{{Short description|1932 British film by Walter Forde}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Use British English|date=May 2016}} {{Infobox film | name = Condemned to Death | image = Condemned to Death (1932 film).jpg | caption = French poster for the film | director = Walter Forde | producer = Julius Hagen | based_on = ''Jack O'Lantern'' by James Dawson and George Goodchild | writer = {{ubl|H. Fowler Mear|Bernard Merivale|Brock Williams}} | starring = {{ubl|Arthur Wontner|Gillian Lind|Gordon Harker|Cyril Raymond}} | music = Baynham Honri | cinematography = Sydney Blythe <br> William Luff | editing = Jack Harris | studio = Twickenham Film Studios | distributor = Woolf & Freedman Film Service | released = {{Film date|1932|05|30|df=yes}} | runtime = 75 minutes | country = United Kingdom | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''Condemned to Death''''' is a 1932 British crime film directed by Walter Forde and starring Arthur Wontner, Gillian Lind and Gordon Harker.<ref name="BFIsearch">{{Cite web|title=Condemned to Death|url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150027252|access-date=18 March 2026|website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/29849 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113210929/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/29849 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 January 2009 |title=Condemned to Death |publisher=British Film Institute}}</ref> It was adapted by H. Fowler Mear, Bernard Merivale and Brock Williams from the 1931 play ''Jack O'Lantern'' by James Dawson which was itself based on the 1929 novel by George Goodchild.

== Preservation status == Thought to have been lost,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Missing Believed Lost: The Great British Film Search |publisher=British Film Institute |year=1992 |isbn=0851703062 |editor-last=Eyles |editor-first=Allen |pages=40 |chapter=Condemned to Death |editor-last2=Meeker |editor-first2=David}}</ref> a cut version dubbed into French was found as a result of a 1992 British Film Institute campaign to locate missing movies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/1396223/index.html |title=Lost Then Found |author=Jo Botting |publisher=British Film Institute Screenonline |accessdate=22 February 2013}}</ref> ==Plot== A respected judge leads a double life as a murderer.

==Cast== * Arthur Wontner as Sir Charles Wallington * Gillian Lind as Kate Banting * Gordon Harker as Sam Knudge * Cyril Raymond as Jim Wrench * Jane Welsh as Sonia Wallington * Norah Howard as Gwen Banting * Edmund Gwenn as Banting * Griffith Humphreys as Professor Michaels * T. Gordon Blythe as Ali * James Cunningham as Inspector Sweeting * Gilbert Davis as Doctor Cornell * Bernard Brunel as Tobias Lantern * H. St. Barbe West as Sir Rudolph Cantler

== Reception == ''Film Weekly'' wrote: "A vain romance runs through the theme, but it is nebulous rather than active, the action being mostly confined in the disastrous consequences which follow the murderer's eerie influence. Walter Forde's direction is patchy, and the film is weakened by the poor performances of Cyril Raymond, Gillian Lind and Jane Welch."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=27 May 1932 |title=Condemned to Death |volume=7 |issue=189 |pages=28-29. |id={{ProQuest|1705173747}} |magazine=Film Weekly}}</ref>

''Kine Weekly'' wrote: "This arresting murder mystery drama is, when you get down to fundamentals, an extravagant study in posthumous hypnotism, but its fantastic theme is presented with such conviction that tension is always held. Walter Forde has handled his plot cleverly, and it is this, together with sterling characterisations by a strong cast, that results in a convincing atmosphere.&nbsp;... Arthur Wontner plays the dual personality role with skill and understanding, and always retains a cultivated sense of dignity. Cyril Raymond is well cast as Wrench, Edmund Gwenn and Gordon Harker are excellent as two hardened criminals, Griffiths Humphreys convinces as the professor, and Jane Welsh and Gillian Lind are both good in the only feminine roles."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=28 January 1932 |title=Condemned to Death |volume=179 |issue=1293 |pages=29 |id={{ProQuest|2320680578}} |magazine=Kine Weekly}}</ref>

''The Daily Film Renter'' wrote: "Good thriller, deviating from worn track of murder mysteries, and likely to please generally. Arthur Wontner is star player, and exercises himself comfortably in a sort of Jekyll-and-Hyde role. The somewhat different angles of this mystery show make it a definitely good booking for all 'A' audiences."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=23 January 1932 |title=Condemned to Death |volume= |issue=1543 |pages=4 |id={{ProQuest|2594638520}} |magazine=The Daily Film Renter}}</ref>

== References == <references/>

{{Walter Forde}}

==External links== *{{IMDb title|0022776}}

Category:1932 films Category:1932 crime films Category:British films based on plays Category:Films based on British novels Category:Films directed by Walter Forde Category:Films shot at Twickenham Film Studios Category:Films based on multiple works Category:1930s rediscovered films Category:British black-and-white films Category:British crime films Category:Rediscovered British films Category:Films set in London Category:1932 English-language films Category:1932 British films Category:English-language crime films