IMDb >
Seven Days to Noon (1950)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsSeven Days to Noon (1950) More at IMDbPro »
Overview
User Rating:
Directors:
Writers:
Release Date:
18 December 1950 (USA)
more
Plot:
An English scientist runs away from a research center with an atomic bomb. In a letter sent to the British...
more
| add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won Oscar.
Another 2 nominations
more
User Comments:
Intelligent And Thought Provoking
more (20 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast) | Barry Jones | ... | Professor John Malcolm Francis Willingdon |
 | André Morell | ... | Superintendent G.W. Folland |
| Hugh Cross | ... | Stephen 'Steve' Lane |
| Sheila Manahan | ... | Ann Willingdon |
| Olive Sloane | ... | Goldie Phillips |
| Joan Hickson | ... | Mrs. Emily Georgina Peckett |
| Ronald Adam | ... | Honorable Arthur Lytton - the Prime Minister |
| Marie Ney | ... | Mrs. Willingdon |
| Wyndham Goldie | ... | Vicar |
| Russell Waters | ... | Det. Davis |
| Martin Boddey | ... | Gen. Willoughby |
| Frederick Allen | ... | Himself - BBC Newsreader |
| Victor Maddern | ... | Jackson (trigger-happy soldier) |
| Geoffrey Keen | ... | Loudmouth in pub |
| Merrill Mueller | ... | American commentator: by courtesy of the National Broadcasting Company |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
94 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
First original cinema score of John Addison
more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (20 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Seven Days to Noon (1950) moreRecommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon | The World Is Not Enough | Little Red Monkey | The Small Back Room | The Fourth Angel |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Thriller section | IMDb UK section | Add this title to MyMovies |
Someone gets hold of an atomic bomb and decides to resort to blackmail . Boy I haven't seen a movie like this for almost a whole week . Can't story tellers think up something new ? Hey wait a minute the blackmailer is a white English guy called Professor Willoughby and SEVEN DAYS TO NOON was made in 1950 !
What can I say about this underrated British masterpiece ? It gives a whole new meaning to the word " Groundbreaking " , every time you see a movie like TRUE LIES featuring a bunch of nutters trying to nuke a city you know where they got the idea from . What makes SEVEN DAYS TO NOON stand out from the movies that followed it is the way it's written and directed . it'd be so easy for Willoughby to be a complete raving headcase but he's written in such a way you'll believe he existed in real life , he's someone who became a scientist to improve the lot of humanity and because of politicians he finds his work being used for destructive means . Do I see hints that this character influenced Nigel Kneale when he wrote his Quatermass stories ? Willoughby's well thought out arguments are interesting even though you might not agree with them .The scenario is helped even further by casting Barry Jones in the role , Jones being an actor who I'd no knowledge of hence I wasn't watching a well known face doing an acting performance I was watching a scientist with serious internal dilemmas . The reality is heightened even further by the Boulting brothers directing in the style of a documentary very similar to the way Fred Zimmerman later directed DAY OF THE JACKAL
As much as I've praised it there are one or two flaws . One is I couldn't take seriously the idea that the government would announce the truth and then evacuate London . Of course Willoughby not being a terrorist is essential to the plot , he won't detonate the bomb if alerted but again the government of the day would know this so why evacuate ? Think about it: Would he be more likely or less likely to press the button if there's ten million Londoners still in the city . I also found Prof Willoughby's ultimate fate very contrived
One other point of interest of this movie is that you're aware of how everything is different in Britain over the preceding decades . They'd be no need to stick posters all over London because television has become the medium for communication , ration books disappeared in 1952 and Britain still had a big enough army to spare four divsions to search for one man , so as a period piece alone SEVEN DAYS TO NOON makes interesting viewing
As a footnote the montage scenes of the soldiers combing London for Willoughby were reused for Hammer's cinema version of THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT . What makes this even more interesting is that the screenwriter of SEVEN DAYS TO NOON James Bernard ( Who won an Oscar for this screenplay along with Paul Dehn ) composed the music for THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT