Mantrap (1953 film)

Mantrap, released in the United States as Man in Hiding, is a 1953 British second feature whodunit directed by Terence Fisher, starring Paul Henreid and Lois Maxwell.

Plot
A falsely convicted murderer escapes prison to seek out the real killer and to clear his name.

Cast

 * Paul Henreid as Hugo Bishop
 * Lois Maxwell as Thelma Speight
 * Kieron Moore as Speight
 * Hugh Sinclair as Maurice Jerrard
 * Lloyd Lamble as Inspector Frisnay
 * Anthony Forwood as Rex
 * Bill Travers as Victor Tasman
 * Mary Laura Wood as Susie Martin
 * Kay Kendall as Vera Gorringe
 * Conrad Phillips as Det. Sgt. Barker
 * John Stuart as doctor

Production
The film was based on the 1952 novel Queen in Danger by Elleston Trevor. It was made by Hammer Films and shot at the Bray Studios and on location in London, mostly near St Paul's Cathedral.

Paul Henreid had previously made Stolen Face (1952) for the Lipperts for the same low salary and percentage of the profits.

Critical reception
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Good cast adrift in an archly contrived thriller."

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Paul Henreid, that oily smoothie from Casablanca [1942] and Now, Voyager [1942], here washes up in the torrid, tawdry, cheapskate world of the British quota quickie. Lois Maxwell plays a wife who changes her name and begins a new life after her husband is convicted of murder. When he escapes, she goes to private detective Henreid for help. Maxwell later found fame as Miss Moneypenny in the Bond films."