Escort for Hire

Last updated
Escort for Hire
"Escort for Hire" (1960).jpeg
Directed by Godfrey Grayson
Written byMark Grantham
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography James Wilson (as Jimmy Wilson)
Edited by Desmond Saunders
Music by Tony Crombie (uncredited)
Production
company
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (UK)
Release date
  • December 1960 (1960-12)
Running time
66 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Escort for Hire is a low budget 'B' [1] 1960 British thriller film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring June Thorburn, Pete Murray, Noel Trevarthen, Jan Holden and Peter Butterworth. [2] [3] [4] It was written by Mark Grantham and produced by the Danzigers.

Contents

Plot

Unemployed actor Steve gets a job with Miss Kennedy's agency as an escort-bodyguard, but ends up being framed for murder after a wealthy client, Miss Elizabeth Quinn, is killed. [5]

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The film, dating some way back in the Danziger assembly line, is hardly more than a grab-bag of assorted clichés – from the gag about the short-sighted socialite (played with predatory relish by Jill Melford) to the "surprise" identity of the killer. But it's generally briskly handled and has a Technicolor veneer which, while it may not bear close inspection, still manages to suggest expertise behind the scenes. Pete Murray's crudely comic performance as Buzz is mercilessly irritating, but the rest of the cast go through the motions likeably enough." [6]

Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film described the film as: "mildly entertaining, but the plot is full of coincidences and perfunctory causality." [1]

TV Guide wrote, "this routine British crime melodrama is slightly enhanced by Technicolor." [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Tell-Tale Heart</i> (1960 film) 1960 British film

The Tell-Tale Heart is a 1960 British horror film directed by Ernest Morris produced by the Danzigers. The screenplay by Brian Clemens and Eldon Howard is a loose adaptation of the 1843 short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe. The film was released in England in December 1960, and in the U.S. in February 1962 as The Hidden Room of 1,000 Horrors.

<i>Theres Always a Thursday</i> 1957 British film by Charles Saunders

There's Always a Thursday is a 1957 British comedy crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Charles Victor, Jill Ireland, Lloyd Lamble and Robert Raglan.

<i>The End of the Line</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film by Charles Saunders

The End of the Line is a 1957 British second feature crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Alan Baxter, Barbara Shelley, Ferdy Mayne and Jennifer Jayne. It was released in the USA in 1959.

<i>The Durant Affair</i> 1962 British film by Godfrey Grayson

The Durant Affair is a 1962 British 'B' drama film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Jane Griffiths, Conrad Phillips and Nigel Green.

<i>Paul Temples Triumph</i> 1950 British film by Maclean Rogers

Paul Temple's Triumph is a 1950 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley, Dinah Sheridan and Jack Livesey. It was the third in the series of four Paul Temple films made at Nettlefold Studios and was an adaptation of the Francis Durbridge radio serial News of Paul Temple (1939). Temple is on the trail of a gang of international criminals trying to steal atomic secrets.

<i>The Spiders Web</i> (1960 film) 1960 British film by Godfrey Grayson

The Spider's Web is a 1960 British mystery film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Glynis Johns, John Justin, Cicely Courtneidge and Jack Hulbert. It is an adaptation of the 1954 play Spider's Web by Agatha Christie, and a rare Technicolor 'A' feature from the Danzigers. It was remade as a television special starring Penelope Keith that was broadcast on 26 December 1982.

<i>The Lamp in Assassin Mews</i> 1962 British film by Godfrey Grayson

The Lamp in Assassin Mews is a 1962 'B' British comedy crime film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Francis Matthews, Lisa Daniely and Ian Fleming.

<i>Star of My Night</i> 1954 British film by Paul Dickson

Star of My Night is a 1954 British romance film directed by Paul Dickson and starring Griffith Jones, Kathleen Byron and Hugh Williams. It was written by Paul Tabori from his 1957 novel Le Soleil de ma Nuit. It concerns a sculptor who becomes romantically involved with a ballerina. It was produced as a second feature by the Danziger Brothers, although it had a more established cast than many.

<i>Night Train for Inverness</i> 1960 British film by Ernest Morris

Night Train for Inverness is a black and white 1960 British drama film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Norman Wooland, Jane Hylton and Dennis Waterman.

<i>An Honourable Murder</i> 1960 British film by Godfrey Grayson

An Honourable Murder is a 1960 British second feature ('B') drama film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Norman Wooland, Margaretta Scott and Lisa Daniely. It was written by Brian Clemens and Eldon Howard.

<i>Design for Loving</i> 1962 British film by Godfrey Grayson

Design for Loving is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring June Thorburn, Pete Murray and Soraya Rafat.

<i>Many Tanks Mr. Atkins</i> 1938 film

Many Tanks Mr. Atkins is a 1938 British comedy war film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Claude Hulbert, Reginald Purdell and Barbara Greene.

Eldon Howard was a British screenwriter. She was the mother-in-law of Edward J. Danziger and wrote a number of the screenplays for films by his company Danziger Productions.

Feet of Clay is a 1960 British crime film directed by Frank Marshall, written by Mark Grantham, and starring Vincent Ball, Wendy Williams and Hilda Fenemore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Danzigers</span>

Edward J. Danziger (1909–1999) and Harry Lee Danziger (1913–2005) were American-born brothers who produced many British films and TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s.

<i>A Taste of Money</i> 1960 British film by Max Varnel

A Taste of Money is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Max Varnel and starring Jean Cadell, Dick Emery and Pete Murray. It was produced by the Danzigers.

<i>Sentenced for Life</i> (1960 film) 1960 British film by Max Varnel

Sentenced for Life is a low budget 1960 British second feature crime film directed by Max Varnel and starring Basil Dignam, Jack Gwillim, Francis Matthews, and Jill Williams.

<i>Girls of the Latin Quarter</i> 1960 British film Alfred Travers

Girls of the Latin Quarter is a 1960 British second feature ('B') musical film directed by Alfred Travers and starring Bernard Hunter, Jill Ireland and Sheldon Lawrence. Itwas written by Brad Ashton, Alfred Travers and DIck Vosburgh.

<i>Witness in the Dark</i> 1959 British film

Witness in the Dark is a 1959 British second feature crime drama film directed by Wolf Rilla, and starring Patricia Dainton, Conrad Phillips, Madge Ryan and Nigel Green. It was produced by Norman Williams.

<i>Backfire!</i> (1962 film) 1962 British film by Paul Almond

Backfire! is a 1962 second feature British film directed by Paul Almond and starring Alfred Burke, Zena Marshall and Oliver Johnston. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it was based on a story by Edgar Wallace.

References

  1. 1 2 Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 160. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ↑ "Escort for Hire". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  3. ↑ "Escort for Hire (1960) - Godfrey Grayson - Cast and Crew - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  4. ↑ "Escort for Hire (1960)". BFI. Archived from the original on 2009-01-14.
  5. ↑ "DANZIGER FILMS". 78rpm.co.uk.
  6. ↑ "Escort for Hire". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 29 (336): 51. 1 January 1962 – via ProQuest.
  7. ↑ "Escort For Hire". TVGuide.com.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.