''Impact'' is a 1963 British crime thriller directed by

Peter Maxwell Peter Maxwell (23 January 1921 – 5 April 2013) born as Peter Magitai, was a British, and later Australian film director, director and screenwriter of television and film. Biography He was born in Vienna, Austria, to newspaper journalist ...

and starring

Conrad Phillips Conrad Philip Havord (13 April 1925 – 13 January 2016), known professionally as Conrad Phillips, was an English television and film actor. He is best known for playing William Tell in the adventure series ''The Adventures of William Tell'' ( ...

with the pair writing the script. The pair formed a production company Arriba Productions, but Maxwell left for Australia to shoot the ''

Whiplash Whiplash may refer to: * The long flexible part of a whip * Whiplash (medicine), a neck injury ** Whiplash Injury Protection System (WHIPS), in automobiles Film and television * ''Whiplash'' (1948 film), a US film noir about a boxer * ''Whiplas ...

'' TV series and never returned to the UK.

Plot

Seeking vengeance for newspaper articles written about him, crooked Soho nightclub owner 'The Duke' (George Pastell), kidnaps crime reporter Jack Moir (Conrad Phillips), and frames him for theft. While serving a two-year prison sentence Moir plots his revenge and, upon release, embarks on a scheme to clear his name.

Cast

as Jack Moir *

George Pastell George Pastell (13 March 1923 – 4 April 1976) was a Cypriot character actor in British films and television programmes. Sources vary as to whether his real name was Nino (IMDb) or George Pastellides (BFI). His marriage record gives his name ...

as Sebastian 'The Duke' Dukelow *

Ballard Berkeley Ballard Blascheck (6 August 1904 – 16 January 1988), known professionally as Ballard Berkeley, was an English actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for playing Major Gowen in the British television sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''. Life an ...

as Bill MacKenzie *

Linda Marlowe Linda Virginia Marlowe (née Bathurst, born 26 July 1940) is an Australian-born British film, theatre, and television actress. She is noted for her association with Steven Berkoff, performing in many of his theatrical works, creating a one-woman ...

as Diana Travers * Richard Klee as Wally Wheeler *

Anita West Anita West (born 1935) is a British actress and former television presenter. ''Blue Peter'' On 7 May 1962, she joined the British children's television show '' Blue Peter'' as co-host, following the departure of Leila Williams. She remained wi ...

as Melanie Calf * John Rees as Charlie Wright *

Frank Pettitt Frank Pettitt (16 October 1899 – 27 March 1964) was an English stage, film and television actor. He played Albert Finney's father in the film '' Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' (1960). Filmography * '' Night and the City '' (1950) - Ca ...

as Sid the Foreman * Edward Ogden as Maury Parfitt * Jean Trend as Hilda, the Secretary * Desmond Cullum-Jones as Prison Warder * Mike Pratt as Detective Sergeant * Don Barkham as Constable * Cecil Waters as Jules Anita West, (born Weust), was

Ray Ellington Henry Pitts Brown (17 March 1916 – 27 February 1985), known professionally as Ray Ellington, was an English singer, drummer and bandleader. He is best known for his appearances on ''The Goon Show'' from 1951 to 1960. The Ray Ellington Quartet h ...

's spouse from 1956–62, and (briefly) a ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...

'' presenter.

Critical reception

''The Movie Scene'' wrote, "''Impact'' is the sort of old British movie which you stumble across one day on one of those channels which appear well down the list which some people don't even know exist. It is also one of those movies which you start watching and an hour later it is over and you can't remember a great deal of what has happened. The reason why is that it is devoid of excitement and seems to have been made hastily on limited funds forcing the writer to use lots of dialogue to explain things rather than showing it". The ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' reviewer commented: "this programme filler, produced in a matter of days on a shoestring budget, contains no surprises in the plot...Maxwell just about keeps what action there is ticking over, but he is fighting a losing battle with a cast that is substandard, even for a British

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

". ''

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

'' described it as a "lively thriller about a reporter who wages a vendetta against a treacherous Soho gangster. George Pastell, as the villain, and Anita West, as a moll, give competent performances."

References

External links

* 1963 films British crime thriller films Films directed by Peter Maxwell Films shot at MGM-British Studios 1960s English-language films 1960s British films {{crime-thriller-film-stub