Alias John Preston

Alias John Preston is a 1955 British 'B' thriller film directed by David MacDonald and starring Christopher Lee, Betta St. John and Alexander Knox. A mysterious and wealthy man moves to a small village where he outwardly appears to be a friendly figure but nurses a dangerous secret.

Cast

 * Christopher Lee as John Preston
 * Betta St. John as Sally Sandford
 * Alexander Knox as Doctor Peter Walton
 * Sandra Dorne as Maria
 * Patrick Holt as Sylvia's husband in dream (as Pat Holt)
 * John Stuart as Doctor Underwood
 * Bill Fraser as Joe Newton
 * Peter Grant as Bob Newton
 * Betty Ann Davies as Mrs Sandford
 * John Longden as Richard Sandford

Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This static and stagey melodrama is unimaginatively handled, finishing with a trick ending which explains remarkably little. Alexander Knox, as the psychiatrist, brings some degree of plausibility to the proceedings, but the playing generally is characterless."

Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film wrote: "It was a pretty botched job, over-played and under-plotted."

Leslie Halliwell said: "Watchable second feature."

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "poor", writing: "Dreary, turgid drama: seems much longer than it is."

TV Guide called the film "a poorly developed psychological drama", while Allmovie described it as "an average psychological mystery worth watching for the good performances."

In Offbeat: British Cinema's Curiosities, Obscurities and Forgotten Items, Jennifer Wallis wrote: "The Danzingers' high speed production accounts for the short running time. ...In the context of such whistle-stop production, Alias John Preston is an impressive feat, and in no way a bad film per se. Its tightly compacted plot and self-conscious intensity, though, tire the viewer before becoming somewhat infuriating in their transparency."