Silent Dust

War steals honor rather than life in Lance Comfort’s Silent Dust in which World War II veteran Simon Rawley (Nigel Patrick) has faked his death on the battlefield in favor of a life of desertion and depravity. When he arrives home looking for money, he finds his wife Angela (Sally Gray) remarried and his proud father Robert (Stephen Murray) building a war memorial in town dedicated to his “hero” of a son. With his presence hidden from Robert, who’s blind and would be devastated to learn of his son’s duplicity, Simon fabricates explanations of his absence for the incredulous women of the house who see through his extortion efforts. Episodes of expressionistic cinematography (Simon’s breaking and entering, the postwar flashbacks) alternate with picturesque compositions in the stately English mansion; visual stylistics peak during Robert’s surreal recollections of all the audible clues that point to his son being somewhere in the house.