The Desperate Man is a 1959 British B movie crime film directed by Peter Maxwell and starring Conrad Phillips, Jill Ireland, William Hartnell, Charles Gray and Peter Swanwick. The plot involves a writer who investigates a murder in the tower of a castle. It is adapted from the 1958 novel Beginner's Luck by Paul Somers, the writer better known as Andrew Garve.

Plot

Two reporters, Curtis (Conrad Phillips) and his girlfriend Carol (Jill Ireland), pursue jewel thief Smith (William Hartnell) through the Sussex countryside. On arriving at an ancient castle, Smith abducts Carol and holds her hostage, and Curtis is forced to assist the thief to find his buried loot.