The Big Chance (1957 British film)

Last updated

The Big Chance
The Big Chance 1957 1.jpg
British film poster
Directed by Peter Graham Scott
Written by
Based onnovel The Big Chance by Pamela Barrington [1]
Produced by
  • John Temple-Smith
  • Francis Edge (uncredited)
Starring
Cinematography Walter J. Harvey
Edited byTom Simpson
Music by Eric Spear
Production
company
Major Pictures
Distributed by J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (UK)
Release date
  • September 1957 (1957-09)(UK)
Running time
59 minutes
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish

The Big Chance is a 1957 black and white British drama film directed by Peter Graham Scott. It stars Adrienne Corri, William Russell, and Ian Colin. [2] [3]

Contents

Plot

Bill Anderson is disillusioned with his job as a travel agent and married life with a wife who is content with a quiet life. When a customer calls to postpone his flight, Anderson decides to escape it all by using the customer's ticket as booked and assuming the identity of the man, who left his passport because it required renewing. This has conveniently coincided with him taking over control of his employer's safe in which is stored all the foreign currency, which they supply to customers leaving the country. He makes two falsely initialled briefcases to use in a scheme to get the currency illegally past airport customs. He stays late on a Friday night after everybody else has left and, after emptying the safe of the currency, he heads to the airport for his flight to Panama. However, the airport being closed down because of fog is the first of many interruptions and delays he encounters, along with a woman he meets, Diana, who is also planning to escape to a new life.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<i>Darling</i> (1965 film) 1965 British film by John Schlesinger

Darling is a 1965 British romantic drama film directed by John Schlesinger from a screenplay written by Frederic Raphael. It stars Julie Christie as Diana Scott, a young successful model and actress in Swinging London, toying with the affections of two older men, played by Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Harvey. The film was shot on location in London, Paris and Rome and at Shepperton Studios by cinematographer Kenneth Higgins, with a musical score composed by Sir John Dankworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Massey (actor)</span> English actor and performer (1933–1998)

Daniel Raymond Massey was an English actor and performer. He is possibly best known for his starring role in the British TV drama The Roads to Freedom, as Daniel, alongside Michael Bryant. He is also known for his role in the 1968 American film Star!, as Noël Coward, for which he won a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawnchair Larry flight</span> Lawnchair balloon flight

On July 2, 1982, Larry Walters made a 45-minute flight in a homemade aerostat made of an ordinary lawn chair and 42 helium-filled weather balloons. The aircraft rose to an altitude of about 16,000 feet (4,900 m), drifted from the point of liftoff in San Pedro, California, and entered controlled airspace near Long Beach Airport. During the final descent, the aircraft became entangled in power lines, but Walters was able to climb down safely. The flight attracted worldwide media attention and inspired a movie, a musical and numerous imitators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of entry</span> Place where one may lawfully enter a country

In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. International airports are usually ports of entry, as are road and rail crossings on a land border. Seaports can be used as ports of entry only if a dedicated customs presence is posted there. The choice of whether to become a port of entry is up to the civil authority controlling the port.

<i>Mary of Scotland</i> (film) 1936 film by John Ford

Mary of Scotland is a 1936 American historical drama film starring Katharine Hepburn as the 16th-century ruler Mary, Queen of Scots. Directed by John Ford, it is an adaptation of the 1933 Maxwell Anderson play, with Fredric March reprising the role of Bothwell, which he also performed on stage during the run of play. The screenplay was written by Dudley Nichols. Ginger Rogers wanted to play this role and made a screen test, but RKO rejected her request to be cast in the part feeling that the role was not suitable to her image.

<i>The Terminal</i> 2004 film directed by Steven Spielberg

The Terminal is a 2004 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stanley Tucci. The film is about an Eastern European man who is stuck in New York's John F. Kennedy Airport terminal when he is denied entry to the United States, but is unable to return to his native country because of a military coup.

<i>Big Trouble</i> (2002 film) 2002 film by Barry Sonnenfeld

Big Trouble is a 2002 American black comedy film based on the novel Big Trouble by Dave Barry. It was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and featured a large cast including Tim Allen and Rene Russo with Dennis Farina, Zooey Deschanel, Sofia Vergara and Jason Lee in supporting roles. Like much of Dave Barry's fiction, it follows a diverse group of people through a series of extremely strange and humorous situations against the backdrop of Miami. The film was a box-office bomb, and received mixed critical reception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duty-free shop</span> Type of retail outlet

A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will then pay duties and taxes in their destination country. Which products can be sold duty-free vary by jurisdiction, as well as how they can be sold, and the process of calculating the duty or refunding the duty component.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrienne Corri</span> Scottish actress (1931–2016)

Adrienne Corri was a Scottish actress.

<i>Walking Tall: Lone Justice</i> 2007 American film

Walking Tall: Lone Justice is a 2007 American action film and direct-to-video sequel to 2004's Walking Tall and Walking Tall: The Payback, the film was directed by Tripp Reed and stars Kevin Sorbo, Haley Ramm and Jennifer Sipes.

Baron Casper Gustaf Kenneth Wrede af Elimä, known as Caspar Wrede, was a Finnish theatre and film director. He was long active in the English theatre, co-founding the Royal Exchange theatre company in Manchester.

<i>Second Fiddle</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film

Second Fiddle is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters, Lisa Gastoni and Richard Wattis. The film was produced by Robert Dunbar for Act Films Ltd. It was the final film of prolific director Maurice Elvey.

<i>September Affair</i> 1950 film by William Dieterle

September Affair is a 1950 American romantic drama film directed by William Dieterle and starring Joan Fontaine, Joseph Cotten, and Jessica Tandy. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis.

<i>Wings of Danger</i> 1952 British film directed by Terence Fisher

Wings of Danger is a 1952 British second feature crime film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Zachary Scott, Robert Beatty and Kay Kendall. The screenplay, based on the 1951 novel Dead on Course by Trevor Dudley Smith and Packham Webb, concerns a pilot who is suspected of smuggling. It was released in the United States under its working title of Dead on Course.

<i>Lease of Life</i> 1954 film by Charles Frend

Lease of Life is a 1954 British drama film made by Ealing Studios and directed by Charles Frend. The film was designed as a star vehicle for Robert Donat in his return to the screen after a three-year absence.

<i>Come Fly with Me</i> (2010 TV series) British mockumentary television comedy series

Come Fly with Me is a British mockumentary television comedy series created by and starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams. Narrated by Lindsay Duncan, the series launched on 25 December 2010 on BBC One. A spoof of British documentaries Airport and Airline, the series follows the activity at a major airport and three fictional airlines: low-cost British airline ‘FlyLo’, low-cost Irish airline ‘Our Lady Air’, and major British airline ‘Great British Air’.

<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>Meet Mr. Callaghan</i> 1954 British film by Charles Saunders

Meet Mr. Callaghan is a 1954 British crime drama film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Derrick De Marney and Adrienne Corri. The screenplay was by Brock Williams, based on the 1938 play of the same name, adapted for the stage by Gerald Verner from Peter Cheyney's 1938 novelThe Urgent Hangman.

<i>Grand Exit</i> 1935 film by Erle C. Kenton

Grand Exit is a 1935 American detective mystery film with comedy elements, directed for Columbia Pictures by Erle C. Kenton, with screenplay by Bruce Manning and Lionel Houser, based on a story by Gene Towne and Graham Baker. The leads, in their second film together, are Edmund Lowe and Ann Sothern, with supporting players Onslow Stevens, Robert Middlemass and Wyrley Birch.

The 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 17 June 1995.

References

  1. Goble, Alan (1 January 1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN   9783110951943 via Google Books.
  2. Keaney, Michael F. (2008). British Film Noir Guide . McFarland. p.  15. ISBN   978-0-7864-3805-1.
  3. "The Big Chance (1957)". Archived from the original on 9 February 2019.