The Man From A.U.N.T.

Terence McDonald’s playful homage combines influences such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, with the evident influence of slapstick comedies of the silent era. The Man from A.U.N.T. is a thrilling race through the streets of Derry as a mysterious and mischievous figure makes a daring escape from a calamitous police officer who is in pursuit.

Here called ‘the city of a thousand rumours’, many locations in Derry are featured in this adventure, beginning on the city walls and concluding at the pier. In a memorable animated sequence, our Man from A.U.N.T. inadvertently sets off a cannon on the walls causing the face of the clock tower at the Guildhalll to fall off the building!

This physical comedy, like another of McDonald’s films The Fugitive (1966), was intended for screening during the intermission of local pantomime performances organised by Fr (later Bishop) Edward Daly. The films ingeniously featured cast and plots from the pantomimes who appeared first on stage, then on screen. 

This film is part of The Terence McDonald Collection. To watch more of the collection click here.