Faux policiers

A splendid thriller, slow in the start, but eventually the build-up begins towards an impressing climax, both story-wise and above all cinematographically. The actors are all more than excellent, especially the boy - one of the greatest performances in films ever by a child. The plot is, to say the least, complicated: it starts simple enough, as plans are made for an infallible burglary into a jewellry boutique, but, as always, unexpected things happen, leading to an extensive mess of complications. Please be patient with this film. There are many dull moments in the beginning, but I promise you, eventually you will wake up.

The Secret Place is directed by Clive Donner and written by Linette Perry. It stars Belinda Lee, Ronald Lewis, Michael Brooke, Michael Gwynn, Geoffrey Keen and David McCallum. Music is by Clifton Parker and cinematography by Ernest Steward,

Little seen and heard of piece of British noir, The Secret Place sits somewhere in between good and frustrating. Plot involves London crooks enacting a gems robbery and finding themselves at the mercy of an adolescent boy and his secret place.

First and foremost the pluses here far outweigh the negatives. The cast list is a veritable roll call of British actors who need no introduction to fans of British film and TV. The cinematography on show is perpetually film noir in look, where cinematographer Steward (The 39 Steps/Payroll) fills 90% of the pic with monochrome menace and dark cloaked actions. The robbery at the center of the tale is suspenseful and has a cheeky glint in its eye, and with the cast on form - bolstered by an excellent child acting turn from Brooke, production value from London locales is bang on the money.

However, the pacing of the pic is an issue, where as much as you want some depth to characterisations, the back and forward expansion of the key players takes up the bulk of the running time. It's also sad to report that the finale just fizzles out as a damp squib, almost as if the Hays Code was still in force and thriving in Britain! Is there still enough to keep this above average? Yes, definitely, but it's not a hidden gem by any stretch of the imagination. 6/10

I must confess I'm a little surprised by the lackluster rating of 5.1 that this film currently has on IMDb, because it's exactly the kind of movie that deserves reevaluation. Granted, it's no masterpiece. The plot isn't particularly innovative, and the dialog is clunky at times. Perhaps most disturbing of all, since director Clive Donner had been a top editor during the preceding decade, the pacing is too slow. (This kind of movie shouldn't run longer than 85 or 90 minutes.) But it's thoughtful and entertaining. And most importantly, it's an excellent example of the transition that the British film industry was undergoing in the late-1950s. On one hand, its characters are working-class types who feel entrapped by their environment, much like the "Kitchen Sink" dramas that began appearing the following year. Likewise, Donner's interest in youth culture and on-location photography mirrors that of the Free Cinema directors. On the other hand, the moral compass of "The Secret Place" is aligned with the moderate views of Ealing, and poor Belinda Lee is saddled with outdated lines like "you really *must* stop" and "I'd be ever so grateful." (By the way, the gorgeous Lee acquits herself nicely in this rare dramatic role. She was used rather poorly by the Rank Organization.)

What I especially like about "The Secret Place" is its blending of genres. At its most basic level, it's a heist picture. The plot centers around a daring diamond robbery. The second half of the film, however, runs more along the lines of a boys' adventure tale, with young Freddie trying to foil the gang's plans -- not unlike Ealing's "Hue and Cry" (though with far less comedy). Yet the movie also presents us with a vivid and dramatic portrayal of a bombed-out London neighborhood and the interconnected lives of its inhabitants -- much like "It Always Rains on Sunday" and "London Belongs to Me." At heart, this film wants to say something about the bleakness of war-scarred London and the need its younger inhabitants have of escape to a better life. A brief interlude that occurs when Molly and Gerry visit a modern flat they hope to buy with their share of the loot provides subtle but beautiful motivation for their actions.

As the other reviewer points out, most viewers will be interested to see a very young David McCallum in one of his earliest roles, and as I've already mentioned, this movie offers a rare glimpse of Belinda Lee tackling a role that wasn't beneath her. But the real eye-opener is Michael Brooke's superb performance as the adolescent Freddie, whose crush on Molly is exploited cruelly by the gang. Donner's skill with young actors is on full display here: Brooke's depiction of pubescent infatuation with a (slightly) older woman and the heartbreak and loss of innocence that that sort of infatuation can result in is spot-on. Freddie is both precocious and naive -- a combination that's extraordinarily difficult to recreate. It really is one of the best and most overlooked child performances of the decade. It's a shame that Brooke didn't have much of a career afterward. (By the way, IMDb's entry for Brooke apparently confuses him with a much older actor with the same name. Surely, he wasn't born in 1904! However, I know that I've glimpsed him in a couple of other British films from the same period -- "The Mudlark" and "The Long Arm," most notably.)

So if you get a chance to watch this on TV, it's worth your while. (It seems to come on TCM once every year or so.)

Robbery story aside, this film is wonderful in its portrayal of children's lives in the lost world of grimy post-war Britain. A place where 3 year-olds could be allowed to play, unsupervised on bomb-sites amid rusting abandoned cars and ruined buildings. Where "dens" and "camps" could be built and secret places discovered. One priceless scene in this environment is where Freddy's younger brother, having discovered a large diamond, immediately swaps it with another child for a penny. She in turn swaps it with another child and it goes on until it changes hands at the astronomical price of one shilling and three pence (seven and a half p) . Reminded me very much of my own childhood during this period, where swaps were the order of the day. The perceived value of an item often being greater or less than its actual value, depending upon the individuals involved in the deal. The follow up in the story is an amusing sequence where the Police have to backtrack the deals, questioning the tight-lipped kids, in order to find the diamonds's origin. Love watching these films. I am always puzzled by the apparent age of kids parents. Freddy is about fifteen. At his age my parents were 36, but his parents look ancient. Belinda Lee, who plays Molly, was 22 at the time, but her mother (Gretchen Franklin) has the appearance of an old age pensioner! Maybe its just their clothes? In American films of the era it's even worse. With grey-haired dowagers parenting 10 year-olds!

Yes I too would like to see the rating higher as "Tryavna" above suggests such that I rated this film 7/10.I bought a job lot from a rare DVD dealer but somehow did not play this title until today.Being born in 1946 I can well remember building sites on which me and friends would play in our free time (very dangerous when I look back).England still had lots of bomb damage in 1957 and bomb site car parks were common.Us children traded objects out of school but I was never offered a real diamond!The afore-mentioned user has adequately commented on the plot and production values and I agree the film needed speeding up somewhat, although it kept my attention to the end.Of course the moral film code was much in evidence in 1957 so that any criminal caper had to show the perpetrators obtaining their just deserts in the end.

Belinda Lee. although mainly a glamour puss in British and continental films in the 1950s, here is given a real acting part which does not just trade on her outstanding physical looks as she has to play a friendly & sympathetic relationship with her young 14 year old co-star.It was sad her life had to end prematurely in a car accident in the USA in 1961.Curiously there was no film music heard in the chase scene on the building site between Lewis, Brookes & Lee.There has been a real life raid recently on a safe deposit in Hatton Garden,London which was in the papers and which makes this film quite topical.