''Never Look Back'' is a 1952 British

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 Francis Searle and starring

Rosamund John Rosamund John (19 October 1913 – 27 October 1998), born Nora Rosamund Jones, was an English film and stage actress. Early life She was born and brought up in Tottenham in North London, the daughter of Frederick Henry Jones, a wine merchant' ...

Hugh Sinclair Admiral Sir Hugh Francis Paget Sinclair, (18 August 1873 – 4 November 1939), known as Quex Sinclair, was a British intelligence officer. He was Director of British Naval Intelligence between 1919 and 1921, and he subsequently helped to set ...

and

Guy Middleton Guy Middleton Powell (14 December 1906 – 30 July 1973), better known as Guy Middleton, was an English character actor, film character actor. Biography Guy Middleton was born in Hove, Sussex, and originally worked in the London Stock Exch ...

. The screenplay concerns a newly appointed female barrister whose career is threatened by a former lover. It was made by Hammer Films at the Mancunian Studios in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Plot

Anne Maitland is the

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

who receives an unexpected late-night visit from ex-boyfriend Guy Ransome (Middleton). When Ransome is then accused of murdering his mistress on the same night, Anne takes on his defense. In a court battle against Nigel Stewart, a barrister who is madly in love with her, Maitland clears Ransome of murder by disclosing her earlier relationship with him, and that he was staying in her flat on the night of the crime. However, when it is discovered that Ransome did commit the murder, Maitland's reputation is in tatters. But this failure leaves her finally able to marry Nigel Stewart when he is no longer a professional threat.

Cast

as Anne Maitland, K.C. *

as Nigel Stewart *

as Guy Ransome * Henry Edwards as Geoffrey Whitcomb *

Terence Longdon Terence Longdon (14 May 1922 – 23 April 2011) was an English actor. Biography Born Hubert Tuelly Longdon in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England. During World War II, Longdon was a pilot with the Fleet Air Arm, protecting Atlantic conv ...

as Alan Whitcomb *

John Warwick John McIntosh Beattie (4 January 1905 – 10 January 1972), known professionally as John Warwick, was an Australian actor, and television dramatist. Early life He was born John McIntosh Beattie (many sources give "Beattle") at Bellingen, New S ...

as Inspector Raynor * Brenda de Banzie as Molly Wheeler *

Arthur Howard Arthur Howard (born Arthur John Steiner; 18 January 1910 – 18 June 1995) was an English stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Camberwell, London, Howard was the younger son of Lilian (née Blumberg) and Ferdinand "Frank" ...

as Charles Vaughan *

Bruce Belfrage Bruce Belfrage (30 October 1900 – August 1974) was an English actor and BBC radio newsreader.Obituary in ''The Times'', ''Mr Bruce Belfrage'', 17 August 1974, p.14 He was casting director at the BBC between 1936 and 1939, and founded th ...

as The Judge *

Fanny Rowe Frances Rowe (26 June 1913 – 31 August 1988) was an English stage, film and television actress. Early years Rowe was born in Preston, Lancashire, the daughter of a parson, and educated at Channing School For Girls in Highgate and then wen ...

as Liz * H.S. Hills as Frank Lindsell * Hélène Burls as Mrs. Brock * Bill Shine as Willie *

Timothy Bateson Timothy Dingwall Bateson (3 April 1926 – 15 September 2009) was an English actor. Life and career Born in London, the son of solicitor Dingwall Latham Bateson and the great-nephew of rugby player Harold Dingwall Bateson, he was educated at ...

as Court Official *

Harry H. Corbett Harry H. Corbett OBE (28 February 1925 – 21 March 1982) was an English actor and comedian, best remembered for playing rag-and-bone man Harold Steptoe alongside Wilfrid Brambell in the long-running BBC television sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'' ( ...

as Policeman in Charge Cells * June Mitchell as Secretary * Barbara Shaw as Press Woman *

David Scase David Scase (21 September 1919 – 27 February 2003) was a British theatre director and actor. Born at Fulham, London, as the son of a bricklayer, his first job was in a bicycle factory in the mid-1930s. He joined the Merchant Navy on the outbr ...

as Cameraman * Norman Somers as Nigel Junior

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 ...

'' gave the film two out of four stars, and wrote, "the British legal system is invested with enough romantic drama to rival a soap opera in this intriguing thriller."

References

Bibliography

* Chibnall, Steve & McFarlane, Brian. ''The British 'B' Film''. Palgrave MacMillan, 2009.

External links

* 1952 films 1952 drama films 1950s legal films British drama films British legal films Films directed by Francis Searle British courtroom films Hammer Film Productions films Films set in London British black-and-white films Films shot in Greater Manchester 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{1950s-UK-film-stub