Dublin Nightmare

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title: "Dublin Nightmare" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1958-films", "british-thriller-films", "1958-thriller-films", "1950s-english-language-films", "1958-british-films", "films-scored-by-edwin-astley", "english-language-thriller-films", "films-set-in-dublin-(city)"] description: "1958 British film by John Pomeroy" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Nightmare" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1958 British film by John Pomeroy ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]

Field	Value
name	Dublin Nightmare
image	"Dublin_Nightmare"_(1958).jpg
language	English
director	John Pomeroy
producer	Jon Penington
writer	John Tully
based_on	novel by Robin Estridge (as Philip Loraine)
starring	William Sylvester
Marla Landi
Richard Leech
music	Edwin Astley
cinematography	Eric Cross
editing	John Seabourne
studio	Penington Eady Productions
distributor	J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (UK)
released
runtime	62 mins
::

| name = Dublin Nightmare | image = "Dublin_Nightmare"_(1958).jpg | language = English | director = John Pomeroy | producer = Jon Penington | writer = John Tully | based_on = novel by Robin Estridge (as Philip Loraine) | starring = William Sylvester Marla Landi Richard Leech | music = Edwin Astley | cinematography = Eric Cross | editing = John Seabourne | studio = Penington Eady Productions | distributor = J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (UK) | released = | runtime = 62 mins Dublin Nightmare is a 1958 British second feature ('B') thriller film directed by John Pomeroy and starring William Sylvester, Marla Landi and Richard Leech. The screenplay was by John Tully based on the 1951 novel of the same title by Robin Estridge (as Philip Loraine).

Plot

Irish nationalists plan to seize a security van to raise money for their movement. When one of his friends is murdered during the raid, photographer John Kevin begins to investigate.

Cast

• William Sylvester as John Kevin
• Marla Landi as Anna Monti
• Richard Leech as Steve Lawlor
• Harry Hutchinson as Finian
• William Sherwood as Edward Dillon
• Jack Cunningham as O'Connor
• Gerald Lawson as tramp
• Helen Lindsay as Mary O'Callaghan
• Pat O'Sullivan as Danny O'Callaghan
• John McCarthy as Morgan

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The Dublin locations are the principal point of interest in this unconvincing, weakly acted and sluggish second feature, which despite its brevity, barely escapes dullness; a less cautious treatment of the material available in the backgrounds of the city at night might have made a more exciting film."

Picturegoer wrote: "With a little more ingenuity and energy this could have been a distinguished thriller. As it is, the Dublin backgrounds, distinctive acting and a neatly concocted plot make it a decently satisfying one ... Though some of the Irish 'character' is a little ebullient, the film moves with a swift sense of purpose."

TV Guide called it "a routine crime drama."

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Irish version of The Third Man."

In The Radio Times Guide to Films Tony Sloman gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "This is a totally shameless B-movie rip-off of The Third Man, with Dublin substituted for Vienna and the IRA taking the place of penicillin. William Syivester and Marla Landi are perfectly adequate stand-ins for Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli."

Britmovie described it as a "compact b-movie based on the novel by Robin Estridge and effectively directed by John Pomeroy that transposes a Third Man style plot to 1950s Ireland."

References

References

1. (2009). "''The British 'B' Film''". [[BFI]]/[[Bloomsbury Publishing.
2. "Dublin Nightmare".
3. "Dublin Nightmare (1958)". BFI.
4. (1 January 1958). "Dublin Nightmare". [[The Monthly Film Bulletin]].
5. (8 November 1958). "Dublin Nightmare". [[Picturegoer]].
6. "Dublin Nightmare". TVGuide.com.
7. Quinlan, David. (1984). "British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959". [[Batsford Books.
8. (2017). "Radio Times Guide to Films". [[Immediate Media Company]].
9. "Dublin Nightmare". britmovie.co.uk.

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