The Bay of St Michel

The Bay of St Michel
Directed by	John Ainsworth
Written by	Christopher Davis
Produced by	Michael Williams
Starring	Keenan Wynn Mai Zetterling Ronald Howard
Cinematography	Steven Dade
Edited by	Tristam Cones
Production company	Pinewood Studios
Release date	1963 (1963)
Running time	80 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Bay of St Michel (also known as The Bay of Saint Michael, Pattern for Plunder and Operation Mermaid ^[1] ) is a 1963 British second feature ('B')^[2] film directed by John Ainsworth and starring Keenan Wynn, Mai Zetterling, Ronald Howard and Rona Anderson.^[3] It was written by Christopher Davis.

Plot

A trio of World War 2 veterans reunite to search for a lost Nazi fortune.

Cast

• Keenan Wynn as Nick Rawlings
• Mai Zetterling as Helene Bretton
• Ronald Howard as Bill Webb
• Rona Anderson as Pru Lawson
• Trader Faulkner as Dave Newton
• Victor Beaumont as man in the 'Boîte d'Or'
• Michael Peake as Captain Starkey
• Rudolph Offenbach as Father Laurent
• Paul Bogdan as General von Kreisling
• Rita Webb as Mrs Johnson, the landlady
• Murray Kash as boorish man
• Mike Jenkinson as drunken sailor
• Harvey Hall as SS officer
• Sidney Gross as barman
• Patrick Darren as Stuart
• Sally Aylward as barmaid
• Michael Landeau as French officer
• Edward Underdown as Colonel Harvey

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "An unsophisticated but quickly-moving little adventure melodrama on a hackneyed theme, which is well enough acted and has the advantage of some good location work. It owes much to its ingenious script, contrived and rather too dependent on coincidence though it be; speed, surprise and the sudden twist at the end largely help to cover these deficiencies."^[4]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Uninspired hokum programmer."^[5]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, calling it an "unassuming little thriller."^[6]

See also

• Mont-Saint-Michel

References

1. Falk, Quentin (1987). The golden gong : fifty years of the Rank Organisation, its films and its stars. Columbus Books. p. 199.
2. Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 244. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
3. "The Bay of St Michel". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
4. "The Bay of St Michel". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 30 (348): 129. 1 January 1963 – via ProQuest.
5. Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 81. ISBN 0586088946.
6. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 75. ISBN 9780992936440.

External links

• The Bay of St Michel at IMDb
• The Bay of St Michel at BFI