Scarlet Thread
1951 film by Lewis Gilbert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scarlet Thread is a 1951 British second feature ('B')[1] crime drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and produced by Ernest G. Roy.[2] It was written by Moie Charles and A.R. Rawlinson.
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A.R. Rawlinson
Laurence Harvey
| Scarlet Thread | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Lewis Gilbert |
| Written by | Moie Charles A.R. Rawlinson |
| Produced by | Ernest G. Roy |
| Starring | Kathleen Byron Laurence Harvey |
| Cinematography | Geoffrey Faithfull |
| Music by | Kenneth D. Morrison |
| Distributed by | Butcher's Film Service (UK) Realart Pictures (US) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 mins. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
Two criminals plan a jewellery robbery. The robbery goes wrong and an innocent man is shot.
Cast
- Kathleen Byron as Josephine
- Laurence Harvey as Freddie
- Sydney Tafler as Marcon
- Arthur Hill as Shaw
- Dora Bryan as Maggie
- Eliot Makeham as Jason
- Harry Fowler as Sam
- Cyril Chamberlain as Mason
- Renee Kelly as Eleanor
- Hylton Allen as the Dean
Production
The film was made at Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England, and on location.
Reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Sydney Tafler and Laurence Harvey do well as the unattractive pair of gangsters, and the characterisation and dialogue are as a whole more effective than the improbable story."[3]
Kine Weekly wrote: "Well-made, if slightly far-fetched romantic melodrama ... Unusual and intriguing story, exciting climax, feminine angle, and quota."[4]
In The Radio Times Guide to Films Allen Eyles gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "In one of his early leading roles, Laurence Harvey working with Alfie director Lewis Gilbert gives this downbeat British crime drama some modest interest. Harvey is convincingly unpleasant as the skirt-chasing spiv and petty criminal with a sleazy charm, who panics and kills a bystander during a jewel robbery. But the twist in the tale is more implausible than ironic."[5]