''The Weapon'' is a 1956 black and white British

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by Val Guest and starring

Steve Cochran Steve Cochran (born Robert Alexander Cochran, May 25, 1917 – June 15, 1965) was an American film, television and stage actor. He attended the University of Wyoming. After a stint working as a cowboy, Cochran developed his acting skills in loca ...

Lizabeth Scott Lizabeth Virginia Scott (born Emma Matzo; September 29, 1921 – January 31, 2015) was an American actress, singer and model for the Walter Thornton Model Agency, known for her "smoky voice" and being "the most beautiful face of film noir durin ...

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Uni ...

, and

Nicole Maurey Nicole Maurey (20 December 1925 – 11 March 2016) was a French actress, who appeared in 65 film and television productions between 1945 and 1997. Life and career Born in Bois-Colombes, a northwestern suburb of Paris, Maurey was originally ...

. It was made by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City a ...

. Its themes were originally explored in the 1951 British film '' The Yellow Balloon''. The film was shot in the east end of London and at

Walton Studios Walton Studios, previously named Hepworth Studios and Nettlefold Studios, was a film production studio in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England.art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

John Stoll John Stoll (13 December 1913 – 25 June 1990) was a British art director. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film ''Lawrence of Arabia''. During the 1950s, he worked largely on low-budget British feature fi ...

Plot

Elsa Jenner (

) is an American-born war widow who lives in London with her young son Erik. While playing with friends in

Aldersgate Aldersgate is a Ward of the City of London, named after one of the northern gates in the London Wall which once enclosed the City. The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersgate Within and Aldersgate Without, the suffix den ...

, Erik hides in the basement of a bomb-damaged building, Erik finds a handgun stuck in a lump of concrete. As all the boys try to pull it free, it accidentally fires a shot from Erik's hands, hitting another boy. Believing he has killed his friend, Erik runs away. A policeman relates the events to his mother and explains the boy who was shot is alive but in hospital. Efforts to locate Erik are aided by US Army Captain Mark Andrews (

), after it is discovered that the gun which Erik found has a past, and was used in a murder of an American serviceman during the war. This background causes a dangerous criminal to pursue the young boy. Erik goes to the cafe where his mum usually works but she is not there. He runs off again just before she arrives with Cpt Andrews. As he inches closer to finding Erik, Andrews comes across Vivienne Pascal (

), a dance-hall hostess with a connection to the gun's original owner. But she has all but lost her faith in all things good, declaring to Andrews: "I am dead." As Captain Andrews interviews her she is shot through the window by Henry. Andrews pursues him but is overpowered in an empty factory. Disturbed by a policeman Henry jumps out of a window into the Thames. As Andrews continues his investigation into the gun's whereabouts, Erik's mother Elsa finally locates her son with the helpful assistance of relative stranger Joshua Henry. He falsely alleges that Erik had stolen a bottle of milk from him. Henry starts wooing Elsa, and is at her house when Erik calls. They go to pick him up in Henry's car. Henry persuades them to take him to the gun which is hidden in a ruin. They debate the milk theft and it becomes clear that Henry has ill intentions, prompting Elsa to push Erik out of the car and run away. The car crashes on a bomb site and Elsa is pulled from the wreckage. Henry runs after the boy, onto a bomb site and catches him. At the crash site, members of the public come to Elsa's aid. Among them is Captain Andrews, with whom Elsa pleads not to worry about her, and to save her son instead. Andrews immediately enters the old building into which Henry was seen running, and Andrews and Henry fight their way higher and higher in the building. Henry falls from the rooftop and is killed.

Cast

as Mark Andrews *

as Elsa Jenner * George Cole as Joshua Henry *

as Superintendent Mackenzie *

as Vivienne *

Jon Whiteley Jon James Lamont Whiteley (19 February 1945 – 16 May 2020) was a Scottish child film actor and in adult life a distinguished art historian. Life and career The Monymusk-born Whiteley appeared in five films during his brief acting career, a ...

as Erik *

Laurence Naismith Laurence Naismith (born Lawrence Johnson; 14 December 1908 – 5 June 1992) was an English actor. He made numerous film and television appearances, including starring roles in the musical films '' Scrooge'' (1970) and the children's ghost fil ...

as Jamison *

Stanley Maxted Stanley Maxted (21 August 1895 – 10 May 1963) was a British-Canadian soldier, singer, radio producer, journalist and actor. He worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and later for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as a ...

as The Colonel *

Denis Shaw Denis Shaw (7 February 1921 – 28 February 1971) was a British character actor specialising in slimy villains. Born in Dulwich as Douglas Findlay Shaw, he was a rotund man, with dark, wavy hair and slanty eyes. This appearance meant he would ...

as Groggins * John Horsley as Johnson *Fred Johnson as Fitzsimmons *

Frazer Hines Frazer Simpson Frederick Hines (born 22 September 1944) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and appeared in ''A King in New York'' (1957) with Charlie Chaplin. He later played Jamie McCrimmon in ''Doctor Who'', appearing i ...

as Jimmy (uncredited) *Peter Godsell as David (uncredited) *Terry Cooke as Johnny (uncredited)

Critical reception

''Britmovie'' called the film "a well-crafted, energetic suspense thriller", while

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

called it a "minor but trim story of youngster who accidentally shoots his pal and runs away."

External links

*
Turner Classic Movies overview

''New York Times'' review

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weapon, The Films directed by Val Guest 1956 films 1950s English-language films 1950s thriller films British thriller films Films set in London 1950s British films British black-and-white films

Plot

Cast

Critical reception

External links

See also

References