There Is No Escape
There is No Escape, also known as The Dark Road and The Thurston Story, is a 1948 British drama film from Hammer Films.
There is No Escape | |
---|---|
Directed by | Alfred J. Goulding |
Produced by | Henry Halsted |
Starring | Stanley Thurston (as "Charles Stuart") |
Music by | John Bath |
Cinematography | Stanley Clinton |
Production company | Hammer Films Marylebone Production |
Distributed by | Exclusive Films (UK) Screen Guild Productions (US) |
Release date | 1948 |
Running time | 72 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | £20,000[1] |
It was Michael Ripper's first appearance in a Hammer Film.[2]
The film was based on the career of criminal Stanley Thurston, who appeared in the cast as a character based on himself. Thurston was famous for his numerous escapes from prison, 5 times in 15 years.[3] He was released from prison in October 1946.[4][5]
The film had trouble with the British censors who thought the film glamorised a real life criminal. Thurston had to be billed as "Charles Stuart."[6][7]
James Carreras said, "The picture already has official police approval. I have done everything to show that crime is a mug's game. Thurston is the only non-professional actor in the film. All he asked was £10 a week to cover expenses. At the end of the film he turns to the audience and tells them that a criminal life just isn't worth the candle, especially when guns are brought into crime. He made such a good job of the picture that I had him listed for a racing story on his merits as an actor. That plan will now have to be shelved."[1]
The film was shot at Marylebone Studios.[8]
Cast
- Charles Stuart as Sidney Robertson
- Joyce Linden as Anne
- Mackenzie Ward
- Patricia Hicks
- Roddy Hughes as The Chaplain
- Anthony Holles
- David Keir
- Frank Forsythe
- Rory MacDermot
- Joanna Carter
- Peter Reynolds
- Veronica Rose
- Maxine Taylor
- Michael Ripper as Andy Anderson
- Sefton Yates
- Cyril Chamberlain
- Gale Douglas
- Sydney Bromley
- Gerald Pring
- Hay Petrie
- Farnham Baxter
References
- "Action To Ban Film Showing Gaol-Breaker". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (22, 060). New South Wales, Australia. 17 June 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 4 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- Jones, D. (2000, Jul 05). Hammer horror film star dies aged 87. Evening Mail Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/323321614
- "Gaol-Breaker Makes Film". Sunday Times (Perth) (2569). Western Australia. 18 May 1947. p. 12 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE SUNDAY TIMES). Retrieved 4 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- "CRIMINAL AS SCREEN STAR". The Sunday Mail (892). Queensland, Australia. 25 May 1947. p. 7. Retrieved 4 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Robber's Two Months In West End". The Mail (Adelaide). 28 (1, 447). South Australia. 17 February 1940. p. 3. Retrieved 4 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- Meikle, Dennis (2008). A History of Horrors: The Rise and Fall of the House of Hammer. Scarecrow Press. p. 5. ISBN 9780810863811.
- http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/stanley-thurston.htm
- Chibnall, Stephen; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. Macmillan International Higher Education. p. 73. ISBN 9781844575749.