For Them That Trespass

Last updated

For Them That Trespass
"For Them That Trespass" (1949).jpg
UK theatrical poster
Directed by Alberto Cavalcanti
Written by J. Lee Thompson
Based on For Them That Trespass by Ernest Raymond
Produced by Victor Skutezky
Starring
CinematographyDerick Williams
Edited by Margery Saunders
Music by Philip Green
Production
company
Distributed by Associated British-Pathé (UK)
Release date
  • 21 April 1949 (1949-04-21)(London UK)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£150,232 [1]
Box office£124,978 (UK) [2]

For Them That Trespass is a 1949 British crime film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and starring Richard Todd, Patricia Plunkett and Stephen Murray. [3] It is an adaptation of the 1944 novel of the same name by Ernest Raymond. [4]

Contents

The film's main theme is miscarriage of justice. In the film, a professional writer witnesses a murder. He decides not to testify on behalf of an innocent man accused of the crime, wishing to protect his own reputation. The innocent man spends 15 years in prison for the murder. Once released, he tries to clear his name.

Plot

Promising writer Christopher Drew conceals his relationship with a murdered woman in order to protect his career, even though this results in an innocent man going to prison for the killing.

The upper-class Drew decides he needs some first-hand experience to invigorate his work, so he explores the seedier areas of town in search of inspiration. Much to his dismay, he witnesses a murder, but he then refuses to help an innocent man, Herbert Logan, who has been arrested for the crime, because his presence in such a neighbourhood would cause a scandal. Logan is freed after serving 15 years in jail. He hears his "crime" detailed in a radio drama written by Drew and gathers enough evidence to clear his name. [5]

Cast

Production

It was the first film to be made at Elstree Studios since it re-opened following World War II. [6] Richard Todd was cast after a screen test. It was his first leading role. His casting was announced in July 1948. He was also signed to a seven-year contract with Associated British. [7] The film led to Todd being cast in The Hasty Heart . [8]

Kenneth More has one of his first film roles. [9]

Critical reception

The New York Times called it "a drab and dreary little film". [10] On the other hand, Sky Movies calls it a "gripping movie drama which has a lot of high feeling and style. ... Still impressive, though more than 40 years after." [11]

Todd called it "dreary" but it led to him being offered a long-term contract with Associated British. [12]

Box Office

As of 1 April 1950 the film earned distributor's gross receipts of £71,954 in the UK of which £38,467 went to the producer. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Blue Murder at St Trinians</i> 1957 British film

Blue Murder at St Trinian's is a 1957 British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder, co-written by Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and starring Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, Lionel Jeffries and Richard Wattis; the film also includes a brief cameo of Alastair Sim, reprising his lead role in the 1954 film, The Belles of St. Trinian's. Inspired by the St Trinian's School comic strips by British cartoonist Ronald Searle, the film is the second entry in the St. Trinian's film series, with its plot seeing the students of the fictional school making plans to secure a place on a European tour, all while subsequently aiding a criminal who is secretly seeking to escape the country with stolen jewels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Anderson (director)</span> English film director (1920–2018)

Michael Joseph Anderson was an English film and television director. His career spanned nearly 50 years across three countries, working at various times in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. His most critically and commercially successful works include the World War II film The Dam Busters (1955), the dystopian sci-fi film Logan's Run (1976), and the comedy adventure epic Around the World in 80 Days (1956), which won the 1957 Academy Award for Best Picture.

<i>Yield to the Night</i> 1956 British film by J. Lee Thompson

Yield to the Night is a 1956 British crime drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Diana Dors. The film is based on the 1954 novel of the same name by Joan Henry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Associated British Picture Corporation</span> Film production company, 1927 to 1970

Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned approximately 500 cinemas in Britain by 1943, and in the 1950s and 60s owned a station on the ITV television network. The studio was partly owned by Warner Bros. from about 1940 until 1969; the American company also owned a stake in ABPC's distribution arm, Warner-Pathé, from 1958. It formed one half of a vertically integrated film industry duopoly in Britain with the Rank Organisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gate Studios</span> Part of Elstree Studios

Gate Studios was one of the many studios known collectively as Elstree Studios in the town of Borehamwood, England. Opened in 1928, the studios were in use until the early 1950s. The studios had previously been known as Whitehall Studios, Consolidated Studios, J.H. Studios and M.P. Studios.

The Whiskey Au Go Go fire was a fire that occurred at 2:08 am on Thursday 8 March 1973, in the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia that killed 15 people.

<i>The Criminal</i> (1960 film) 1960 film by Joseph Losey

The Criminal is a 1960 British neo-noir crime film directed by Joseph Losey and starring Stanley Baker, Sam Wanamaker, Grégoire Aslan, Jill Bennett, and Margit Saad. Baker plays Johnny Bannion, a recently-paroled gangster who is sent back to prison after robbing a racetrack, with both the authorities and the criminal underworld looking for the money.

<i>The Boys</i> (1962 British film) 1962 British film by Sidney J. Furie

The Boys is a 1962 British courtroom drama film, directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Richard Todd, Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer.The screenplay was by Stuart Douglass.

<i>French Without Tears</i> (film) 1939 film

French Without Tears is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Ray Milland. It was based on the 1936 play of the same name by Terence Rattigan, who also co-wrote the script. An on-off working relationship between Asquith and Rattigan began with this film and continued over the next 15 years.

<i>The Yellow Balloon</i> (film) 1953 film

The Yellow Balloon is a 1953 British drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Andrew Ray, William Sylvester, Kathleen Ryan, Kenneth More and Hy Hazell. It was Thompson's second feature as director. It was distributed by Associated British and produced by the company's Marble Arch Productions. It was made at Elstree Studios with sets designed by the art director Robert Jones. Location shooting took place around Bayswater and Chelsea including Queensway tube station.

<i>Murder Without Crime</i> 1950 film

Murder Without Crime is a 1950 British crime film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Dennis Price, Derek Farr and Patricia Plunkett. J. Lee Thompson also wrote the screenplay adapted from Double Error, his own successful West End play.

<i>The Franchise Affair</i> (film) 1951 British film

The Franchise Affair is a 1951 British mystery thriller film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Anthony Nicholls and Marjorie Fielding. It is a faithful adaptation of the novel The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey. It was shot at Elstree Studios with location shooting taking place around Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire which stood in for the fictional town of Melford. The film's sets were designed by the art director Terence Verity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Danzigers</span>

Edward J. Danziger (1909–1999) and Harry Lee Danziger (1913–2005) were American-born brothers who produced many British films and TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s.

<i>Three Sundays to Live</i> 1957 British film

Three Sundays to Live is a low budget 1957 film noir British film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Kieron Moore and Jane Griffiths.

<i>The House of the Arrow</i> (1940 film) 1940 film by Harold French

The House of the Arrow is a 1940 British mystery film directed by Harold French and starring Kenneth Kent, Diana Churchill and Belle Chrystall. It was made at Elstree Studios. The film is an adaptation of A.E.W. Mason's 1924 novel The House of the Arrow featuring the French detective Inspector Hanaud. It was released in the U.S. by PRC as Castle of Crimes.

Love Lies is a 1932 British musical comedy film directed by Lupino Lane and starring Stanley Lupino, Dorothy Boyd and Jack Hobbs. It was made by British International Pictures at Elstree Studios. It was based on Stanley Lupino's own hit 1929 stage musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elstree Studios (Shenley Road)</span> Film and TV production facility in England

Elstree Studios on Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire is a British film and television production centre operated by Elstree Film Studios Limited. One of several facilities historically referred to as Elstree Studios, the Shenley Road studios originally opened in 1925.

Murder Story is a 1958 Australian television play.

New Elstree Studios was a British film studio complex that was the main production centre for the Danziger Brothers from 1956 to 1962, and was one of several sites collectively known as "Elstree Studios". 60 B-movies and 350 half-hour TV episodes were filmed there, for both British and American markets.

References

  1. 1 2 Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 355.
  2. Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p489
  3. "BFI | Film & TV Database | FOR THEM THAT TRESPASS (1949)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 16 April 2009. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  4. For Them That Trespass: Ernest Raymond: Books. Amazon.ca. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  5. "For Them That Trespass Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  6. "Assoc. British Elstree Studio's 100th Film". Variety . 3 September 1958. p. 11. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  7. "Parachutist Jumps Ahead". The Mirror . Western Australia. 3 July 1948. p. 15. Retrieved 26 June 2020 via Trove.
  8. "Richard Todd is newest find for British films". The Australian Women's Weekly . 9 July 1949. p. 38. Retrieved 10 May 2020 via Trove.
  9. Vagg, Stephen (16 April 2023). "Surviving Cold Streaks: Kenneth More". Filmink.
  10. Crowther, Bosley (27 September 1950). "Movie Review – For Them That Trespass – THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; British Import, 'For Them That Trespass,' With Richard Todd, at the Little CineMet". NY Times. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  11. "For Them That Trespass – Sky Movies HD". Sky Movies. 1 April 2003. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  12. HOWARD THOMPSON (17 April 1955). "THE RICHARD TODD CALLED 'PETER'". New York Times. p. X5.