View source for Death Is a Number



{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Death is a Number
| image          = Death_Is_a_Number_film_DVD_cover_(1951-2).png
| caption        = DVD cover
| director       = Robert Henryson
| producer       = Robert Henryson
| writer         = original story & scenario by Charles K. Shaw
| starring       = {{ubl|[[Terence Alexander]]|[[Lesley Osmond]]|Denis Webb}}
| music          = Escaro Pastore
| cinematography = [[Phil Grindrod]]<br>Harry Long
| editing        =
| studio         = Delman Pictures
| distributor    = [[Adelphi Films]] (UK) (uncredited)
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|1951|11||UK}}
| runtime        = 50 minutes
| country        = United Kingdom
| language       = English
| budget         =
| gross          =
}}
'''''Death Is a Number''''' is a 1951 British [[B movie|second feature ('B')]]<ref name="Chibnall">{{Cite book |last1=Chibnall |first1=Steve |title=''The British 'B' Film'' |last2=McFarlane |first2=Brian |publisher=[[BFI]]/[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-8445-7319-6 |location=London |pages=103}}</ref> [[horror film]] directed by Robert Henryson and starring [[Terence Alexander]], [[Lesley Osmond]] and [[Peter Gawthorne]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/11578|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117100054/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/11578|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-01-17|title=Death Is a Number (1951)|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/death-is-a-number-v89000|title=Death Is a Number (1951) – Robert Henryson – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related |website=AllMovie}}</ref> It was written by Charles K. Shaw.

==Plot==
A racing driver is persecuted by the number 9.

==Cast==
* [[Terence Alexander]] as Alan Robert
*  [[Lesley Osmond]] as Joan Robert
*  [[Peter Gawthorne]] as James Gregson
*  [[Denis Webb]] as John Bridgnorth
*  [[Isabel George]] as nurse
*  [[Ingeborg von Kusserow]] as gipsy

==Critical reception==
''[[Kine Weekly]]'' wrote: "Unusual British featurette, dealing with that far-from-exact, but nevertheless fascinating science, numerology.&nbsp;... Conclusions are for from clear, but the matter, founded mainly on superstition, intrigues and should appeal to women. Reliable full-length novelty quota."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=15 November 1951 |title=Death Is a Number |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2859058997 |journal=[[Kine Weekly]] |volume=416 |issue=2316 |pages=7 |id={{ProQuest|2859058997}} |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

''[[Picturegoer]]'' called the film a "modest British novelty featurette."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=8 May 1952 |title=Death Is a Number |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1705152074 |journal=[[Picturegoer]] |volume=23 |issue= |pages=17 |id={{ProQuest|1705152074}} |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' [[David Quinlan (film critic)|David Quinlan]] rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Silly 'B' feature."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Quinlan |first=David |title=British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 |publisher=[[Batsford Books|B.T. Batsford Ltd.]] |year=1984 |isbn=0-7134-1874-5 |location=London |pages=299}}</ref>

''[[TV Guide]]'' rated the film two out of five stars, noting an "Okay, if forgotten, melodrama."<ref>{{cite web |title=Death Is A Number |url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/death-is-a-number/review/112560/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619012925/https://www.tvguide.com/movies/death-is-a-number/review/112560/ |archive-date=19 June 2018 |website=TVGuide.com}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0204248}}

[[Category:1951 films]]
[[Category:1951 horror films]]
[[Category:British horror drama films]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:1951 English-language films]]
[[Category:1951 British films]]
[[Category:English-language horror films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Death Is a Number|access_date=2026-03-02}}