''Tread Softly'' is a 1952 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 ...

with musical overtones, directed by David MacDonald and starring

Frances Day Frances Day (born Frances Victoria Schenk; December 16, 1907April 29, 1984) was an American actress and singer who achieved great popularity in the UK in the 1930s. Her career began as a nightclub cabaret singer in New York City and London. ...

Patricia Dainton Patricia Dainton (born 12 April 1930) is a Scottish actress who appeared in a number of film and television roles between 1947 and 1961. Early years Dainton was born Margaret Bryden Pate, in Hamilton, Scotland, the daughter of film and stage ...

and John Bentley. A

chorus girl A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. Chorus line dancers in Broadway musicals and revues have been referred to by slang terms s ...

investigates a series of mysterious happenings at a derelict theatre. It was made at Marylebone Studios and at the Granville Theatre in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. While made as a

second feature A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

it also had aspirations to top the bill in some cinemas.Chibnall & McFarlane p.127 Set in a theatre it allows an odd combination of light musical numbers with a murder crime story. It includes several elaborate dance routines.

Cast

as Madeleine Peters *

as Tangye Ward * John Bentley as Keith Gilbert *

John Laurie John Paton Laurie (25 March 1897 – 23 June 1980) was a Scottish actor. In the course of his career, Laurie performed on the stage and in films as well as television. He is perhaps best remembered for his role in the sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (196 ...

as Angus McDonald * Olaf Olsen as Philip Defoe *

Nora Nicholson Nora Nicholson (7 December 1887 – 18 September 1973) was an English actress. Known for her portrayal of character roles, she achieved her greatest success in the later years of her career. She played in classics by Shakespeare and Chekhov and ...

as Isobel Mayne *

Harry Locke Harry Locke (10 December 1913 – 7 September 1987) was an English character actor. He was born and died in London. He married Joan Cowderoy in 1943 and Cordelia Sewell in 1952. He was a good friend of the poet Dylan Thomas. Their friendship in ...

as Nutty Potts *

Betty Baskcomb Betty Violet Marie Baskcomb (30 May 1914 – 15 April 2003) was a British actress who appeared in roles for theatre, film, television and radio productions. She was born in London in 1914 and made her stage debut as a stooge opposite her father, ...

as Olivia Winter * Robert Urquhart as Clifford Brett *

Ronald Leigh-Hunt Ronald Leigh-Hunt (5 October 1920 – 12 September 2005) was a British film and television actor. His father was a stockbroker and he attended the Italia Conti Academy. He began acting whilst serving in the army. Though never a major star, he ...

as Inspector Hinton * Michael Ward as Alexander Mayne *

Nelly Arno Nelly Aronowsky (15 July 1892 – September 1966), known professionally as Nelly Arno, was a German-born British theatre, film and radio actress. Aronowsky was born in Karlsruhe to Abraham Aronowsky and Fanny (''née'' Maysel). She had a you ...

Hamilton Keene Hamilton George Keene (15 November 1896, in Hampstead – 4 October 1975, in Chelsea). He was a British stage and film actor.Edwards p.188 He appeared in more than thirty British films, originally in more prominent roles during the early 1930s an ...

* Betty Hare * Colin Croft as Dancer *

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

as Dancer * Keith Sawbridge as Pianist * Anthony Verner

References

Bibliography

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

External links

* 1952 films 1952 crime films British black-and-white films British crime films Films directed by David MacDonald (director) Films set in London 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{1950s-crime-film-stub