"Beryl and the Croucher" is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by the British writer Thomas Burke which was part of his 1916 collection ''

Limehouse Nights ''Limehouse Nights'' is a 1916 short story collection by the British writer Thomas Burke. The stories are set in and around the Chinatown that was then centred on Limehouse in the East End of London. The book was a popular success and features ...

''. A washed-up

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, known as "the Croucher" for his distinctive fighting style, having fought his last fight sinks into dissipation and crime in the East End of London. His only hope to recover his former sense of self-worth is a former lover named Beryl.

Adaptation

In 1949 the story was turned into a film '' No Way Back'' directed by Stefan Osiecki and starring

Terence de Marney Terence Arthur De Marney (1 March 190825 May 1971) was a British film, stage, radio and television actor, as well as theatre director and writer. Career Actor The son of Violet Eileen Concanen and Arthur De Marney, and the grandson of n ...

, Eleanor Summerfield and

Jack Raine Thomas Foster "Jack" Raine (18 May 1897 – 30 May 1979) was an English stage, television and film actor. He was a leading man of the British cinema in the late twenties and early thirties in such films as ''The Hate Ship'' (1929), '' Raise the ...

. The plot was moved to a contemporary setting and was part of the

Spiv cycle In the United Kingdom, the word spiv is slang for a type of petty criminal who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. The word was particularly used during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed d ...

of films of the late 1940s.Chibnall & Murphy p.60

References

Bibliography

* Chibnall, Steve & Murphy, Robert. ''British crime cinema''. Routledge, 1999. * Newland, Paul. ''The Cultural Construction of London's East End: Urban Iconography, Modernity and the Spatialisation of Englishness''. 2008. * Witchard, Anne Veronica. ''Thomas Burke's Dark Chinoiserie''. Ashgate, 2009. 1916 short stories {{1910s-story-stub