''No Way Back'' is a 1949 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 ...

directed by Stefan Osiecki and starring

Terence De Marney Terence Arthur De Marney (1 March 190825 May 1971) was a British film, stage, radio and television actor, as well as theatre director and writer. Career Actor The son of Violet Eileen Concanen and Arthur De Marney, and the grandson of n ...

Eleanor Summerfield Eleanor Audrey Summerfield (7 March 1921 – 13 July 2001) was an English actress who appeared in many plays, films and television series. She is known for her roles in ''Laughter in Paradise'' (1951), ''Final Appointment'' (1954), ''Odongo'' (1 ...

and

Jack Raine Thomas Foster "Jack" Raine (18 May 1897 – 30 May 1979) was an English stage, television and film actor. He was a leading man of the British cinema in the late twenties and early thirties in such films as ''The Hate Ship'' (1929), '' Raise the ...

.BFI.org
/ref> The screenplay concerns an injured boxer who sinks into bad company when his fighting career comes to an end leading to a spiral of crime. It was made at

Nettlefold Studios Walton Studios, previously named Hepworth Studios and Nettlefold Studios, was a film production studio in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England.Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

Plot

Johnnie Thompson, a veteran and popular boxer known as "The Croucher" for his distinctive fighting style, enters the ring against a much younger opponent Tommy McGovern. Despite his years of hard living, Thompson remains confident of winning but soon finds himself in trouble. Drawing on all his reserves he is able to knock his opponent down but not out. McGovern gets up and then knocks Thompson out for a ten count. Thompson still hopes to continue his career and regain his title, but a visit to the Doctor's informs him that the sight in one of his eyes has gone. He realises he will be unable to fight on and retires. His promoter explains that he spent most of his money during his career, and even a benefit held in his honour goes towards paying taxes. His wife, a glamorous

nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

, leaves him now that he can no longer provide expensive things for her. Thompson sinks into self-pity, returning to

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in his old haunt in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

where he grew up to drink himself into an alcoholic stupor. One day while drinking, he encounters a former girlfriend from before his boxing career took off, Beryl. She is now the girl of a local big-shot gangster boss Joe Sleat. Sleat, who remembers Thompson as a young boy and was always jealous, is amused to see him in his current state and offers him a job working for him. Beryl tries to stop Thompson from being drawn into Sleat's orbit, but she is unsuccessful. Before long Thompson has become one of Sleat's best men, although he is treated contemptuously by the boss. Before long Beryl and Thompson are clearly developing feelings for each other, irritating Sleat who feels that Thompson is getting above himself. He sets up an armed robbery on a jewellers and plans it so that Thompson will be killed in the raid. Beryl gets wind of this and intercepts the message telling Thompson about the raid, and then informs the police of Sleat's robbery. In the ensuing chaos, Sleat shoots a policeman dead and escapes. Now a fugitive, he returns to his house where Beryl and Thompson are. She tries to tell Thompson not to get involved, but he still feels obliged to Sleat for giving him a break in his outfit. When the police arrive the three of them make a run for it and are pursued by the police through the streets of London's docklands. They finally hole up in a

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

and Thompson and Sleat shoot down two more policemen. As Sleat gleefully points out to him, Thompson is now in as much trouble as he is. They all face

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

for their crime, and decide to fight it out. The situation rapidly develops into a

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

. Sleat begins to break down, and eventually tries to make a run for it but is killed. Thompson and Beryl continue to hold out, but it has dawned on him there is literally no way back. Restored by Beryl's confession of her love for him, and the sound of a nearby radio recounting the ongoing story of the siege and the career of the former champion "Croucher" Thompson—allowing him to briefly relive his glory days as a fighter—he accepts his fate and calmly walks outside to be shot down.

Cast

as Johnnie Thompson *

as Beryl *

as Joe Sleat *

John Salew John Rylett Salew (1902 (some sources state 1 January 1897)14 September 1961) was an English stage film and TV actor. Salew made the transition from stage to films in 1939, and according to Allmovie, "the manpower shortage during WWII enabled ...

as Sammy Linkman * Shirley Quentin as Sally Thompson * Dennis Val Norton as Harry * Gerald Lawson as Mike Taylor *

Tommy McGovern Thomas Henry McGovern (5 February 19241 February 1989) was a British boxer who was British lightweight champion between 1951 and 1952 and fought for the European title. Career Amateur career Born in Lambeth, London, and based in Bermondsey wher ...

as Himself * Peggy Clarke as Miss Carter * Thomas Gallagher as Bill *

Gerald Pring Gerald Pring (1888 – 1970) was a British stage and film actor. He played a number of supporting roles in British and American films during the silent and sound eras. In 1930 he appeared in the West End in the comedy '' Almost a Honeymoon''. ...

as Doctor *

Anthony Valentine Anthony Valentine (17 August 1939 – 2 December 2015) was an English actor best known for his television roles: the ruthless Toby Meres in ''Callan'' (1967–72), the sadistic Major Horst Mohn in ''Colditz'' (1972–74), Bob in Tales of the Un ...

as Little Boy

Production

''No Way Back'' was based on the short story "

Beryl and the Croucher "Beryl and the Croucher" is a short story by the British writer Thomas Burke which was part of his 1916 collection ''Limehouse Nights''. A washed-up boxer, known as "the Croucher" for his distinctive fighting style, having fought his last fight sin ...

" by Thomas Burke, from his 1916 collection ''

Limehouse Nights ''Limehouse Nights'' is a 1916 short story collection by the British writer Thomas Burke. The stories are set in and around the Chinatown that was then centred on Limehouse in the East End of London. The book was a popular success and features ...

'', who was known for his writings set in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. It is part of the

spiv cycle In the United Kingdom, the word spiv is slang for a type of petty criminal who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. The word was particularly used during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed d ...

of films made between 1945 and 1950. The real-life boxer

appears in the opening fight scene of the film as Thompson's opponent.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0041695, No Way Back 1949 films 1949 crime films Films set in London British boxing films Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Thomas Burke British crime films British black-and-white films Films scored by Eric Spear 1940s English-language films 1940s British films