Directing

Max Varnel

Born — Died

1925-03-21 — 1996-01-15

Place of birth

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

Known for

Directing

Credits

23 titles

Max Varnel (21 March 1925 – 15 January 1996) was a French-born Australian film and television director who worked primarily in the United Kingdom and Australia. Born Max Le Bozec in Paris, France, he was the son of the film director Marcel Varnel. He began his career as an assistant director of The Magic Box (1951) and continued in this role for films including The Card (1952), Devil Girl from Mars (1954) and The Cockleshell Heroes (1955) His directing credits encompass a series of B movies, including Moment of Indiscretion (1958), A Woman Possessed (1958), Top Floor Girl (1959), Web of Suspicion (1959), The Child and the Killer (1959), and Crash Drive (1959). Varnel's television credits …

Known for

Behind the camera

The Child and the Killer poster
7.0

Joe Marsh (Robert Arden) is a U.S. Army captain who goes on the run in Britain after committing murder. He breaks into a family's home and forces 7-year-old Tommy Martin (Richard Williams) to guide his escape through the surrounding rural territory. A bond begins to form between the child and the desperate fugitive, but Marsh's criminal nature cannot help but show itself again before the chase comes to an end.

The Child and the Killer

1959

No artwork available
NR

The daughter of the Russian Consul vanishes. Sergeant McManus of the Missing Persons Bureau is sent to find her.

McManus MPB

1976

Odongo poster
7.0

Steve Stratton (Macdonald Carey) is a hardboiled hunter who catches and keeps wild animals in an African sanctuary in order to sell them to zoos and circuses. When he hires a new veterinarian named "P.J. Muir," he does not imagine that the "P" stands for Pamela, played by the gorgeous Rhonda Fleming!

Odongo

1956

The Silent Invasion poster
6.7

During WWII, a German garrison is stationed in the small French town of Mereux. French local Maria falls in love with a German captain. However, the romance comes to an abrupt end when her brother, a saboteur working for the Resistance, is killed.

The Silent Invasion

1962

The Great Van Robbery poster
5.2

Interpol detective Caesar Smith tracks robbers of the Royal Mint van. He travels to Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Paris and establishes the guilt of a London coffee importer.

The Great Van Robbery

1959

No artwork available
8.0

An elderly spinster plans a perfect robbery in Soho.

A Taste of Money

1960

Web of Suspicion poster
8.0

Schoolteacher Bradley Wells is wrongly accused of murdering a girl pupil, and is nearly lynched by angry townspeople.

Web of Suspicion

1959

A Woman Possessed poster
7.0

English doctor John Winthrop (Francis Matthews) must protect his new wife, Ann (Kay Callard), from his wealthy and entirely too overbearing mother, Katherine (Margaretta Scott), who has some strong opinions about her son's new union. But things go too far when John accuses Katherine of trying to kill Ann with medication. Could she do such a thing -- and will these three ever have a good relationship?

A Woman Possessed

1958

No artwork available
6.2

A young woman sets out to get revenge against a rich man who murdered her lover.

A Question of Suspense

1961

Fate Takes a Hand poster
6.8

When a mail bag full of post that was taken in a robbery is discovered fifteen years later, a Post Office employee and local reporter decide to deliver the letters to their original intended addressees. This solitary incident has profound ramifications on several of the recipients and this film tells the story of how just five of those letters changed peoples lives forever.

Fate Takes a Hand

1961

Return of a Stranger poster
5.5

An obsessed man returns to claim the woman he loves.

Return of a Stranger

1961

Part-Time Wife poster
6.3

Insurance salesman Tom and his wife Jenny are struggling through the first years of marriage in a modest flat, on Tom's even more modest salary. By contrast Drew, Tom's old army pal, is a footloose bachelor currently running a car-hire firm owned by his rich uncle, who lives in Canada. Since Drew's uncle makes it clear that his nephew will only inherit the business when he's a respectable married man, his upcoming visit throws Drew into a panic. Having taken a fancy to the vivacious Jenny, Drew persuades her to masquerade as his wife – an arrangement that leads the trio into some highly complicated situations!

Part-Time Wife

1961

Murder in Eden poster
5.2

Max Varnel’s British mystery thriller. After discovering a famous painting is a forgery, a noted art critic is killed by a hit-and-run driver. Starring Ray McAnally, Catherine Feller and Yvonne Buckingham.

Murder in Eden

1961

Mrs. Gibbons' Boys poster
7.0

Two convicts escape from prison, complicating life for their widowed mother when they return home to hide out.

Mrs. Gibbons' Boys

1962

Mrs. Gibbons' Boys poster
7.0

Two convicts escape from prison, complicating life for their widowed mother when they return home to hide out.

Mrs. Gibbons' Boys

1962

No artwork available
9.0

Edgar is unhappily married to rich Clare. He plots with his mistress Stella to kill Clare, as she refuses to divorce him and gives him little money. However, it is Edgar who is found murdered, and Clare has to stand trial to prove her innocence.

Links of Justice

1958

No artwork available
7.0

An ambitious and unscrupulous young woman joins an advertising agency.

Top Floor Girl

1959

Moment of Indiscretion poster
7.0

Janet Miller (Lana Morris) is a married woman caught in awkward circumstances after police investigating a murder come up with evidence, and a potentially lethal motive, which lead them to suspect her of committing the crime. Their suspicions increase when Janet is less than forthcoming about a visit she paid to a former beau. Happily, her loyal husband (Ronald Howard) swears by her innocence and quickly leaps into motion to find the real killer.

Moment of Indiscretion

1958

The Rivals poster
6.0

A pair of hoodlums steal a car in which there is a note - a ransom letter - directed to a wealthy man whose daughter has just been kidnapped. The two gangsters stole the abductor's car and when they find the note, they decide to take advantage of the situation and collect the money.

The Rivals

1963

No artwork available
7.5

An engineer is wrongly convicted of selling secrets to enemy agents and is sentenced to life in prison. Convinced it was his former partner who framed him, he enlists his son to investigate.

Sentenced for Life

1960

No artwork available
9.0

In this crime drama, an impoverished but enamored bank clerk joins his brother's gang of bank robbers so he can afford to marry his sweetheart. Unfortunately, their latest caper fails and the bank clerk accidentally gets involved in a murder leaving him to take a hard look at the life he has chosen.

No Safety Ahead

1959

No artwork available
9.0

Inspector Duval comes to London to help crack the case of a socialite murdered during a jewel heist.

Enter Inspector Duval

1961

No artwork available
10.0

Paul Dixon (Dermot Walsh) is a fiercely competitive racing driver whose meteoric career is cut short after he is paralyzed in a collision. Ann, Paul's conflicted, estranged wife (Wendy Williams), tries to help her husband overcome his self-pity to become productive once again. Paul's perception of himself as a cripple is challenged by his new friend, a former dancer (Anton Rodgers), who urges Paul to strive for rehabilitation and new goals. [Netflix]

Crash Drive

1959