THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED [1963 / 2022] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
From The World War II Secret Files!
British cinema legend Stanley Baker's intense persona and rugged charm are brought to the fore in this gripping tale of Cold War espionage, where he plays a son in search of his missing father. Co-starring Peter Cushing, Mai Zetterling and Eric Portman. ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ is featured here with a brand-new High Definition remaster from original film elements in its original theatrical 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
In London, jazz musician Joe Newman receives a startling telephone call from his German father, a man he believed long dead. At the same time, a funeral is taking place in a quiet Bavarian town – and the coffin bears the name of his father! Joe Newman's search for the truth proves more disturbing than he could ever have imagined.
FILM FACT: ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ was based on a 1959 ITV series of the same name.
Cast: Stanley Baker, Georgina Ward, Peter Cushing, Mai Zetterling, Eric Portman, Niall MacGinnis, Nigel Green, Barbara Everest, Harold Scott, Martin Boddey (uncredited), Alfred Burke (uncredited), Danny Grover (uncredited), George Herbert (uncredited), John Longden (uncredited), Fred McNaughton (uncredited), James Ottaway (uncredited), Miriam Pritchett (uncredited), Bob Ryan (uncredited), Ivor Salter (uncredited), Anthony Sheppard (uncredited), Frank Sieman (uncredited), Maya Sorell (uncredited), Larry Taylor (uncredited), Mela White (uncredited), Brian Wilde (uncredited) and Fred Wood (uncredited)
Director: Quentin Lawrence
Producer: Norman Williams
Screenplay: Lewis Greifer (screenplay/from an original idea) and Louis Marks (screenplay)
Composer: Philip Green
Costume and Wardrobe Department: Anthony Mendleson (Miss Zetterling's dress designer) and Jackie Cummins (wardrobe mistress)
Cinematography: Stephen Dade, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Anamorphic)
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 100 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Lion International Films Ltd. / British Lion Films Ltd. / StudioCanal / Network
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ [1963] is based on a 1959 British TV serial and the story is very much in the tradition of the spy thrillers of Eric Ambler, with a very ordinary man suddenly becoming caught up in events that are beyond his comprehension and control. German-born Brit Joe Newman [Stanley Baker] is an English jazz pianist who has come to Germany in response to a letter from his father. This is decidedly odd, since his father died twenty years before. Or so he had always believed. It’s all a bit rum because, as far as he was aware, his father had died 20 years earlier on the Eastern Front.
If a British film opens with a horse-drawn hearse in a Bavarian town and features a few of corpse exhumations, then you won’t be surprised to see Peter Cushing and a couple of veterans in the cast list. In fact, you’d be forgiven for assuming ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ is a hoary old Brit-horror. But actually, it isn’t. Then again, maybe it is; and there’s more horror here than our imagination can easily conjure up. It’s a taut mystery thriller with a top-notch cast that is very much a product of the Cold War.
Joe Newman has not always been Joe Newman and was born Joachim Deutsch. His mother had taken him to England when the war broke out. Joe Newman has grown up as an Englishman although he has always known that he was German-born. His father, a soldier in the German army, had been killed in action.
Now it transpires that his father, Kurt Deutsch, had in fact been captured by the Russians and spent years in a Russian prison camp, finally escaping a couple of years ago. But when Joe Newman arrives in Germany he is told that he is too late, his father died two days earlier.
Joe Newman is somewhat surprised to find that his father has left a young widow. Kurt Deutsch and his young wife Lisa Deutsch [Mai Zetterling] had been living in the home of Dr. Peter von Brecht [Peter Cushing], a wealthy philanthropic doctor who is in charge of a displaced persons camp.
Now it transpires that his father, Kurt Deutsch, had in fact been captured by the Russians and spent years in a Russian prison camp, finally escaping a couple of years ago. But when Newman arrives in Germany he is told that he is too late, his father died two days earlier.
There certainly has been a conspiracy but Joe Newman is on the right track, and at the same time on the wrong track. He is right in thinking that things are not what they seem to be but the real truth will only be revealed after several further major plot twists.
Peter Cushing is in fine form as the charming Dr Peter von Brecht, a man who is a little too good to be true. Peter Cushing gives his character a sinister edge but keeps it subtle. Eric Portman as Inspector Hofmeister proves capable of matching Joe Newman’s stubbornness. He does not like amateurs telling him how to do his job.
Mai Zetterling provides good support as Lisa Deutsch. Georgina Ward as Maria Wienewski got her first film role as a girl from the displaced persons camp caught up in in events she doesn’t understand. Georgina Ward subsequently appeared mostly in television role until her career petered out in the early 1970’s. Nigel Green’s role as Sgt. Hirsch is unfortunately a minor one but it’s always fun to see this British actor.
‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ is a fine example of the excellent thrillers the British film industry seemed to be about to turn out at will from the late 1940’s to the early 1960’s. This one is a spy thriller made in 1963 although the spy theme does not become apparent until quite late in the film. One of the film’s strength is its atmosphere because the war hangs over the film like a dark shadow.
The German setting evokes both the Second World War and the Cold War and the sense of post-war disillusionment and the lingering sense of guilt, the idea that heroes might not be as heroic as hoped and that instead of creating a clean new world the war had left a legacy of moral ambiguity. There’s a sense throughout the film that the secrets of past may come back to haunt us.
‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ is tightly directed and the gloomy monochrome really captures the feeling that you just have to scratch the surface to find something far worse than you’d find in the supernatural. The plot’s intriguing and there are some fine performances from the illustrious cast with special mention to Eric Portman and Nigel Green as the cynical cops who’ve been maintaining law and order since the war.
Director Quentin Lawrence made only a couple of films but had a prolific career as a television director. Quentin Lawrence’s approach is efficient if not particularly inspired. Quentin Lawrence does handle the climactic action scene on the train very capably and you really can’t go wrong ending a thriller on a train.
Arguably this is a film is well worth viewing because it has the true gothic film actors like Peter Cushing and Niall MacGinnis in it to add to the spooky ambience, but if you like a story with lots of twists and turns and want to visit another time and place, you really might want to give this film a go. British Lion Films and Network have done a fine job with the transfer here and it’s a pleasure to watch. You want horror? Just remember that the real world can be far worse than anything you might find in a haunted castle.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Image Quality – Lion International Films Ltd., British Lion Films Ltd., StudioCanal and Network presents us the film ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ with a pristine stunning black-and-white 1080p image and equally enhanced with an equally stunning 2.35:1 aspect ratio. We are informed that ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ has been newly transferred in High Definition from a 35mm Internegative in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Although some image restoration work was carried out, the picture image still displays many faults, including colour fluctuations, dirt, scratched, film movement, light drops and missing frames amongst other issues. But despite this situation, it still does not spoil this brilliant 1962 unusual British mysterious thriller. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Lion International Films Ltd., British Lion Films Ltd., StudioCanal and Network brings us the film ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ with just one standard 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio experience. The audio is nicely rounded and also gives us a good dynamic range and is also very clear, well-modulated sound with no distortion or age-related surface noise, pops, or crackles. Subtleties, such as the delicate chirping of birds and shuffling of feet, are nicely rendered, while sonic sounds like gunfire, thunder, and the slamming of cell doors provide some good audio presentation. Philip Green’s robust and dramatic film music score fills the room with great ease, and all the soft-spoken dialogue is very easy to understand. So all in all, is a very good effort on the part of Lion International Films Ltd., British Lion Films Ltd., StudioCanal and Network!
* * * * *
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: The Boy Who Earned His Reward [2021] [1080p] [1.78:1] [4:45] With this featurette, we have a brand new interview with actor Danny Grover who auditioned to play the character Karl Eisler in the film ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ and had three scenes in the film but you mainly see him bringing the abandoned lost dog into the police station to get his reward with the actor Stanley Baker behind the actor sitting on a bench, but also appeared in two other scenes in the film playing cowboys with replica guns with another friend.
* * * * *
Special Feature: ATV Drama: A Fear of Strangers [1964] [480i] [1.37:1] [52:41] With this featurette, alongside his film work, Stanley Baker was also a notable presence on British television from the 1950’s onwards. In this rarely-seen black-and-white play from 1964, Stanley Baker stars alongside Earl Cameron, where both actors give really memorable powerful performances – where Stanley Baker plays a racist policeman and Earl Cameron plays a black saxophonist musician who is arrested for murder. In an interview Earl Cameron described the play as “a very good, strong two-hander, but described the earlier live television transmission as ...a nightmare and nerve-racking.” Although written in 1958 it was banned for six years. Original ITV Transmission was on the 10th May, 1964.
Cast: Stanley Baker, Earl Cameron, Garfield Morgan, Peter Williams, Neil Wilson and Ray Austin
Director: Herbert Wise
Screenplay: Leon Griffiths
Composer: Jack Parnell
Image Resolution: 480i (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 52 minutes and 41 seconds
* * * * *
Special Feature: Image Gallery [1962] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:62] With this featurette, we get to view different images relating to the British film ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ and includes English and Overseas Posters, Black-and-White promotional images relating to the film and there are a total of 26 images.
* * * * *
Special Feature: Original Theatrical Film Trailers [1981 / 1962] [480i] [1.78:1] [6:41] With this featurette, we get t view two Original Theatrical Film Trailers and they include ‘All Night Long’ and Station Six Sahara.’
* * * * *
BONUS: Reversible printed Blu-ray cover featuring original artwork for the film ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED.’
PLUS: A beautiful collector’s 16 page booklet featuring new writing on the film entitled Telling Lies: The Man Who Finally Died (1963) by Neil Sinyard and interspersed with headings like Introduction. The Original Television Series. Spoiler Alert: The Revelation. Conclusion. It also includes: The Cast. The Story. Technical Credits. Plus some black-and-white promotional images from the film.
Finally, ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ is structurally not hard to see the televisual origins. The plot works itself up to series of twists and revelations that function as mini-cliff-hangers. Similarly, the parade of British actors provides a host of extended cameos that would have acted as single-episode guest appearances in the TV series. Be aware, however, that this doesn’t prove true in every case; fans of Peter Cushing, for example, can look forward to a sufficiently meaty supporting turn. And yet ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ also tries it very hardest to be as cinematic as possible. The black-and-white anamorphic cinematography by Stephen Dade is the most obvious example, though Stanley Baker’s muscular performance goes a long way too. Donning shades for the most part, Stanley Baker ups the machismo and is quite watchable. In fact the entire film is solidly entertaining. It’s no classic, but with that cast and enough proficient filmmaking going on behind the scenes, it certainly warrants a look. ‘THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED’ is another welcome release of a forgotten gem from Network. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
