''Crime Unlimited'' is a 1935 British

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

that was made as a

Quota quickie The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 ('' 17 & 18 Geo. V'') was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. It received Royal Assent on 20 December 1927 and came into force on 1 April 1928. D ...

. It was directed by

Ralph Ince Ralph Waldo Ince (January 16, 1887 – April 10, 1937) was an American pioneer film actor, director and screenwriter whose career began near the dawn of the silent film era. Ralph Ince was the brother of John E. Ince and Thomas H. Ince. Biogr ...

. The film marked the

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

debut of

Lilli Palmer Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Cinema of the United States, Hollywood produ ...

Plot

The Merrick gang pull off a diamond robbery and murder a police officer investigating their crimes. A paper with the cryptic writing "AD 1935" is found on the murdered officer's body. Outsmarted by the gang, the police assistant commissioner and Inspector Cardby decide to have Pete Borden, a new recruit who the gang would not know, go undercover and join the gang. When he enters a casino, Natascha is sent to check him out. He pretends to be looking for a

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...

to sell his stolen jewelry. Reassured, the gang recruits him. Merrick (the gang's mysterious leader who never lets anyone see him face to face) first assigns him to check on Delaney, a crooked bookie. Pete then meets Newell, a lawyer. The gang then installs Pete in a flat; he tosses a note containing the address to a policeman when no one is looking. Two police detectives let the flat opposite. One of them is deaf, and equipped with binoculars, can read Pete's lips when he silently mouths what he has discovered. The gang plans to steal the necklace of prominent socialite Lady Mead at a party she is giving. Pete goes to the party with Natascha, while the police attend the party undercover, and send Lady Sybil, a society gossip columnist, to observe. At the party, Pete runs into Conway Addison, a lawyer. The lights go out, and when it goes back on, Natascha has escaped with the stolen necklace. Inspector Cardby pretends to arrest Pete, but lets him go once they are outside. Natascha later visits Pete and tells him that she wants to leave the gang, but one of the crooks is eavesdropping. She claims Merrick sent her to test Pete. The gangster checks with his boss and finds out she was lying. With his plans being tipped off to the police, Merrick soon suspects Pete. This is confirmed when the police notify the next target, who notifies Merrick. The mastermind pretends to accept Pete's proposal for a robbery. However, while the police are waiting for them there, the gang actually strike elsewhere. Pete is taken to an isolated country house. Merrick finally lets Pete see him, as he intends to kill the policeman; it is Conway Addison. Addison explains he took to crime after becoming bored with his job. While Natascha is being taken to the same place, she causes the car to go off the road. She then tells a police officer where she was heading. To avoid tipping Merrick off, she shows up at the house. Merrick, having decided to retire, tries to gas the whole gang, Pete and Natasha to cover his tracks. However, Pete manages to break out of the locked room, and the police arrive in time to shoot Conway and arrest the rest of his gang.

Cast

Esmond Knight Esmond Penington Knight (4 May 1906 – 23 February 1987) was an English actor. He had a successful stage and film career before World War II. For much of his later career Knight was half-blind. He had been badly wounded in 1941 while on active ...

as Pete Borden *

as Natasha *

Cecil Parker Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe, 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between ...

as Assistant Commissioner * George Merritt as Detective Inspector Cardby *Richard Grey as Detective Inspector Hall *

Raymond Lovell Raymond Lovell (13 April 1900 – 1 October 1953) was a Canadian-born actor who performed in British films. He mainly played supporting roles, often somewhat pompous characters. Lovell initially trained as a physician at Cambridge University ...

as Delaney *Graham Soutten as Clancy (as Ben Soutten) *

Peter Gawthorne Peter Gawthorne (1 September 1884 – 17 March 1962) was an Anglo-Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in the films of Will Hay and other popular British comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-upo ...

as A. D. Newall *

Wyndham Goldie Frank Wyndham Goldie (5 July 1897 – 26 September 1957) was an English actor. World War I During World War I, Goldie was a lieutenant in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. His elder brother Maurice also held a commission in the same Corps during ...

as Conway Addison *Jane Millican as Lady Sybil *

Stella Arbenina Stella Arbenina, Baroness Meyendorff (Стелла Арбенина) (27 September 1884 – 26 April 1976) was a Russian-born English actress. She was born Stella Zoe Whishaw in St. Petersburg tRobert Cattley Whishaw and Mary (née Gisiko) Her ...

as Lady Mead *Bellenden Clarke as Lord Mead

Critical reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' described it as a "pedestrian picture," and a "totally undistinguished film"; whereas ''Britmovie'' called it a "vigourous quota-quickie crime-drama based on David Hume ‘Cardby’ thriller novels".

References

External links

* {{Ralph Ince 1935 films 1935 crime films British black-and-white films British crime films 1930s English-language films Films based on British novels Films directed by Ralph Ince Films set in London 1930s British films