''Escape!'' is a 1930 British

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Basil Dean Basil Herbert Dean CBE (27 September 1888 – 22 April 1978) was an English actor, writer, producer and director in the theatre and in cinema. He founded the Liverpool Playhouse, Liverpool Repertory Company in 1911 and in the First World War, a ...

and starring

Gerald du Maurier Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (26 March 1873 – 11 April 1934) was an English actor and Actor-manager, manager. He was the son of author George du Maurier and his wife, Emma Wightwick, and the brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies ...

Edna Best Edna Clara Best (3 March 1900 – 18 September 1974) was a British actress. Early life Born in Hove, Sussex, England, she was educated in Brighton and later studied dramatic acting under Miss Kate Rorke who was the first professor of Drama at ...

and

Gordon Harker William Gordon Harker (7 August 1885 – 2 March 1967) was an English stage and film actor. Harker was one of the sons of Sarah Elizabeth Harker, née Hall, (1856–1927), and Joseph Harker (1855–1927), a much admired set painter for the ...

. It was based on the 1926 play of the same title by

John Galsworthy John Galsworthy (; 14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. He is best known for his trilogy of novels collectively called '' The Forsyte Saga'', and two later trilogies, ''A Modern Comedy'' and ''End of th ...

, which was adapted again as a film in 1948.

Plot

Captain Matt Denant (

) is a former army officer who had been pursued by Germans during the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

. He is riding at a

hunt Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

and, though he enjoys the sport, he empathises with the fox who stands little chance against the hounds. Later, after a dinner in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

he decides to walk on his own through a busy Hyde Park. Denant begins talking with a girl in the park ( Mabel Poulton), who reveals herself to be a

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

. Denant declines the woman's proposition and turns to continue on his walk. At that moment a plain clothes police officer ( George Curzon) accosts the woman and accuses her of harassing Denant. Denant protests her innocence, maintaining that she had committed no crime. Denant then distracts the policeman, in order to give the woman time to escape. He is then involved in a scuffle, which results in Denant punching the officer to the ground, who hits his head on a rail and promptly dies. Denant is charged with manslaughter and sentenced to five years' imprisonment at

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite that forms the uplands dates from the Carb ...

. Two years later Denant is part of a prison party working on the moor when heavy fog quickly descends on the area. Emboldened by his experiences in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, he decides to attempt to escape in the mist. He passes the Warren House Inn, a remote country pub and sees that his disappearance has been reported by the local newspaper. Narrowly evading the local constabulary, he finds himself after two days back only a mile from the prison. Exhausted, he rests in a country house bedroom and the next morning is discovered by the lady of the house (

). Rather than report Denant, she gives him chocolate and a drink and allows him to shave. Empathising with Denant as a gentleman, she allows him to disguise himself in her husband's fishing gear and clears his path out of the estate. Whilst fishing he is approached by another gentleman ( Horace Hodges) who realises Denant's identity and, reflecting on the case, offers him a cigar and "winks the other eye". Denant later hijacks a motorcar from a picnicking party and asks two walkers for directions to Bovey. They tell a pursuing police officer that they did not suspect the man due to him being a gentleman. Overwhelmed by his ordeal, Denant reaches a quarry where he collapses from exhaustion. He is again discovered but evades the workers, eventually making his way into an upper-class home where he is again protected, this time by two girls named Dora (

Madeleine Carroll Marie-Madeleine Bernadette O'Carroll (26 February 1906 – 2 October 1987) was an English actress, popular both in Britain and in America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress. Ca ...

) and Grace ( Marie Ney). Finally, he runs into the village church as the net closes around him. The parson (

Austin Trevor Claude Austin Trevor Schilsky (7 October 1897 – 22 January 1978) was an Irish actor who had a long career in film and television. He played the parson in John Galsworthy's ''Escape (play), Escape'' at the world premiere in London's West ...

) distracts the surrounding policemen, but rather than let the vicar break his honour and lie to the inspector, Denant reveals himself and surrenders. The vicar shakes Denant's hand as he is led away, reflecting that he was a "fine" and "loyal" fellow who had committed a noble act of martyrdom.

Cast

as Captain Matt Denant *

as Shingled Lady *

as Convict * Horace Hodges as Gentleman *

as Dora * Mabel Poulton as Girl of the Town *

Lewis Casson Sir Lewis Thomas Casson (26 October 187516 May 1969) was an English actor and theatre director, and the husband of actress Dame Sybil Thorndike.Devlin, DianaCasson, Sir Lewis Thomas (1875–1969) ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' ...

as Farmer * Ian Hunter as Detective *

as Parson * Marie Ney as Grace *

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early life ...

as Governor * Ben Field as Captain * Fred Groves as Shopkeeper *

Nigel Bruce William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was an English character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in a series of films and in the radio series '' The New Adventures of Sherlo ...

as Constable * S. J. Warmington as Warder * Phyllis Konstam as Wife * Ann Casson as Girl * George Curzon as Constable

Production

''Escape!'' was the first film produced by Associated Talking Pictures (ATP), a company formed by

, a prominent theatre director who had recently been increasingly involved in film, enlisting the distinguished actor-manager Sir

as the company's chairman. ATP had been intended to capitalise on the shift from silent cinema to sound and, in January 1930, Dean announced that ATP had reached an agreement with

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

, then one of the major

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

film studios, to produce joined UK/US films in British studios. As well as receive national release in the UK, the agreement indicated ATP's films would also be released widely in America, benefiting from RKO's chain of cinemas. RKO and RCA technicians were dispatched to England to demonstrate to British crews how to set up sound recording equipment on location shoots. ''Escape!'', based on a

play, was to the first film produced under this agreement after the rights were purchased from

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. Dean knew this presented a major opportunity to demonstrate to the American studios that prestigious films could be produced in England, setting to work on engaging a high-profile cast with experience of the theatre. His first choice for the central role of Capt Matt Denant was

Colin Clive Colin Glenn Clive (born Clive-Greig; 20 January 1900 – 25 June 1937) was a British theatre and film actor. Known for portraying individualistic, tumultuous characters which often mirrored his personal life, he is most famous for his role as ...

, who turned Dean down in order to travel to

where he was to star in the role of Henry Frankenstein, creator of the monster in Universal's wildly successful

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

. In his place, Dean persuaded his reluctant chairman of ATP, Gerald du Maurier, a pre-eminent stage actor, to take the role himself. For his supporting cast, Dean approached actors from the stage production, reducing the time needed to dedicate to rehearsals.

who had played the role of the Parson in London's West End in 1926 and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

the following year, reprised the role one more. The cast included

who would later become the world's highest-paid actress, George Curzon in his first film role, and Sir

in a rare on-screen credit. As ATP did not yet have their own production facility (Dean would soon develop a full sound studio at

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...

Beaconsfield Studios Beaconsfield Film Studios is a British Television studio, television and Film studio, film studio in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. The studios were operational as a production site for films in 1922, and continued producing films - and, later, ...

, recently equipped to make sound films, was used instead. Dean's intention was to use ''Escape!'' to showcase England's picturesque scenery, with shoots arranged for

Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to a major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was originally planned by architect Decimus Burton. The juncti ...

, a variety of locations around

, and hunting scenes filmed in the village of Wansford. The Hyde Park night shoot attracted controversy, as Dean arranged to use amateur extras to populate the busy scenes rather than pay an excess for professional artists. In the face of pressure from acting unions, Dean eventually relented. The first attempt to film the Hyde Park scenes were compromised when Dean tried to record the music of the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WLSH GDS; ), part of the Guards and Parachute Division, Guards Division, is one of the Foot guards, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the World War I, First ...

band whom he had engaged for this purpose. A thrush landed on the microphone and refused to move. Frustrated, the musical director threw a piece of wood at the bird, which missed, hitting and destroying the microphone. The night's shooting was abandoned. It was the first film wholly intended as a sound film to be released in the UK.

Critical response

The Bioscope declared ''Escape!'' to be a "brilliant" adaptation, but noting that it "struck an occasional theatrical note". The location scenes were also praised, with du Maurier's performance declared to be "effective", with the climax displaying "deep sincerity". However, the paper felt that "too much of his time is spent clambering over walls, hiding in barns and driving an old Ford car over the downs". Overall, the reviewer believed that the potential of the film "to be a great popular success can hardly be questioned".

Kinematograph Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

believed the film was technically "flawless", acknowledging that Dean has worked hard to make the picture a success, with "imagination and good camera consciousness". However, it also noted that, though du Maurier's performance was "polished", he was "rather stilted and inclined to put too much stress on the sportsmanship, nobility, and breeding of the character that he interprets". Though the film was critical success in England, it failed to recoup its £40,000 budget. Immediately following its British release, ''Escape!'' was released in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, appearing in over 700 cinemas nationally. This was an unprecedented release for a British film, but it ultimately failed to make any impact on American audiences.

References

External links

* *
1947 ''Theatre Guild on the Air'' radio adaptation of original play
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{Basil Dean Films based on works by John Galsworthy 1930 films 1930s crime thriller films 1930 drama films British crime films British drama films British thriller films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Basil Dean Associated Talking Pictures Films shot at Beaconsfield Studios Films set on Dartmoor Films set in London British films based on plays RKO Pictures films British black-and-white films Films shot in Buckinghamshire 1930s British films Films scored by Ernest Irving English-language crime thriller films