''You Can't Escape'' is a 1956 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 ...

directed by Wilfred Eades and starring

Noelle Middleton Evelyn Noelle Woodeson (née Middleton; 18 December 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an Irish actress and one of the first BBC television announcers. She was also a leading lady of the 1950s British films. Middleton received a BAFTA Film Award nom ...

Guy Rolfe Guy Rolfe (born Edwin Arthur Rolfe, 27 December 1911 – 19 October 2003) was a British actor. Career Rolfe was born in Kilburn, London. Before turning to acting at the age of 24 he was a professional boxer and racing driver, making his stage ...

and Robert Urquhart. It is based on the 1938 novel '' She Died Young'' by Alan Kennington. It was released as an 'A' certificate. Though filmed in 1.33:1, it was also framed in 1.66:1 for any theatre that had the equipment to exhibit widescreen films.

Plot

Rising novelist, Peter Darwin (Robert Urquhart), has a row with former mistress Claire (Elizabeth Kentish), and accidentally kills her. He somehow manages to persuades his reluctant fiancé Kay (Noelle Middleton) to help him bury Claire's body in a wood. But when the body is found, and a blackmailing journalist (Peter Reynolds) appears on the scene, Darwin resorts to desperate measures to cover his tracks, including framing an innocent person.

Cast

as Kay March *

as David Anstruther * Robert Urquhart as Peter Darwin * Peter Reynolds as Rodney Nixon * Elizabeth Kentish as Claire Segar * Barbara Cavan as Aunt Sue *

Martin Boddey Albert Martin Boddey (16 April 1907 – 24 October 1975) was a British film and television actor. He was a founder member of the Lord's Taverners charity. Boddey started acting when he was nearly 40, often portraying irritable authority fig ...

as Inspector Crane *

Thorley Walters Thorley Swinstead Walters (12 May 1913 – 6 July 1991) was an English character actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in '' Two-Way Stretch'' and '' Carlton-Browne of the FO''. Early life Walters was born in T ...

as Chadwick *

Jacqueline Mackenzie Jackie Forster (née Jacqueline Moir Mackenzie; 6 November 1926 – 10 October 1998) was an English news reporter, actress and lesbian rights activist.p.270 From the Closet to the Screen – Jill Gardner Early history Forster's father was a ...

as Mrs. Baggerley *

as Chadwick *

Wensley Pithey Wensley Ivan William Frederick Pithey (21 June 1914 – 10 November 1993) was a South African character actor who had a long stage and film career in Britain. Biography Pithey was born in Cape Town, South Africa. A graduate of the Univers ...

as Constable Wagstaff * Edward Forsyth as Colonel Tripp * Barbara Leake as Mrs. Trussler *

Oliver Johnston (actor) Oliver Griffen Johnston (30 April 1888 – 22 December 1966) was an English actor. After training at RADA, his theatre work included the original production of ''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' at Malvern (1930) and its subsequent West End tr ...

as Meadows *

Sam Kydd Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He als ...

as Poacher (Ted) * Hal Osmond as Poacher's Friend * Victor Platt as Darts Player * Arthur Gross as Bystander *

Noel Coleman Noel Coleman (26 November 1919 – 12 October 2007) was a RADA-trained English actor who appeared in many television roles. He appeared in the 1969 '' Doctor Who'' serial ''The War Games'' as General Smythe and he appeared in '' Red Dwarf'' as ...

as Official *

Robert Cawdron Robert Cawdron (29 December 1921 – 14 September 1997) was a French-born British film and television actor. Often cast as police officers, he had a long-running role on '' Dixon of Dock Green'' as Detective Inspector Cherry.The Guinness Book of ...

as Pugilist *

Maureen Connell Maureen Connell (born 2 August 1931) is a British actress. Personal life On 20 July 1956, Connell married British film director, writer and producer John Guillermin. They resided in the Los Angeles area beginning 1968. They had two children, ...

as 1st Peasant Blouse *

Sally Bazely Sally Bazely (born 1933) is a British television actress. Her main roles were in ''Father, Dear Father'' (1968–70) and ''Harriet's Back in Town'' (1972). She also played Norman Wisdom's wife in the comedy film '' What's Good for the Goose'' (19 ...

as 2nd Peasant Blouse * Alec Finter as Foreman of the Jury

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 ...

'' concluded there was "Nothing much to get excited about"; while ''My Reviewer'' found the film "full of action from the off and whilst it all feels a little dated now, it has a certain old school charm – like the very best of ITC shows from back in the day"; and ''Blueprint Review'' wrote, "Despite its rather stagey tone ''You Can’t Escape'' remains a fun example of British

B-movies 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 feature ...

from that era." Dated? So what? If a work is true to its time then it is bound to be dated and that is to its credit, surely?

References

External links

* 1957 films 1957 drama films Films shot at Associated British Studios 1950s English-language films British drama films Films based on British novels 1950s British films English-language drama films {{1950s-UK-film-stub