''Tiger in the Smoke'' is a 1956 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 ...

directed by

Roy Ward Baker Roy Ward Baker (born Roy Horace Baker; 19 December 1916 – 5 October 2010) was an English film director. His best known film is ''A Night to Remember (1958 film), A Night to Remember'' (1958) which won a Golden Globe for Golden Globe Award for ...

(billed as Roy Baker) and starring

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (195 ...

Muriel Pavlow Muriel Lilian Pavlow (27 June 1921 – 19 January 2019) was an English actress. Her mother was French and her father Russian. Film and television career Muriel was born in Lewisham, south-east London, to Boris Pavlov, a Russian émigré and ...

, Tony Wright,

Bernard Miles Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE (27 September 190714 June 1991) was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre that opened in the City of London since the 17th ce ...

and

Christopher Rhodes Sir Christopher George Rhodes, 3rd Baronet (30 April 1914 – 22 June 1964) was an English film and television actor. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the United States Legion of Merit for his Second World War service. Early life Rhodes w ...

. It is based on the 1952 novel ''

The Tiger in the Smoke ''The Tiger in the Smoke'' is a crime novel by Margery Allingham, first published in 1952 in the United Kingdom by Chatto & Windus and in the United States by Doubleday. It is the fourteenth novel in the Albert Campion series. Author J. K. R ...

'' by

Margery Allingham Margery Louise Allingham (20 May 1904 – 30 June 1966) was an English novelist from the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", and considered one of its four " Queens of Crime", alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh. Alli ...

, although the film omits the principal character of

Albert Campion Albert Campion is a fictional character in a series of detective novels and short stories by Margery Allingham. He first appeared as a supporting character in ''The Crime at Black Dudley'' (1929), an adventure story involving a ring of criminals, ...

. The film is set in a noirish

smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and '' fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then inte ...

-shrouded London and briefly in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, France, and combines the

genres Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

, thriller,

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

and

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

. The cinematography was by

Geoffrey Unsworth Geoffrey Gilyard Unsworth, Order of the British Empire, OBE, British Society of Cinematographers, BSC (26 May 1914 – 28 October 1978) was a British cinematographer who worked on nearly 90 feature films spanning over more than 40 years. He is b ...

. Except for the omission of Campion, the film follows the plot of the book very closely.Mayer p.124 It was shot at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

with sets designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Jack Maxsted Albert John Maxsted (30 April 1916 – September 2001) was an English art director. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film ''Nicholas and Alexandra''. Selected filmography *''The Million Pound Note'' (1954) ...

Plot

Having been sent a picture of her husband, a

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

hero reported

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Meg Elgin, now engaged to her fiancé Geoffrey Leavitt, is led to believe he is still alive and arranges a meeting at a

London railway station The London station group is a group of 18 railway stations served by the National Rail network in central London. The group contains all 14 terminal stations in central London, either serving major national services or local commuter routes, ...

. When she arrives there with the police accompanying her, she catches sight of a man in the distance wearing an old

coat A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a ...

of her husband's. When he is pursued and captured, he turns out to be Duds Morrison, a former soldier and out-of-work actor recently let out of prison. He refuses to tell them anything, and having nothing they can charge him with, the police release him. His interest aroused by the pictures sent to Meg, Leavitt follows Morrison and tries to question him about his sudden appearance masquerading as Meg’s dead husband. Morrison again refuses to talk, and tries to flee from Leavitt into an alley, but he is set upon by a group of

street musicians Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

who beat him to death, and also take Leavitt as a prisoner. The musicians are ex-

commandos Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

and former comrades of Morrison, with whom they had served on a raid in

in the war. The commander of the raid had been Meg's husband, Major Elgin. The men had been led to believe that Elgin knew about secreted treasure in a house in Brittany which he owned before the war, and they are desperate to get their hands on it. They want to find their former sergeant, named Jack Havoc, who has recently escaped from prison, committed several murders, and who they believe knows where the treasure is. They had attacked Morrison because they suspected he was an accomplice of Havoc, and then captured Leavitt believing he was Havoc. Still wearing their old uniforms, they have spent the past few years carving out a living as street musicians, begging from passers by. Realising that releasing Leavitt might open them to being charged for the murder of Morrison, they bind him up and keep him as a prisoner. He is rescued later by a beat constable, sent by the

CID CID may refer to: Film * ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film * ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film Television * ''CID'' ( ...

to investigate the squat while the musicians are out. Leavitt returns to Meg and together they head to Brittany to find the treasure, having learned of its location from a message left by Major Elgin. Havoc, having united with his former comrades and also learned of the treasure's location, also travels to France, where he angrily discovers that when Major Elgin had spoken of his ‘priceless’ treasure, he had been referring to its artistic beauty rather than its monetary worth: it is a small statue of

the Madonna In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...

. He is apprehended in a confrontation on the nearby cliffs with Leavitt and the French police.

Cast

References

Bibliography

* Mayer, Geoff. ''Roy Ward Baker''. Manchester University Press, 2004. {{Roy Ward Baker 1956 films British crime thriller films 1950s crime thriller films Films directed by Roy Ward Baker Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films set in London Films set in Brittany Films based on British novels 1950s English-language films 1950s British films