| Escape by Night | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | John Gilling |
| Written by | John Gilling |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Monty Berman |
| Edited by | Gerald Landau |
| Music by | Stanley Black |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Eros Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 79 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Escape by Night is a 1953 British crime film directed and written by John Gilling. [1] [2] [3]
Tom Buchan is an alcoholic journalist whose once memorable work has been destroyed by his constant drunken antics that have cost him his future. Buchan boasts to his colleagues that they report news, whilst he makes it. He sees a chance for redemption by getting the life story of Gino Rossi, an Italian crime boss on the run. He wins Rossi's confidence by tipping him off to the police coming to arrest them (after Buchan himself tipped off the police).
The highly suspicious Rossi promises Buchan the rights to his life story as they hide out in an abandoned theatre in return for Buchan, a former pilot, flying him to Italy. Through his nightclub singer girlfriend Rosetta, Rossi becomes suspicious that his brother Guillio plans to take over his gang. They are discovered by a young boy playing games by himself in the theatre; Buchan tells the boy they are Secret Service Agents and enlists the child as a junior secret agent to bring them food and supplies and to deliver Buchan's stories to his editor and messages to Rosetta.
Due to Buchan's disappearance his editor places a £500 reward in the media for news of the two men.
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Although this melodrama is, on the whole, exciting and moves fairly quickly from one situation to another, there are certain scenes, such as some in the deserted theatre, when the pace slows down and tension is lost. The acting is competent and the settings convincing, although the people themselves are not." [4]
Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture, even though its backgrounds are somewhat limited, smoothly mixes homely domestic sentiment and comedy with exuberant rough stuff, and puts a kick into its conventional chase highlight." [5]
TV Guide wrote that the "Plot moves fast enough to make viewers forget the plot holes." [6]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Speedy if not-too-credible thriller." [7]
Leslie Halliwell said: "Formula thick ear with what now seems the world's most unlikely villain – Sid James." [8]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Something of an improvement on the usual hokum churned out by low-budget expert John Gilling, this drama lacks any of the menace or desperation with which it would have been saturated by even the most pedestrian Hollywood B-movie director. Yet Sid James gives a solid performance as the vice boss on the run who holds a journalist hostage, and he is well supported by Bonar Colleano as a crusading reporter." [9]
Hell Drivers (1957) is a British film noir crime drama film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins and Patrick McGoohan. The film was produced by the Rank Organisation and Aqua Film Productions. A recently released convict takes a driver's job at a haulage company and encounters violence and corruption.
Bonar Colleano was an American-British stage and film actor based in the United Kingdom.
Susan Shaw was an English actress.
Too Many Crooks is a 1959 British black comedy film directed by Mario Zampi and starring Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Brenda De Banzie, Sidney James, Bernard Bresslaw and Vera Day.
The Man Inside is a 1958 British crime adventure film directed by John Gilling and starring Jack Palance, Anita Ekberg, Nigel Patrick, Anthony Newley and Bonar Colleano. It was produced by Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli for Warwick Film Productions. The screenplay by David Shaw was based on the 1954 novel of the same name by M. E. Chaber. It was Bonar Colleano's final film role.
Dry Rot is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey, and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount, and Sid James. The screenplay is by John Chapman, adapted from his 1954 Whitehall farce of the same name.
The Flanagan Boy is a 1953 British film noir directed by Reginald Le Borg. It was made by Hammer Film Productions and stars Barbara Payton, Tony Wright, Frederick Valk and Sid James. It was based on the 1949 novel of the same name by Max Catto.
Interpol is a 1957 British-American CinemaScope crime film noir directed by John Gilling and starring Victor Mature, Anita Ekberg, Trevor Howard, Bonar Colleano and Sid James. The screenplay was by John Paxton, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by A.J. Forrest. The film was produced by Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli for Warwick Films.
A Tale of Five Cities is a 1951 British-Italian international co-production comedy drama film directed by Romolo Marcellini, Emil E. Reinert, Wolfgang Staudte, Montgomery Tully, Irma von Cube and Géza von Cziffra. The five cities cited in the title are: Rome, Paris, Berlin, London, and Vienna.
Sailor Beware! is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Peggy Mount, Shirley Eaton and Ronald Lewis. It was released in the United States by Distributors Corporation of America in 1957 as Panic in the Parlor.
Dancing with Crime is a 1947 British film noir film directed by John Paddy Carstairs, starring Richard Attenborough, Barry K. Barnes and Sheila Sim. A man hunts down the killer of his lifelong friend.
The Stranglers of Bombay is a 1959 British adventure horror film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Guy Rolfe, Allan Cuthbertson and Andrew Cruickshank. It was written by David Z. Goodman and produced by Hammer Films.
The Narrowing Circle is a 1956 British crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Paul Carpenter, Hazel Court and Russell Napier. It is based on the 1954 novel of the same title by Julian Symons. A crime writer finds himself framed for murder.
A Touch of the Sun is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Frankie Howerd, Ruby Murray and Dennis Price.
The Gang's All Here is a 1939 British black-and-white comedy-mystery, directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jack Buchanan and Googie Withers. It was produced by Associated British Picture Corporation and released in the U.S. in 1943 as The Amazing Mr. Forrest.
The Wedding of Lilli Marlene is a 1953 British drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Lisa Daniely, Hugh McDermott and Sid James. It was a sequel to the 1950 film Lilli Marlene, also directed by Crabtree.
Child in the House is a 1956 British drama film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Phyllis Calvert, Eric Portman and Stanley Baker. It is based on the novel A Child in the House by Janet McNeill. A girl struggles to cope with her uncaring relatives.
Escape Route is a 1952 British black-and-white second feature thriller film, directed by Seymour Friedman and Peter Graham Scott, and starring George Raft, Sally Gray and Clifford Evans.
Michael Creighton Balfour was an English actor, working mainly in British films and TV, following his TV debut in the BBC's The Marvellous History of St Bernard, in 1938. He was a recognisable face, often in small character parts and supporting roles, in nearly two hundred films and TV shows, from the 1940s to the 1990s, often playing comical heavies or otherwise shady characters notable for their "loud" clothes, sometimes convincingly cast as an American.
Death Over My Shoulder is a 1958 British 'B' crime film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Keefe Brasselle, Bonar Colleano and Jill Adams. It was written by Norman Hudis based on a story by Alyce Canfield.
 | This article related to a British film of the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about a crime thriller film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
