Silent Dust

This taut post-war drama is highly engaging thanks to commanding performances by the leads, and an unexpected twist that throws the plot in a different direction entirely.

When wealthy and blind Sir Robert Rawley (Stephen Murray) plans on building a sports pavilion to the memory of his beloved son Simon, killed in action during WW2, it causes controversy amongst the local villagers who feel that the pavilion should be dedicated to all the other young men from the village who gave their life during the conflict. But despite protests even from his own family members Rawley is determined to go ahead with the memorial. Meanwhile, Simon’s young widow Angela (Sally Gray) has fallen in love with Maxwell Oliver (Derek Farr), the son of a local doctor. Since Rawley disapproves of the liaison with the argument that Angela should remain faithful to Simon, even though he’s dead, Angela and Maxwell dare not reveal that they got secretly married in Berlin. Only Rawley’s wife Joan (Beatrice Campbell) tries to change the mind of the stubborn and heartbroken old man who still is obsessed with the memory of his son.

That evening, Rawley senses an intruder in the house. At the same moment, Angela enters the living room and recognises none other than the ‘dead’ Simon (Nigel Patrick) in the intruder. Pretending that everything is fine, the shocked Angela decides not to say anything to her father out of fear that the sudden return might have serious consequences for his health. However, she does share the secret with Joan. Both women agree that Rawley must not find out that Simon is still alive and hide him in his former room. Meanwhile, Angela comes to learn that Simon, believed to have died a hero’s death on the battlefield in Normandy, had in fact deserted the army and lead a life on the run ever since, keeping his head above water by turning nasty tricks, stealing a car and killing the driver in the process. In short, the police are after him! Angela is repulsed by what Simon has become but once again promises to shield their father from the truth.
Things take a sinister turn however when Simon comes to realise that Angela has re-married, and that her new husband stays in fact in the family house. He blackmails the couple into paying him a large sum of money so he can start a new life, or he will reveal himself to his father AND tell him of his sister’s secret marriage to Maxwell. As the rest of the family desperately attempt to keep Simon hidden while at the same time they try to get rid of him without having to pay the money, Sir Rawley feels that something is very wrong and begins to wonder why those around him act so strangely…

This tense psychological drama started out as a stage play, and that much is still evident: the film’s entire ‘action’ takes place inside and outside the Rawley family estate. Stephen Murray as the doting father who is blind in more than just one way, and Nigel Patrick as the ‘lost son’ who turns his father’s obsession into a mockery deliver outstanding performances.

SPECIAL FEATURES include: Original theatrical trailer, and Instant Play Facility.