''Cross Channel'' is a 1955

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, directed by

R. G. Springsteen Robert G. Springsteen (September 8, 1904 – December 9, 1989) was an American director of Hollywood B movies and television shows. He was most often credited on screen as R. G. Springsteen. Biography Born in Tacoma, Washington in 1904, S ...

, and written by

Rex Rienits Rex Rienits (17 April 1909 – 1971) was an Australian writer of radio, films, plays and TV. He was a journalist before becoming one of the leading radio writers in Australia. He moved to England in 1949 and worked for a number of years there. He ...

. The film stars

Wayne Morris Wayne Morris (born Bert DeWayne Morris Jr. February 17, 1914 – September 14, 1959) was an American film and television actor, as well as a decorated World War II fighter ace. He appeared in many films, including ''Paths of Glory'' (1957), '' ...

Yvonne Furneaux Yvonne Furneaux (born Elisabeth Yvonne Scatcherd; 11 May 1928) is a French-British retired actress. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she worked with notable filmmakers like Peter Brook, Federico Fellini, Roman Polanski, Michelan ...

Patrick Allen John Keith Patrick Allen (17 March 1927 – 28 July 2006) was a British actor. Life and career Allen was born in Nyasaland (now Malawi), where his father was a tobacco farmer. After his parents returned to Britain, he was evacuated to Canada ...

, June Ashley,

Carl Jaffe Carl Jaffe (21 March 1902 – 12 April 1974) was a German actor. Jaffe trained on the stage in his native Hamburg, Kassel and Wiesbaden before moving to Berlin, where his career began to develop. In 1933 Jaffe changed his stage name to Fran ...

and Peter Sinclair. The film, made in 1954, was filmed in England and Northern France, with British and European actors, (save for its American star), by a British subsidiary of

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

. It was released on September 29, 1955. Only the fact that the male romantic lead's profession is not that of a ''private eye'' precludes this picture from being categorised as a traditional ''noir film''. Its fast pace, high body-count, and thriller-genre subject matter, (even the traditional romance sub-plot), are all elements of what's now thought of as a ''film noir'',

Plot

Crime drama. 61 minutes, made in black-and-white. 1954. A criminal gang is operating a smuggling racket, bringing stolen jewellery into England across the English Channel. Gary Parker, an American from Texas, known informally as 'Tex', is skipper of a small sea-going motor launch and runs a business known as 'Parker Charter Service', a small operation consisting of Tex himself and a single employee, a burly (but whisky-soaked) deckhand named 'Soapy'. Tex is hired to transport a passenger named Kerrick from

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

in Kent to a French trawler in the middle of the English Channel. But Kerrick deceives him into bringing back to England a packet of stolen jewellery, which he obtains from the French boat but pretends he had forgotten to mail before departing from Dover. When Tex goes to the address on the packet, he there finds Hugo Platt, the conignee, motionless, wide-eyed but seemingly dead, sitting bolt up-right at his desk; he falls forward just as the police arrive, and Tex escapes through the window; but Otto Dagoff, the dead man's partner, follows him back to the boatyard. Dagoff tells him the jewellery was stolen in England, smuggled to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, re-cut, then smuggled back into England. Dagoff accuses Tex of the murder, and blackmails him into sailing the next night to meet a ship in mid-Channel, the SS Cypriota, deliver the jewels to its captain, and bring back $20,000 in American currency. The next night, Tex sets out to sea, but finds a stowaway on his boat: the supposedly dead Hugo Platt. Platt intends to murder him and abscond with the $20,000, so that, when Tex doesn't show up again, Dagoff will believe Tex has stolen his money, so will not be looking for Platt. In a fight on the motor launch, Tex is thrown overboard by Platt; but he is picked up from the sea when it grows light, by a passing French fishing boat, 'The Blue Orchid', and is landed by the fishing boat in France. The police send a man to the boat yard to interview Tex, but Soapy does not know when Tex will be returning. Later, Tex telephones Soapy from the dockside. Soapy reports the boat was found beached off Felixstowe, and that the cops have been tipped-off about the diamonds. Tex then telephones Dagoff, and speaks to his assistant, Kitty, (June Ashley). He warns her about Platt, expecting her to tell Dagoff; but unknown to him, Kitty is in cahoots with Platt, who's standing next to her, overhearing everything . In France, Tex falls in love with Jacqueline, (Yvonne Furneaux), the beautiful sister of Jean-Pierre, the skipper of the 'Blue Orchid'. And Tex finds the smuggler, Kerrick in a café, attempting to play the same game with Jean-Pierre that he had used to deceive Tex. There is a fight; Kerrick gets the better of Jean Pierre, but not Tex, so threatens him with a gun. Nevertheless Tex warns Kerrick that Hugo Platt is still alive and has tried to kill him, and that it is Hugo who has stolen the money. Kerrick reports to Dagoff that Tex is still alive in France. Platt comes to Port Solaire and shoots at Tex through the glass of the same dockside telephone kiosk, but he survives, and embarks on the 'Blue Orchid' for England. Jacqueline extracts the bullet, and nurses Tex on the voyage to England - which is quite lengthy due to the fishing which is done en route. Kerrick now blackmails Hugo into giving him half of the stolen money - ten thousand dollars. But Hugo kills him instead, to avoid doing so. Tex returns to Dover, and Soapy mentions that Kitty had called by with Hugo, and that they had tried to extort information from Soapy of Tex's whereabouts - information he didn't have. Tex realises that Kitty never passed on the 'phone message he gave her. Hugo and Kitty make plans to flee together, to get clear of Dagoff. Soapy and Tex try to find Kerrick, but at his rooms they find Detective Sgt. Burroughs instead, who's called in to investigate Kerrick's murder. Tex nearly gets arrested, but Soapy locks the door to the apartment as they run for it, so that the police can't follow. Tex now goes to see Dagoff, to clear himself of suspicion. He knows he can call on the Captain of the SS Cypriota to identify Hugo as the man who was given the $20,000. But Kitty and Hugo intervene, and Hugo callously shoots Dagoff. In the ensuing fight between Hugo, Tex and Soapy, Kitty accidentally shoots and kills Hugo. Finally, Tex is reunited in France with Jacqueline, who runs to meet his approaching boat: they embrace.

Cast

as Tex Parker *

as Jacqueline Moreau *

as Hugo Platt *June Ashley as Kitty *

as Otto Dagoff *Peter Sinclair as SoapyPeter Sinclair (1900-1994) was a Scottish singer and comedian, a star of Music-hall and Variety between the wars. In the 1950s, he moved to England and worked on BBC radio. His most famous role was as Grandad in the radio comedy series ''The Clitheroe Kid'' (1956-1972). *

Charles Laurence Charles Laurence (10 January 1931 – 13 July 2013) was a British actor and playwright who worked in films and television. Early life Charles Laurence was born Carlos Felipes in Tangiers when it was an International zone, to a Swiss-Scottish m ...

as Jean-Pierre Moreau *

Arnold Marlé Arnold Marlé (15 September 1887 – 21 February 1970) was a German actor who appeared largely in British films and television programmes. Stage work His theatre work included appearances on the London stage, and a year-and-a-half-long run on Br ...

as Papa Moreau * Michael Golden as W.L. Carrick *Jacques Cey as Duclos * Jack Lambert as Detective Sergeant Burroughs

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0047963, Cross Channel 1955 films 1950s English-language films American drama films 1955 drama films Republic Pictures films Films directed by R. G. Springsteen Seafaring films Films set in England 1950s American films American black-and-white films