The Hangman Waits

The Hangman Waits is a 1947 British thriller film written, directed and produced by A. Barr Smith, starring Beatrice Campbell and John Turnbull. Shot documentary-style, the film tells the story of a murderer who comes to a grisly end.

Plot
A cinema organist murders an usherette, leaving the dismembered remains of her body in a trunk at London's Victoria Station. The News of the World newspaper promotes a search to bring the murderer to justice. While on the run, he kills a second time. Finally he throws himself to his death from the top storey of the newspaper's building.

Cast

 * John Turnbull – Inspector
 * Beatrice Campbell – Usherette
 * Hylton Allen – Night Editor, Daily Clarion
 * Anthony Baird – Sinclair
 * Vi Kaley – Old Woman in Crowd outside Queens Theatre (as Vi Kailey)
 * John Le Mesurier – newspaper worker (uncredited)

Critical reception
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "*Documentary-style study of the pursuit of a killer. Burly character actor John Turnbull's only role in films."

Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film called the film: "A gruesome slice of Grand Guignol, adding: "Somewhat unconvincingly its distributors, Butcher's, tried to emphasise the film's factual and educational credentials: 'An absorbing and thrilling exposition of Newspaper life showing how crime news is collected and presented in its various stages,' claimed the poster. Reviewers were less convinced and could recommend this only to the unsophisticated."

Releases
The film was released on DVD by Renown Pictures in 2011.