Dancing with Crime

Dancing with Crime
Directed byJohn Paddy Carstairs
Written byBrock Williams
Based onstory by Peter Fraser
Produced byJames Carter
StarringRichard Attenborough
Barry K. Barnes
Sheila Sim
CinematographyReginald Wyer
Edited byEily Boland
Music byBenjamin Frankel
Production
company
Coronet Films
Distributed byParamount British Pictures
Release date
  • 25 June 1947 (1947-06-25)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£200,000[1]

Dancing with Crime is a 1947 British film noir film directed by John Paddy Carstairs, starring Richard Attenborough, Barry K. Barnes and Sheila Sim.[2] A man hunts down the killer of his lifelong friend.

Plot

Boyhood friends and later comrades in the Army, Ted Peters and Dave Robinson are back in civvies. Ted becomes a taxi driver and hopes to marry Joy Goodall, a pretty chorus girl. Dave, seeking easy money, joins a criminal gang headed by Mr Gregory, which has its headquarters in a suburban palais-de-danse. Dave is shot by Paul Baker, Gregory's right-hand man, and staggers, fatally wounded, into the back of Ted's taxicab while Ted is away. When Ted returns to find Dave's body in his cab, he resolves to find the murderer. Ted suspects Baker, so Joy becomes a hostess at the gang's nightclub, to do some snooping. They bring about the downfall of the gang.

Cast

Production

Attenborough was borrowed from the Boulting Brothers. He and Sheila Sim were married in real life; this was their first movie together.

The film was shot at Southall Studios with sets designed by the art director Andrew Mazzei.[3] Filming was difficult due to the freezing cold weather.[4]

Critical reception

Kine Weekly said "Robust gangster comedy melodrama, set around a London palais de danse.The plot is tackled with infectious and disarming enthusiasm by a well-chosen cast and set in convincing and colourful atmosphere. The direction is artfully tongue-in-the-cheek. Good fun and no mean thriller."[5]

Monthly Film Bulletin said "Set against a background of unfashionable London streets, warehouses and the chromium-plated dance-hall, the film bears evidence of capable direction. Its characters are plausible, except for the incredulous detectives, and the actors on the guilty side, headed by Barry Jones and Barry K. Barnes, who are unpleasantly convincing. For the innocents, Richard Attenborough makes a likeable Ted and is modestly partnered by Sheila Sim. A full measure."[6]

Variety called it "fashioned on formula grounds."[7]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "good", writing: "Not exactly convincing, but a confident piece of filmcraft."[8]

Leslie Halliwell wrote: "Tolerable post-war melodrama aping Hollywood."[9]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Real-life newlyweds Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim co-star in this stark crime quickie, which also marks the feature debut of Dirk Bogarde as a bobby on the beat. [...] With Sim going undercover at the local dance hall, the film will evoke memories of Saturday nights gone by."[10]

References

  1. ^ "JOHN WARWICK HOME". Warwick Daily News. No. 8742. Queensland, Australia. 11 August 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 8 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "Dancing with Crime". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Dancing with Crime (1947)". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Hollywood REPORTS". The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder. Vol. 37, no. 2623. New South Wales, Australia. 27 February 1948. p. 8. Retrieved 22 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Dancing with Crime". Kine Weekly. 365 (2096): 18. 3 July 1947 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ "Dancing with Crime". Monthly Film Bulletin. 14 (157): 111. 1 January 1947 – via ProQuest.
  7. ^ Review of film at Variety
  8. ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 201. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
  9. ^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 248. ISBN 0586088946.
  10. ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 221. ISBN 9780992936440.


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