River Beat is a 1954 British second feature[1] noir crime film directed by Guy Green and starring John Bentley, Phyllis Kirk and Leonard White.[2] It was written by Rex Rientis and distributed in the United States by Lippert Pictures.
| River Beat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Guy Green |
| Written by | Rex Rienits |
| Produced by | Herman Cohen Victor Hanbury |
| Starring | John Bentley Phyllis Kirk Leonard White Glyn Houston |
| Cinematography | Geoffrey Faithfull |
| Edited by | Peter Graham Scott |
| Music by | Hubert Clifford |
Production company | Insignia Films |
| Distributed by | Eros Films Lippert Pictures (US) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
editJudy is a radio operator on an American ship duped into smuggling diamonds in the belief that she is delivering cigarettes. Stopped by Customs she is in further trouble when the man who involved her is found dead in the river. Customs Detective Dan Barker has fallen for Judy and faces a moral dilemma: he must find out whether or not she is guilty, while protecting her from the smugglers.
Cast
edit- John Bentley as Detective Inspector Dan Barker
- Phyllis Kirk as Judy Roberts
- Robert Ayres as Watford
- Leonard White as Detective Sergeant Mack McLeod
- Glyn Houston as Charlie Williamson
- Patrick Jordan as Bert Fisher
- Ewan Roberts as Customs Inspector J.S. Blake
- David Hurst as Paddy McClure
- Charles Lloyd-Pack as John Hendrick
- Isabel George as Anna
- Margaret Anderson as Nell, Charlie's girl
- Harold Ayer as Joseph Benson, alias Alfred Gordon
- Tony Hilton as Harry, the bartender
- Jack McNaughton as Hickson
- Dermot Palmer as Wayne
- Colin Douglas as Harbor Patrol superintendent
- Bill Nagy as Eddie, deckhand
- Michael Browning as Detective Perry
- Michael Balfour as Adams, sailor
- Peter Collingwood as surgeon
- Warwick Ashton as Constable
- Eric Corrie as Constable
Production
editThe film was shot at Walton Studios and on location around London. The film's sets were designed by art director John Stoll.
It was Guy Green's first film as a director. He said Phyllis Kirk was "very helpful".[3]
Reception
editOn the film's release Variety said "The programmer market, currently short of passable supporting filmfare, will find this London-localed melodrama an acceptable filler ... Miss Kirk provides a casting switch to the Anglo-American film efforts Lippert usually releases. Heretofore it has been an American male in England, and mixed up with Scotland Yard and British crooks. ... The plotting is contrived and everything drops too patly into place as the 70 minutes unfold."[4]
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A competent little thriller, which maintains a good pace and has a fairly simple plot with one or two interesting twists. It has no pretensions to anything further; there is little attempt at characterisation, or to show much of the work of the River Police. The film, however, owes something to the tradition of the semi-documentary feature in its use of well-photographed locations in and around the Thames and Dockland."[5]
In British Sound Films David Quinlan rates the film "good", calling it a "well-acted, well-paced, well-set thriller: well above-average."[6]
Chibnall & McFarlane, in The British B Film: The Studio Years 1928–1959 rate the film as "exceptional in its use of docklands locations and pacey action."[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
- ^ "River Beat". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
- ^ Schwartzman, Arnold (19 November 1991). "Interview with Guy Green side 3". British Entertainment History Project.
- ^ "River Beat". Variety: 6. 21 July 1954.
- ^ "River Beat". Monthly Film Bulletin. 21 (240): 60. 1 January 1954.
- ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 365. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
External links
edit- River Beat at IMDb
- River Beat at BFI
- River Beat at Letterbox DVD
- River Beat at TCMDB
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