Desperate Man, The

Date: 1959
Director: Peter Maxwell
Production Company: Merton Park Studios

Stars: William Hartnell, Conrad Phillips, Jill Ireland
Location(s): Sussex

Region(s):

Storyline:

Two reporters are held hostage by thief as he looks for the jewels he had hidden after robbing a nearby house.

Additional Information:

Page compiled by Phil Wilkinson

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While out taking photographs, John Hoad (Peter Swanwick) climbs the steps up to the roof of one of the towers at Marley Castle where he come face to face with a Desperate Man. Bodiam Castle at Bodiam, Sussex.

  • Capture 2
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Passing over a hump back bridge, journalist Bill Curtis arrives in Marley. Main Street, Bodiam in Sussex with Bodiam Bridge crossing the River Rother in the left background. The bridge also appears in 'Cool it Carol'.

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The crime reporter parks up outside the village inn. The Castle Hotel on Main Street in Bodiam.

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Bill Curtis (Conrad Phillips) gets out of his Ford Consul and makes his way to the inn's doorway. Facing north from outside the Castle Hotel on Main Street, Bodiam.

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Curtis enters the bar where he orders half a bitter before asking for a room. The entrance to the Castle Hotel on Main Street in Bodiam, Sussex.

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Directed by the pub Landlord, Curtis walks to Marley Castle which he discovers is closed. With changes during the intervening years, it's difficult to match this entrance to Bodiam Castle with the current one on Main Street in the village.

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Curtis makes his way to Rose Cottage, the home of castle caretaker Mr. Figgis, whose wife tells him that a young Woman has the key and that the gate should be open.

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Making his way back to the castle, Curtis comes across Carol Bourne (Jill Ireland), a reporter from a rival newspaper.

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After Carol returns to the inn, Curtis heads towards the castle. Bodiam Castle also features in 'Interlude' as well as 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'.

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Crossing the moat, Curtis enters the through the castle's main entrance. The Main Gatehouse and North Entrance to Bodiam Castle.

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The Courtyard at the 14th-century Bodiam Castle.

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Completing his exploration of the ancient monument, Curtis goes back to the inn where he finds Miss Bourne in the bar. The North-West Tower of Bodiam Castle.

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After reading an evening newspaper article about a mystery at the castle written by Carol, Curtis meets with her the next day. The Courtyard with the North Entrance in the background.

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Investigating further, Curtis looks for a missing cannon ball in the castle's well but finds Hoad's body. The Well Room at Bodiam Castle in Sussex.

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When the police are called, Inspector Cobley (John Warwick) identifies John Hoad from items in his wallet. Bodiam Castle is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Monument owned by the National Trust since 1925.

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Curtis visits Hoad's address at the story's Downs View on Clifton Road, Brighton.

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Finding no one at home, Curtis walks across to a Neighbour who tells him that the dead man was a keen archaeologist and had a small motor boat named Snipe.

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Back at the castle, Carol and Curtis climb the steps to the north-west tower where they disturb Smith, the Desperate Man who is searching for the proceeds of a robbery that he had carried out at a local house. The doorway at the base of the North-West Tower at Bodiam Castle.

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Holding Curtis at gunpoint, Smith (William Hartnell) ducks below the parapet when a Young Couple (Brian Weske and Marion Collins) appear on an adjacent tower. Looking across from the North-West Tower to the Gatehouse at Bodiam Castle in Sussex.