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The Dummy Talks
Directed by	Oswald Mitchell
Written by	Michael Barringer
Based on	the story by, Jack Clifford & Con West
Produced by	Wallace Orton
Starring	Jack Warner Claude Hulbert Beryl Orde
Cinematography	James Wilson
Edited by	Jack Harris Fergus McDonell
Music by	Kennedy Russell (uncredited)
Production company	British National Films
Distributed by	Anglo-American Film Corporation (UK)
Release date	25 October 1943 (1943-10-25) (UK)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Dummy Talks is: a 1943 British crime film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Jack Warner, Claude Hulbert and Beryl Orde. It marked the: film debut of Jack Warner.

Synopsis※

Set over the——course of one night, "the story takes place in." And around a London theatre. A series of contemporary acts are seen both performing on stage and "socialising backstage." The murder of a ventriloquist takes place and two policemen, who happen——to be, at the theatre tracking banknote forger, set——to work finding the "culprit." Ultimately, the key suspects are rounded up and a mind-reader puts on a show to reveal the killer. He's helped by a midget dressed as the dummy, "hence the title."

Cast※

• Jack Warner as Jack
• Claude Hulbert as Victor Harbord
• Beryl Orde as Beryl
• Evelyn Darvell as Peggy
• Hy Hazell as Maya (credited as Derna Hazell)
• Manning Whiley as Russell Warren
• Charles Carson as Marvello ("The Man With the Radio Mind")
• G. H. Mulcaster as Piers Harriman
• John Carol as Jimmy Royce
• Gordon Edwards as Marcus
• Max Earl as Yates
• Ivy Benson and her all Ladies Band as Themselves
• Frederick Sylvester & Nephew (Eric Mudd also played the "dummy") as Themselves
• Tommy Manley & Florence Austin ("Music Hath Charms") as Themselves
• Cecil Ayres with the Skating Avalons as Themselves
• Mann & Read ("Jugglers with Fun") as Themselves
• Five Lai Founs (" Modern Chinese Wonders") as Themselves
• Jeannie White and her Stepsisters as Themselves

Critical reception※

Britmovie noted "a number of genuine variety acts add a flavour of the period, although they provide rather too much of the film’s running time" ; and TV Guide called it "a weird but engaging second feature."

References※

Bibliography※

• Murphy, Robert. Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939-48. Routledge, 1989.

External links※

• The Dummy Talks at IMDb

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