The Painted Smile

Last updated

The Painted Smile
"The Painted Smile" (1962).jpg
Original British quad poster
Directed by Lance Comfort
Written by Pip and Jane Baker
Based onan original idea by Brock Williams
Produced byTom Blakeley
Starring Liz Fraser
Kenneth Griffith
Cinematography Basil Emmott
Edited byJohn Trumper
Music by Martin Slavin
Production
companies
Blakeley's Films (M/C) Ltd.
Colorama Features
Mancunian Film Corporation
Distributed byPlanet Film Distributors (UK)
Release date
  • May 1962 (1962-05)(UK)
Running time
56 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Painted Smile (US title: Murder Can Be Deadly) is a 1962 British second feature [1] thriller film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Liz Fraser, Kenneth Griffith, Peter Reynolds and Tony Wickert. [2]

Contents

Plot

Tom, a student, comes under suspicion of murder when he discovers a dead body in the flat of con artist Jo. After he touches the murder weapon, Jo convinces him it is in his interest to dispose of the body. The victim was Jo's partner in crime who has been murdered by a Soho gang boss. However, the suspicions of the police are aroused and Tom becomes the obvious suspect.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Though neatly put across, the workaday script is both pretentious and none too convincing. The main interest lies in the straight performance of Liz Fraser in an unsympathetic role, and in the efficient location work at St. Pancras Station." [3]

Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture gets quickly off the mark and, following the showmanlike night club opening, devolves into a lively battle of brains and brawn between Kleinie and the boys. Liz Fraser proves that she can act, as well as wiggle, as the far from scrupulous Jo, Tony Wickert is more than adequate as sucker Tom, Kenneth Griffith cuts a sinister figure as Kleinie, and Peter Reynolds and singer Craig Douglas score as guest artists. The chase climax is both salutary and suspenseful, and the settings are suitably varied." [4]

The Radio Times wrote: "this dreadfully dull British B-movie makes its brief running time seem like an eternity." [5]

Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film call the film an "above-average melodrama." [1]

Cinedelica called the film "engaging and without a dull moment. Good stuff." [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Suspect</i> (1960 film) 1960 English film by John and Roy Boulting

Suspect is a 1960 British 'B' thriller film directed by Roy Boulting and John Boulting and starring Tony Britton, Virginia Maskell, Peter Cushing, Ian Bannen and Donald Pleasence. It was based on the 1949 novel A Sort of Traitors by Nigel Balchin.

<i>Suspended Alibi</i> 1957 British film by Alfred Shaughnessy

Suspended Alibi is a 1957 black and white British 'B' crime film directed by Alfred Shaughnessy and starring Patrick Holt, Honor Blackman and Lloyd Lamble. The film was produced by Robert Dunbar for Act Films Ltd.

<i>The Broken Horseshoe</i> (film) 1953 film

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>Offbeat</i> (film) 1961 British film by Cliff Owen

Offbeat is a 1961 black-and-white British crime film directed by Cliff Owen and starring William Sylvester, Mai Zetterling, John Meillon and Anthony Dawson. An MI5 officer goes undercover to catch a criminal gang.

<i>The Traitor</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film by Michael McCarthy

The Traitor is a 1957 British drama film directed by Michael McCarthy and starring Donald Wolfit, Robert Bray, Jane Griffiths and Anton Diffring.

<i>Gonks Go Beat</i> 1964 British film by Robert Hartford-Davis

Gonks Go Beat is a 1964 British science fiction/musical fantasy film, directed by Robert Hartford-Davis, starring Kenneth Connor and Frank Thornton. It is loosely based on the Romeo and Juliet storyline and features 16 musical numbers performed by a variety of artists, including Lulu and The Luvvers, The Nashville Teens and the Graham Bond Organisation including Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Dick Heckstall-Smith. The film includes an early appearance by the actor Derek Thompson performing with his twin sister Elaine.

<i>Murder at 3am</i> 1953 film by Francis Searle

Murder at 3 a.m. is a 1953 British crime film second feature directed by Francis Searle and starring Dennis Price, Peggy Evans and Rex Garner. A Scotland Yard detective investigates a series of attacks on women.

<i>Rag Doll</i> (film) 1961 British film by Lance Comfort

Rag Doll, released in the USA as Young, Willing and Eager, is a 1961 British second feature crime film, directed by Lance Comfort and starring Christina Gregg, Kenneth Griffith, Jess Conrad and Hermione Baddeley.

<i>Cover Girl Killer</i> 1959 British film by Terry Bishop

Cover Girl Killer is a 1959 black and white British 'B' thriller film directed and written by Terry Bishop and starring Harry H. Corbett, Felicity Young, Victor Brooks and Spencer Teakle.

Three Steps to the Gallows is a 1953 British second feature crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Scott Brady, Mary Castle and Gabrielle Brune. It was released in the USA by Lippert Pictures as White Fire.

<i>Never Back Losers</i> 1961 British film by Robert Tronson

Never Back Losers is a 1961 British 'B' crime film directed by Robert Tronson and starring Jack Hedley, Jacqueline Ellis and Patrick Magee. The film is based on the 1929 novel The Green Ribbon by Edgar Wallace. It was one of the Edgar Wallace Mysteries series, produced at Merton Park Studios in the early 1960s.

<i>Ambush in Leopard Street</i> 1962 British film by J. Henry Piperno

Ambush in Leopard Street is a low budget 1962 British 'B' black and white crime film directed by J. Henry Piperno. It stars James Kenney, Michael Brennan, and Bruce Seton.

<i>Operation Murder</i> 1957 British film by Ernest Morris

Operation Murder is a 1957 British 'B' crime film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Tom Conway, Patrick Holt and Sandra Dorne. It was written by Brian Clemens and produced by the Danzinger brothers.

<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.

<i>My Death Is a Mockery</i> 1952 British film

My Death Is a Mockery is a 1952 British crime film directed by Tony Young and starring Donald Houston, Kathleen Byron and Bill Kerr.

<i>Night of the Prowler</i> 1962 British film by Francis Searle

Night of the Prowler is a 1962 British crime 'B' film directed by Francis Searle and starring Patrick Holt, Colette Wilde and John Horsley.

<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.

<i>Two Letter Alibi</i> 1962 British film by Robert Lynn

Two Letter Alibi is a 1962 British crime film directed by Robert Lynn and starring Peter Williams, Petra Davies and Ursula Howells.

<i>Girdle of Gold</i> 1952 British film by Montgomery Tully

Girdle of Gold is a 1952 British second feature comedy film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Esmond Knight, Maudie Edwards and Meredith Edwards.

<i>Dangerous Voyage</i> 1954 British film by Vernon Sewell

Dangerous Voyage is a 1954 British crime thriller B film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring William Lundigan, Naomi Chance and Vincent Ball. It was distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated in the UK, and in the United States by Lippert Pictures.

References

  1. 1 2 Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 107. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ↑ "The Painted Smile". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "The Painted Smile". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 29 (336): 68. 1 January 1962 – via ProQuest.
  4. ↑ "The Painted Smile". Kine Weekly . 539 (2845): 19. 12 April 1962 – via ProQuest.
  5. ↑ David Parkinson. "The Painted Smile". RadioTimes.
  6. ↑ "Cinedelica: DVD review: The Painted Smile (1962) / Rag Doll (1958)". cinedelica.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.