Impact (1963 film)

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Impact
Impact film quad poster 1963.jpeg
Quad poster
Directed by Peter Maxwell
Written byPeter Maxwell
Conrad Phillips
Produced byJohn I. Phillips
Ronald Liles
Starring Conrad Phillips
George Pastell
CinematographyGerald Moss
Edited byDavid Hawkins
Music by Johnny Gregory
Production
company
Butcher's Film Service
Distributed by Butcher's Film Service
Release date
  • 1963 (1963)
Running time
61 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Impact is a 1963 British crime thriller directed by Peter Maxwell and starring Conrad Phillips and George Pastell. [1] It was written by Maxwell and Phillips, and produced by John I. Phillips and Ronald Liles for Butcher's Film Service.

Contents

Plot

Seeking vengeance for newspaper articles written about him, crooked Soho nightclub owner "The Duke" kidnaps crime reporter Jack Moir and frames him for theft. While serving a two-year prison sentence Moir plots his revenge and, upon release, embarks on a scheme to clear his name.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A modest but adequately staged thriller, with a script which is neat enough, and keeps one nicely guessing for a time whether Charlie has turned traitor or not. If it all seems rather flat, it is probably due to the acting. George Pastell's villain, and Anita West's night-club-singer-moll, are persuasive in an orthodox way, but the rest of the cast is variable, with one or two performances which would scarcely do credit to a hard-pressed repertory company. And many a schoolboy will pounce on errors in railway detail." [2]

Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture, which presents a rugged permutation of the tit-for-tat theme, seldom lets up and the hero's battle against the villain is at once plausible and exciting. Conrad Phillips plays it cool as the determined Jack, George Pastell makes a thoroughly menacing 'Duke,' John Rees is a card as Charlie, and Linda Marlowe pleases as the loyal Diana. There are a few gay night club sequences, complete with songs, but it's the malarky in the deep freeze that gives the tabloid bite." [3]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Co-written by star Conrad Phillips and director Peter Maxwell, this was produced in a matter of days on a shoestring budget and contains no surprises as ace reporter Phillips is set up as a train robber by vengeful club boss George Pastell. Maxwell just about keeps what action there is ticking over, but he is fighting a losing battle with a cast that is substandard, even for a B-movie." [4]

References

  1. "Impact". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  2. "Impact". Monthly Film Bulletin . 30 (348): 100. 1 January 1963.
  3. "Impact". Kine Weekly . 552 (2902): 10. 16 May 1963. ProQuest   3127067086.
  4. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 455. ISBN   9780992936440.