British Council Logo UK Films Database
Project Detail

Fifty Dead Men Walking

Synopsis

Fifty Dead Men Walking is a fast-paced action thriller set in the treacherous world that was Northern Ireland in the 1980s. Inspired by a true story, Jim Sturgess gives a raw, mesmerising performance as young Martin McGartland, a young lad from West Belfast who is recruited by the British police to spy on the IRA. His handler, the mentor/father figure Fergus (Sir Ben Kingsley), promises what protection he can as Martin works his way up the ranks as a volunteer for the IRA in order to feed information to the British. Martin lives his life in constant danger, wary of discovery which would lead to torture and death, and bringing his young bride and family into the firing line. His vital information saves many lives until, during what is supposed to be his final ‘job’, he is uncovered. Captured by the IRA he is tortured within an inch of his life but bleeding and barely alive he makes a dramatic escape. True to his word, Fergus breaks all the rules and protocol to save his young friend, but is he too late.

Details

Year
2009
Type of project
Features
Running time
110 mins
Format
35mm
Director
Kari Skogland
Producer
Guy Collins, Michael Ryan, Stephen Margolis, Nicole-Carmen Davis
Co-Producer
Guy Collins, Michael Ryan, Stephen Margolis, Nicole-Carmen Davis
Editor
Jim Munro
Screenwriter
Kari Skogland
Director of Photography
Jonathan Freeman
Production Designer
Eve Stewart
Sound
Anke Bakker, Kris Fenske
Composer
Ben Mink
Principal cast
Sir Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess, Natalie Press

Genre

Action

Categories

Fiction

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Future Films

76 Dean Street
London W1D 3SQ
UK

T +44 (0)20 7518 8230

info@futurefilmgroup.com

Sales Company

Handmade Films International

38 Albemarle Street
London W15 4JG
UK

T +44 (0)20 7518 8230

info@handmadefilms.com

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

A transmasc driver sits in their car staring out of the window Dread

Director: Gabe Gabriel, Loren Loubser

Year: 2026

Soft-spoken transmasc driver, Toni, is used to dealing with an array of strange customers in their day-to-day work transporting locals and tourists through the economically divided City of Cape Town in their late father’s vintage Daimler. But when Claudia, a German digital nomad with blonde dreadlocks, offloads a traumatic story on a short ride across town, Toni’s car becomes dangerously possessed with Claudia’s invisible trauma demon. Inside Out Film Festival 2026 Wicked Queer: Boston's LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2026

Horror
A disturbed looking man stares straight into the camera Welcome

Director: Maryam Hamidi

Year: 2026

A famous Black actor accepts a role in a lucrative government film, but when he learns he’s starring in a welcome video for a British Internment camp, he is confronted by the devastating cost of his political indifference.

Black Drama Human Rights Scottish Thriller
A nun staring off screen at a commotion. The Country

Director: Ella Grace Kennedy

Year: 2026

In an extremist religious commune where masturbation is deemed murder, a teenage boy struggles under the harsh laws imposed upon men. Assigned to work in the communal laundry wash, he must continue to adhere to the doctrine of ‘No Reckless Abandonment’, even as doubt and fear threaten to consume him.

Horror Human Rights Thriller