{{Short description|1954 British film by Vernon Sewell}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}} {{Use British English|date=June 2016}} {{Infobox film | name = The Floating Dutchman | image = "The_Floating_Dutchman"_(1952).jpg | caption = | director = Vernon Sewell | producer = William H. Williams | writer = Vernon Sewell | based_on = ''The Floating Dutchman'' by Nicolas Bentley | narrator = | starring = {{ubl|Dermot Walsh|Sydney Tafler|Mary Germaine}} | music = Eric Spear | cinematography = Josef Ambor | editing = Geoffrey Muller | studio = Merton Park Studios | distributor = Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors | released = {{Film date|1954|02|01|df=yes}} | runtime = 76 minutes | country = United Kingdom | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''The Floating Dutchman''''' (U.S. TV title: '''''Clue for a Corpse''''') is a 1954 British second feature<ref name="Chibnall">{{Cite book |last1=Chibnall |first1=Steve |title=''The British 'B' Film'' |last2=McFarlane |first2=Brian |publisher=BFI/Bloomsbury |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-8445-7319-6 |location=London |pages=145}}</ref> crime film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Dermot Walsh, Sydney Tafler and Mary Germaine.<ref name="BFIsearch">{{Cite web |title=The Floating Dutchman |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150040407 |access-date=13 January 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}</ref> It is based on a 1950 novel ''The Floating Dutchman'' by Nicholas Bentley.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goble |first1=Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yyqc0Qa6b60C&q=the+floating+dutchman+1952&pg=PA36 |title=The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film - Google Books |date=8 September 2011 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=9783110951943 |accessdate=2014-04-19}}</ref> A Scotland Yard detective goes undercover amongst jewel thieves after a dead Dutchman is found floating in the river.<ref name="one">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|date=12 January 2025|access-date=12 January 2025|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-moguls-nat-cohen-part-one-1905-56/|title=Forgotten British Moguls: Nat Cohen – Part One (1905-56)}}</ref>
The title is a pun on the legendary ghost ship, the ''Flying Dutchman''.
==Plot==
A dead Dutchman is found floating in the Thames. The police know he has been missing for a week and was connected to a notorious London fence.
Philip Reid, a musician, is ejected from a club owned by Mr Skinner for being drunk on the job, and put in a taxi. Mr James who had been talking to Skinner follows him out and joins him in the taxi with his sister Rose, who is a hostess at the club. At his flat he informs Philip that he was flashing a stolen cigarette case in the club.
Back in the club Skinner opens his wall safe and removes the items stolen a week before: but one item, the gold cigarette case, is missing – the item Philip had. He tries to deal with Otto, a Jewish fence, who ultimately offers £1000 for the jewels. Later Mr Skinner gets Philip to give the cigarette case back.
James gradually gains the confidence of Skinner, playing the role of a jewel thief. Skinner's sidekick "Snow" White still doesn't trust him.
It is revealed that Skinner has a contact, Rufo, in a posh restaurant nearby, and Skinner gets told when they are in that restaurant so Skinner can rob them. They get a name and Skinner asks James to help them rob the exclusive apartment. The maid disturbs them and they tie her up. James has informed the police and Skinner is arrested, but Snow White is somewhere in the building. Snow White works out that they were betrayed and goes back to the club. He takes Rose to his flat, where she manages to call James and tells him to hurry there.
Meanwhile Skinner escapes from jail.
When Snow White hears someone coming in he presumes it is James and turns off the light. He throws a knife at the figure entering – but it is Skinner.
==Cast== * Dermot Walsh as Alexander James * Sydney Tafler as Victor Skinner * Mary Germaine as Rose Reid * Guy Verney as "Snow" White * Hugh Morton as Inspector Cathie * James Raglan as Mr. Wynn * Nicholas Bentley as Collis * Arnold Marlé as Otto * Derek Blomfield as Philip Reid * Howard Lang as police gaoler
== Production == The film was an early product of Merton Park Studios, a British company best known for its Edgar Wallace Mysteries of the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web |date= |title=The Floating Dutchman (1953) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast |url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-floating-dutchman-v91759 |accessdate=2014-04-19 |publisher=AllMovie}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2009-04-16 |title=BFI | Film & TV Database | The FLOATING DUTCHMAN (1953) |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/33487 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115093118/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/33487 |archive-date=2009-01-15 |accessdate=2014-04-19 |publisher=Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk}}</ref>
==Critical reception== ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' wrote: "Routine crime story after the American 'B' picture style, with stereotyped adventures in some none too authentic settings."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1954 |title=The Floating Dutchman |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305814447 |journal=The Monthly Film Bulletin |volume=21 |issue=240 |pages=9 |id={{ProQuest|1305814447}} }}</ref>
In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Formula thriller."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Quinlan |first=David |title=British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 |publisher=B.T. Batsford Ltd. |year=1984 |isbn=0-7134-1874-5 |location=London |pages=310}}</ref>
TV Guide called the film a "below average crime drama."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://movies.tvguide.com/the-floating-dutchman/review/114959 |title=The Floating Dutchman Review |publisher=Movies.tvguide.com |date= |accessdate=2014-04-19}}</ref>
BFI Screenonline noted the film began, "with an opening sequence that anticipates Hitchcock's ''Frenzy'' (1972)."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/460103/ |title=BFI Screenonline: Sewell, Vernon (1903-2001) Biography |publisher=Screenonline.org.uk |date= |accessdate=2014-04-19}}</ref>
==References== <references/>
==External links== *{{IMDb title|0212164}}
{{Vernon Sewell}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Floating Dutchman, The}} Category:1954 films Category:1954 crime films Category:Films directed by Vernon Sewell Category:Films based on British novels Category:British crime films Category:British black-and-white films Category:Films scored by Eric Spear Category:Films set in London Category:1954 English-language films Category:1954 British films Category:English-language crime films