''There is No Escape'', also known as ''The Dark Road'' and ''The Thurston Story'', is a 1948 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 ...

from

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

. It was

Michael Ripper Michael George Ripper (27 January 1913 – 28 June 2000) was an English character actor. He began his film career in quota quickies in the 1930s and until the late 1950s was virtually unknown; he was seldom credited. Along with Michael Gough ...

's first appearance in a Hammer Film. The film was based on the career of criminal Stanley Thurston, who appeared in the cast as a character based on himself. Thurston was famous for his numerous escapes from prison, 5 times in 15 years. He was released from prison in October 1946. The film had trouble with the British censors who thought the film glamorised a real life criminal. Thurston had to be billed as "Charles Stuart."

James Carreras Sir James Enrique Carreras (30 January 1909 – 9 June 1990) was a British film producer and executive who, together with William Hinds, founded the British company Hammer Film Productions. His career spanned nearly 45 years, in multiple face ...

said, "The picture already has official police approval. I have done everything to show that crime is a mug's game. Thurston is the only non-professional actor in the film. All he asked was £10 a week to cover expenses. At the end of the film he turns to the audience and tells them that a criminal life just isn't worth the candle, especially when guns are brought into crime. He made such a good job of the picture that I had him listed for a racing story on his merits as an actor. That plan will now have to be shelved." The film was shot at

Marylebone Studios Marylebone Studios was a British film studio in London. Established in the late 1930s, it had two stages in a converted church hall near the Edgware Road. The studio worked with Hammer Films on films, including the adaptations of the Dick Barton ra ...

Cast

References

External links

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''The Dark Road''
at BFI 1948 films British drama films 1948 drama films British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-drama-film-stub