BETA ZEN
To the Public Danger
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| To the Public Danger | |
|---|---|
 Opening titles | |
| Directed by | Terence Fisher |
| Written by |
|
| Based on | radio play by Patrick Hamilton |
| Produced by | John Croydon |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography |
|
| Edited by | Graeme Hamilton |
| Music by | Doreen Carwithen |
Production company | Highbury Productions |
| Distributed by | General Film Distributors |
Release date |
|
Running time | 43 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
To the Public Danger is a 1948 British short entertainment/public-information film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Dermot Walsh, Susan Shaw, Barry Letts, and Roy Plomley.[1] The screenplay, written by T.J. Morrison and Arthur Reid, was based on a 1939 BBC radio play by Patrick Hamilton
The film was produced by John Croydon at Highbury Studios as a second feature ('B')[2] for release by the Rank Organisation, with sets designed by Don Russell.
Synopsis
While having a quiet drink together in a road house, young working-class couple Fred and Nancy fall into the company of two raffish motorists: the self-confident Captain Cole and his drunken pal Reggie. Cole takes a shine to Nancy. After a game of billiards and a number of drinks, Cole takes them out driving. While speeding along in the dark, with Nancy holding the steering wheel while Cole lights a cigarette, they hit what they think to be a man on a bicycle.
Although Fred wants to stop, Cole insists on driving on. Nancy takes Cole's side and begins taunting Fred, who eventually manages to escape and raise the alarm. A police investigation reveals that nobody had been injured in the collision with the bike, which had belonged to a poacher who didn't report the accident. In the meantime, Cole, Nancy and Reggie have suffered a crash of their own while drunken speeding, killing all three of them.
Cast
- Dermot Walsh as Captain Cole
- Susan Shaw as Nancy Bedford
- Barry Letts as Fred Lane
- Roy Plomley as Reggie
- Betty Ann Davies as barmaid
- Sydney Bromley as bar patron
- John Lorrell as police sergeant
- Sam Kydd as police driver (billed as Sam Kidd)
- Patricia Hayes as postmistress
- Frederick Piper as labourer
- Patience Rentoul as labourer's wife
- Cliff Weir as pub landlord
- Arthur Mullard as man standing near bar
- Barbara Murray as bit role
- Philip Saville as man in pub watching billiards game
- Constance Smith as girl in pub watching billiards game
Radio play
The film was based on a 1939 radio play by Patrick Hamilton[3][4], who had been encouraged to write the story as part of a government road safety campaign.[citation needed] Hamilton had himself been knocked down by a drunk driver.[citation needed] The story was updated slightly, and represents the post-war malaise with the use of noirish sequences.[5] In his biography of Hamilton, his brother wrote the "reception was wonderful" and he received "huge fan mail" and "a number of abusive letters" due to its subject matter.[6] The play's producer Val Gielgud called it "one of the very best of radio plays".[7]
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This is a story with a twist to it which points a sad moral, but which as a film has little to distinguish it."[8]
The Daily Film Renter wrote: "With realistic performances by Dermot Walsh, Susan Shaw, Barry Letts and Roy Plomley, and several small studies, notably by Betty Ann Davies, Frederick Piper, and Sidney Bromley, this is a good example of the entertainment-propaganda film. The moral is firmly registered at the end, but is not allowed to take away from the general impact of the story."[9]
Kine Weekly wrote: "Grisly and ironic curtain raiser. Designed to keep death off the road and as a warning to working-class couples not to speak to strangers, it starts with four main characters and ends up with one. ... Dermot Walsh thoroughly suggests a nasty piece of work as Cole, and Susan Shaw and Barry Letts are adequate as Nancy and Fred, but Roy Plomley's alcoholic humour is hard to take as Reggie."[10]
References
- ↑ "To the Public Danger". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ↑ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
- ↑ "To the Public Danger". BBC Programme Index. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
- ↑ French, Sean (1993). Patrick Hamilton: a life. Faber and Faber. p. 146. ISBN 978-0571143535.
- ↑ Hutchings, Peter (2001). Terence Fisher. Manchester University Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 9780719056376.
- ↑ Hamilton, Bruce (1972). The Light Went Out: The Life of Patrick Hamilton by his brother. Constable. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-0094587007.
- ↑ Gielgud, Val (1965). Years in a Mirror. The Bodley Head. p. 59.
- ↑ "To the Public Danger". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 15 (169): 139. 1 January 1948. ProQuest 1305815061.
- ↑ "To the Public Danger". The Daily Film Renter (5757): 14. 20 September 1948. ProQuest 2594720330.
- ↑ "To the Public Danger". Kine Weekly (2160): 20. 23 September 1948. ProQuest 2732611820.