Hammer the Toff

I am pleased whenever a "lost" film is found.Mind you the BFIs definition of lost often means they don't happen to have a copy.Also it has to be borne in mind that just because a film is lost doesn't mean that it is going to be a rare masterpiece.This film is no more than a mundane B thriller.The tiff is clearly a copy of the Saint,but without the class.The plot of this film revolves around a criminal boss called continuously "the hammer".He is actually a robin hood character as Sally Patch vouchsafes.However it would appear that he is now committing nasty crimes such as murder and blackmail.Clearly he is innocent as John Bentley eventually provides.Now let's hope more lost films come to light.

A Toffee-nosed rich, upper class person, is a sleuth & becomes a self-professed detective. This is a little better than its predecessor 'Salute The Toff', with a less complex plot.

This adaptation of the book by John Creasey (who wrote 600+ novels) is very faithful to the original. While there is certainly something very Saintesque in the Toff, Creasey makes the character his own, lifting the Robin Hood motif a notch above the others popular in that era.

HAMMER THE TOFF and its predecessor SALUTE THE TOFF were two big screen adaptations of works by novelist John Creasey. The Toff was a typical private detective type character, with a manservant and aristocratic pretensions. These films were lost for many years, but recently Renown Pictures have unearthed prints of both, and subsequently HAMMER THE TOFF was shown last week on the Talking Pictures TV channel.

This is a workable little movie with plenty of achievements on what is obviously a tight budget - Nettlefold Studios could afford no other type. John Bentley, who also essayed the role of Paul Temple in a number of screen outings, is a fairly stolid but reliable hero type, on the track of a murderer who turns out to be masquerading as a Robin Hood style character.

It's a fairly convoluted story but one which rewards close viewing, because HAMMER THE TOFF is the kind of film which has a bit of everything. There are some tense set-pieces, some romantic shenanigans with the lovely Patricia Dainton, alongside police interaction. Roddy Hughes steals every scene as the put-upon manservant, Jolly. There's a supporting role for Valentine Dyall and even a bit part for Charles Hawtrey if you watch closely. Certainly this is no remarkable film, and it's not a masterpiece either, but as B-movies go there are plenty worse out there, and it held my attention throughout.

The Toff is a Saint knockoff. Hammer the Toff is cheap B movie that looks more like a quota quickie but with better production values.

Richard Rollison is the Toff. An aristocratic and well connected amateur crime fighter. He is friends with Inspector Grice (Valentine Dyall) and East End pub owner Bert Ebbut who has links with the criminal side of life.

Rollison has a calling card of the Toff. A caricature of a man in top hat, monocle, and smoking a cigarette in a holder.

In this movie Rollison meets Susan Lancaster in a train compartment and soon her uncle, a scientist is found dead. The culprit is a character called the Hammer.

Rollison tracks down the Hammer but discovers this is a Robin Hood type person and could not had killed Susan's uncle.

Maybe someone has taken the Hammer's identity or just trying to blame him.

An unpretentious and simple plot. This is a no frills and no fuss movie. The music is irritating, the story is creaky with not much action.

There is an appearance by Charles Hawtrey.