No Trace (1950 film)

Last updated

No Trace
No Trace (1950 film).jpg
Directed by John Gilling
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMonty Berman
Edited byGerald Landau
Music by John Lanchbery
Production
company
Distributed by Eros Films (UK)
Release date
  • 8 September 1950 (1950-09-08)(UK)
Running time
76 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
Language English

No Trace is a 1950 British second feature [1] crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Hugh Sinclair, Dinah Sheridan and John Laurie. [2] A crime writer murders a blackmailer, and is then asked to help solve the case by the police. [3]

Contents

Plot

Crime novelist Robert Southley murders the man who has been blackmailing him. The police ask him to help with the investigation. When he writes a novel based on the murder, his secretary Linda discovers his guilt. Southley is about to murder Linda but the police rescue her in time.

Cast

Production

The working title of the film was Murder by the Book. [4] It was made at Twickenham Studios and on location in London and Buckinghamshire. [5]

Critical reception

Monthly Film Bulletin said "Competent acting does not compensate for weakmesses in plot construction." [6]

TV Guide wrote "Though a tightly controlled, well-paced thriller, there are few surprises; the characterizations are well played, and the direction shows a good feel for excitement". [7]

DVD Talk noted "Not a bad film as much as it is merely diverting." [8]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Unlikely, but competently-done thriller." [9]

Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film describe the film as a "proficient entertainment." [1]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "This is a better than-average 'quota quickie' from John Gilling, in which crime writer Hugh Sinclair tries to cover his tracks (and delude snooping cop John Laurie) after he kills a blackmailer from his gangland past. As we know from the outset that he won't get away with it, the fun lies in watching him make the slips that give him away to secretary Dinah Sheridan and her admirer Barry Morse." [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Last Page</i> 1952 British film by Terence Fisher

The Last Page, released in the United States as Man Bait, is a 1952 British film noir directed by Terence Fisher, starring George Brent, Marguerite Chapman and Diana Dors. The film was also known as Murder in Safety and Blonde Blackmail.

<i>The Glass Cage</i> (1955 film) 1955 British film by Montgomery Tully

The Glass Cage is a 1955 British second feature mystery film, directed by Montgomery Tully and starring John Ireland, Honor Blackman and Sid James. It was made by Hammer Film Productions. The film is based on the novel The Outsiders by A.E. Martin.

<i>A Time to Kill</i> (1955 film) 1955 British film by Charles Saunders

A Time to Kill is a 1955 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Jack Watling, Rona Anderson, John Horsley, Russell Napier, Kenneth Kent, and John Le Mesurier. It was written by Doreen Montgomery.

<i>The Broken Horseshoe</i> (film) 1953 British film by Martyn C. Webster

The Broken Horseshoe is a 1953 British "B" crime film directed by Martyn C. Webster and starring Robert Beatty, Elizabeth Sellars, Peter Coke, and Hugh Kelly. It was based on a BBC television series of the same title from the previous year. A surgeon is drawn into a murder case.

<i>The Narrowing Circle</i> 1956 British film by Charles Saunders

The Narrowing Circle is a 1956 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Paul Carpenter, Hazel Court and Russell Napier. It was written by Doreen Montgomery based on the 1954 novel of the same title by Julian Symons. A crime writer finds himself framed for murder.

<i>The Voice of Merrill</i> 1952 British film

The Voice of Merrill is a 1952 British mystery film directed by John Gilling and starring Valerie Hobson, James Robertson Justice and Edward Underdown. The Voice of Merrill was made by Tempean Films, the company owned by the film's producers Monty Berman and Robert S. Baker, which between the late 1940s and the late 1950s specialised in turning out low-budget B-movies as unpublicised second-features for the UK cinema market. On its release however, The Voice of Merrill was recognised by its distributors, Eros Films, as unusually sophisticated and stylish for a B-movie, and was elevated to the status of co-feature in cinemas. It was released in the USA the following year under the title Murder Will Out.

<i>Circumstantial Evidence</i> (1952 film) 1952 British film by Daniel Birt

Circumstantial Evidence is a 1952 British crime film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Rona Anderson, Patrick Holt and Frederick Leister. It was made as a supporting feature.

<i>House of Blackmail</i> 1953 British film by Maurice Elvey

House of Blackmail is a 1953 British second feature drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Mary Germaine, William Sylvester and Alexander Gauge. It was written by Allan MacKinnon. The plot follows a soldier and his girlfriend, who become mixed up with a blackmailer.

<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>One Jump Ahead</i> (film) 1955 British film by Charles Saunders

One Jump Ahead is a 1955 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Paul Carpenter, Diane Hart, Jill Adams and Freddie Mills. The screenplay was by Doreen Montgomery based on the 1951 novel of the same name by Robert H. Chapman.

<i>Tiger by the Tail</i> (1955 film) 1955 British crime film by John Gilling

Tiger by the Tail is a 1955 British second feature ('B') crime thriller film directed by John Gilling and starring Larry Parks, Constance Smith, Lisa Daniely and Donald Stewart. The screenplay was by Gilling and Willis Goldbeck, adapted from the 1942 novel Never Come Back by John Mair.

<i>The Gilded Cage</i> (1955 film) 1955 British film

The Gilded Cage is a 1955 second feature British crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Alex Nicol, Veronica Hurst and Clifford Evans.

<i>Recoil</i> (1953 film) 1953 British film by John Gilling

Recoil is a 1953 British 'B' crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Kieron Moore, Elizabeth Sellars and Edward Underdown.

<i>Behind the Headlines</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film by Charles Saunders

Behind the Headlines is a 1956 'B' British crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Paul Carpenter, Adrienne Corri, Hazel Court and Alfie Bass. It was written by Allan MacKinnon based on the 1955 novel Behind the Headlines by Robert Chapman.

<i>Blackout</i> (1950 film) 1950 British film by Robert S. Baker

Blackout is a 1950 British crime drama film directed by Robert S. Baker and starring Maxwell Reed and Dinah Sheridan. It was made as a supporting feature.

<i>The Scarlet Web</i> 1954 British film by Charles Saunders

The Scarlet Web is a 1954 British second feature crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Griffith Jones, Hazel Court and Zena Marshall. It was written by Doreen Montgomery.

Dark Secret is a 1949 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Dinah Sheridan, Emrys Jones and Irene Handl. It was a remake of the 1933 film The Crime at Blossoms, also directed by Rogers.

<i>Bond of Fear</i> 1956 British film by Henry Cass

Bond of Fear is a 1956 British 'B' crime drama film directed by Henry Cass and starring Dermot Walsh, Jane Barrett, and John Colicos. The screenplay was by John Gilling and Norman Hudis.

<i>Mrs. Pym of Scotland Yard</i> 1939 British film

Mrs. Pym of Scotland Yard is a 1939 British comedy-drama film directed by Fred Elles starring Mary Clare in her only title role and Nigel Patrick in his film debut. It is based on the Mrs Pym novels by Nigel Morland, and written by Morland, who re-used the title for a 1946 book.

<i>Profile</i> (1954 film) 1954 film

Profile is a 1954 British second feature thriller film directed by Francis Searle and starring John Bentley, Kathleen Byron and Thea Gregory. A murder mystery set in a magazine publishers.

References

  1. 1 2 Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 84. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. "No Trace". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  3. "No Trace (1950) - John Gilling | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie" via www.allmovie.com.
  4. "No Trace (1950)". BFI. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020.
  5. "Reelstreets | No Trace". www.reelstreets.com.
  6. "No Trace". Monthly Film Bulletin . 17 (193): 156. 1950 via ProQuest.
  7. "No Trace | TV Guide". TVGuide.com.
  8. "British Cinema: Renown Pictures Crime & Noir (Blackout, Bond of Fear, Home To Danger, Meet Mr. Callaghan, No Trace, Recoil)". DVD Talk.
  9. Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 355. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
  10. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 667. ISBN   9780992936440.