides that the post should be delivered. Several lives are changed, as witnessed by a newspaper reporter and a Post Office security guard who follow up on several of the letters.
Cast
- Ronald Howard as Tony
- Christina Gregg as Karon
- Basil Dignam as Wheeler
- Willoughby Goddard as Rollenshaw
- Jack Watson as Bulldog
- Peter Butterworth as Ronnie
- Mary Laura Wood as Sandra
- Noel Trevarthen as Bob
- Sheila Whittingham as Jenny
- Michael Peake as Ross
- Laidman Browne as Maxwell
- Derek Blomfield as Briggs
- Valerie Gearon as Peggy
- Valentine Dyall as Wilson
- John Gabriel as Matt Little
- Brian Cobby as Mark
- Peter Swanwick as Preeny
- Bruce Beeby as Inspector Phillips
- Arnold Bell as Finch
- Michael Anthony as Fuller
- Carl Duering as Mike
- Liza Page as Lola
- Reginald Hearne as warder
- Peter Bennett as Max
- Angela Douglas as secretary
- Robert Webber as Wayne
- Eric Dodson as janitor
- Gilda Emmanueli as Sally
- Larry Noble as tough
- Andrew Kane as young boxer
- Martin Wyldeck as doctor
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Extravagantly unlikely omnibus film made up of five widely assorted vignettes with twist endings. The script is pat and the production values unremarkable, but the blend of comedy, drama and sentiment is bearable in an ingenuous kind of way."[2]
AllMovie called it "a throwback to the British "portmanteau" films of the 1950s."[3]
TV Guide gave the film two out of four stars, and writes that "the effect of the late letters' delivery to the recipients makes for five delightful little tales. Good performances all the way around."[4]
References
- ^ "Fate Takes a Hand". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ "Fate Takes a Hand". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 29 (336): 52. 1 January 1962 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Fate Takes a Hand (1961) - Max Varnel | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
- ^ "Fate Takes A Hand | TV Guide". TVGuide.com.
External links
- Fate Takes a Hand at IMDb
- Fate Takes a Hand then-and-now location photographs at ReelStreets
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Films produced by The Danzigers
- Jigsaw (1949)
- So Young, So Bad (1950)
- St. Benny the Dip (1951)
- Babes in Bagdad (1952)
- Devil Girl from Mars (1954)
- Star of My Night (1954)
- Alias John Preston (1955)
- Satellite in the Sky (1956)
- Three Crooked Men (1957)
- The Betrayal (1957)
- The Depraved (1957)
- Operation Murder (1957)
- Son of a Stranger (1957)
- Three Sundays to Live (1957)
- High Jump (1958)
- Innocent Meeting (1958)
- Links of Justice (1958)
- Moment of Indiscretion (1958)
- No Safety Ahead (1958)
- On the Run (1958)
- A Woman of Mystery (1958)
- The Great Van Robbery (1958)
- A Woman Possessed (1958)
- The Child and the Killer (1959)
- Crash Drive (1959)
- Date at Midnight (1959)
- Man Accused (1959)
- Top Floor Girl (1959)
- Web of Suspicion (1959)
- Date at Midnight (1959)
- Woman's Temptation (1959)
- Compelled (1960)
- Escort for Hire (1960)
- Feet of Clay (1960)
- Highway to Battle (1960)
- An Honourable Murder (1960)
- Identity Unknown (1960)
- Night Train for Inverness (1960)
- Operation Stogie (1960)
- Sentenced for Life (1960)
- The Spider's Web (1960)
- A Taste of Money (1960)
- The Tell-Tale Heart (1960)
- Transatlantic (1960)
- Two Wives at One Wedding (1960)
- The Gentle Terror (1961)
- Strip Tease Murder (1961)
- The Nudist Story a.k.a. For Members Only (1961)
- The Court Martial of Major Keller (1961)
- Fate Takes a Hand (1961)
- Middle Course (1961)
- Part-Time Wife (1961)
- Return of a Stranger (1961)
- So Evil, So Young (1961)
- Tarnished Heroes (1961)
- The Spanish Sword (1961)
- The Silent Invasion (1962)
- What Every Woman Wants (1962)
- She Always Gets Their Man (1962)
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