''No Escape'' is a 1953 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

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 ...

directed by Charles Bennett starring

Lew Ayres Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film '' All Quiet on the Western Fr ...

Sonny Tufts Bowen Charlton "Sonny" Tufts III (July 16, 1911 – June 4, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He is best known for the films he made as a contract star at Paramount in the 1940s, including ''So Proudly We Hail!''. He a ...

and Marjorie Steele.

Plot

The action is set in San Francisco where the film opens in a documentary style. When evidence and circumstance in a murder case points to a young woman as the main suspect, both her boyfriend (a police detective) and a struggling songwriter who plays piano in a bar, decide to withhold evidence from the police. Both of them ostensibly act to protect the woman, who believes that she accidentally killed the victim after an attempted sexual assault. Later, the girl, knowing that the songwriter did not commit the murder, helps him to escape from a police dragnet when he becomes the main suspect. She and the songwriter fall in love and eventually compare notes about the events surrounding the murder, leading them to realize that someone else must be the culprit. The boyfriend is revealed as the actual murderer, and is arrested after he attempts to kill them to hide his guilt.

Cast

as John Howard Tracy *

as Det. Simon Shayne * Marjorie Steele as Pat Peterson * Lewis Martin as Lt. Bruce Gunning *

Gertrude Michael Lillian Gertrude Michael (June 1, 1911 – December 31, 1964) was an American film, stage and television actress. Biography The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carl H. Michael, she was born in Talladega, Alabama. She graduated from Talladega High sc ...

as Olga Valerie Lewis * Charles Cane as Wilbur K. Grossett * Renny McEvoy as Turnip *

Bobby Watson Robert Michael Watson Jr. (born August 23, 1953), known professionally as Bobby Watson, is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. Music career Watson was born in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He ...

as Claude Duffy (as Robert Watson) *

James Griffith James Jeffrey Griffith (February 13, 1916 – September 17, 1993) was an American character actor, musician and screenwriter. Education Griffith attended Santa Monica High School, where he was a classmate with Glenn Ford. Both were active in s ...

as Peter Hayden * Robert Bailey as Detective Bob * Robert Carson as Dr. Seymour

Production

The film was based on an original story by Charles Bennett. It was to be the first production from Associated Film Artists, a company formed in 1948 by publicist Whitney Bolton, actor

Louis Hayward Louis Charles Hayward (19 March 1909 – 21 February 1985) was a Johannesburg-born, British-American actor. Biography Born in Johannesburg, Louis Hayward lived in South Africa and was educated in France and England, including Latymer Upper Scho ...

and director Edgar G. Ulmer. In December 1949 it was announced Freddie Bisson of Independent Artists would make the film, and was hoping to star

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...

and

Robert Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in d ...

. The film was eventually made by Mattugh Productions, produced by Hugh McKenzie and Mat Freed. It was picked up for release by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. The film was going to star Louis Hayward but he dropped out when filming shifted to Los Angeles. Shooting started in January 1953.

Reception

Critical response

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 a lukewarm review. The editors wrote, "The plot seems suspenseful but the lackluster direction has no feel for thriller pacing. Things move too slowly with overwritten dialog mouthed in only average performances by the ensemble. However, the music captures the film's potential mood nicely. It's a pity the film does not live up to the score."''TV Guide''
Editors, film review. Accessed: July 18, 2013.

References

External links

* * * *

information site and DVD review at DVD Beaver (includes images) {{DEFAULTSORT:No Escape 1953 films 1950s crime thriller films American crime thriller films American black-and-white films United Artists films Film noir Films set in San Francisco 1950s English-language films 1950s American films