''The Child and the Killer'' is a British low budget 1959

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 ...

. It was also known as ''The Man in the Shadows''.

Plot

Joe, a US army officer, is on the run after committing murder. He invades the home of the widowed Peggy, and orders her son Tommy at gunpoint to guide him through the backwaters of the English countryside to safety. But he reckons without U.S. army Captain Mather, who is in love with Tommy's mother.

Cast

Patricia Driscoll Patricia Noel Driscoll (17 December 1927 – 2 January 2020) was a British and Irish actress, who has appeared both on television and in films.''Picture Show Who's Who on the Screen'' (Amalgamated Press • London) 956p40 Television work Trai ...

as Peggy *

Robert Arden Robert Arden (11 December 1922 – 25 March 2004) was an English film, television and radio actor born in LondonAaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 20-23. who worked and live ...

as Joe * Richard Williams as Tommy * Ryck Rydon as Mather * John McLaren as Major Finch *

Robert Raglan Robert Raglan (7 April 1909 – 18 July 1985) was a British actor best known for his semi-regular role in ''Dad's Army'' as Colonel Pritchard. He also starred in a number of other television series and films such as ''Fabian of the Yard'' (1954 ...

as Inspector *

Gary Thorne Gary F. Thorne (born June 9, 1948) is an American sportscaster. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for Baltimore Orioles games on MASN from 2007 to 2020. He has also worked for ESPN and ABC, including National Hockey League, Major League ...

as Prior *

Gordon Sterne Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

as Sergeant * Frank Ellement as White

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 ...

'' called it a "routine crime melodrama"; while

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

thought the film had "elements in common with the much-later

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

vehicle ''

A Perfect World ''A Perfect World'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who takes a young boy ( T. J. Lowther) hostage and attempts to escape on the road with the child. Eastwood co-stars ...

''".

References

External links

* 1959 films 1959 crime films British crime films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{1950s-crime-film-stub