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 date
|
5 February 1964 |
|
Running time
|
94 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,000,000 (US/ Canada) |
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.
Friction develops between American and British troops stationed in India during World War II and culminates in physical outbreaks between the troops when, in 1944, American 2nd Lieutenant Winston (Keenan Wynn) shoots unarmed British Staff Sergeant Quinn (Bill Mitchell) multiple times seemingly without provocation before 11 witnesses. American General Kempton (Barry Sullivan) assigns Lieutenant Colonel Barney Adams (Robert Mitchum) to defend Winston at his court-martial because, even though everyone thinks it is an open-and-shut case, the general wants Adams to put up a vigorous defense to make it clear that the verdict is not simply a sop to reduce tensions between the two armies before a major offensive against the real enemy. Adams later finds out that Winston's brother-in-law, a Congressman, has been applying pressure.
The Army Lunacy Commission has found Winston fit and sane. However, 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.
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Wikipedia