Trentasei ore di mistero

During a 36-hour leave, Major Bill Rogers (Dan Duryea) travels to England to meet his wife Katherine 'Katie' Rogers (Elsy Albiin). Bill is training in the United States and left his wife alone for several months. But soon he learns that Katie has moved from their apartment to a new one to have encounters with men. Bill heads to the address and when Katie arrives, he is knocked out by a stranger in her apartment. Further, the man uses his pistol to kill Katie and frame Bill. Now he has less than 36 hours to find the killer and prove his innocence.

"Terror Street", a.k.a. "36 Hours', is an entertaining Hammer film noir with Dan Duryea in the lead role. The plot has flaws, the fights choreography is weak but the storyline is engaging. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "36 Horas" ("36 Hours")

Despite its bad press, "36 Hours" (1953) is not a total write-off. True, Dan Duryea is miscast as hero rather than villain and the girls are not much to write home about. But it's beautifully photographed by "Heads" Harvey (called "Heads" because of his fondness for placing the top of the actors' heads right against the frame line) and directed with a surprising amount of style by Montgomery Tully. The support cast lines up as one of the most solid assembled by Hammer with Eric Pohlmann and John Chandos as the heavies, Russell Napier and Michael Golden as detectives, Kenneth Griffith as the psycho, Lee Patterson in a tiny role as the co-pilot, and best of all, Harold Lang as the desk clerk.

There's no mystery in Terror Street since we know right away who murders Dan Duryea's wife Elsie Albiin. But the film is a neat little noir thriller from the United Kingdom and released here under the banner of Lippert Pictures.

As was a common practice in Great Britain of the Fifties an American name was obtained to star and was supported by players from there and the continent. Duryea plays an American Air Force major who goes AWOL and has a friend smuggle him to Great Britain. He had been stationed there and then temporarily transferred stateside as a flight instructor. That did not please Albiin as she's left behind.

As we learn in flashback she got herself a fancy new apartment in an upscale part of London. And Albiin starts hanging around with a real shady crowd consisting of Erich Pohlmann, John Chandos, and Kenneth Griffith. We also learn she's become a come on in a blackmail scheme and wants out.

We learn this at the same time Duryea does, but he rather stupidly polishes off a bottle of liquor while he waits for Albiin and one of the cast murders her. And as usual he's the one holding the bag.

It's always fascinating in these kind of films how these men on the run always get some woman to help them. In this case it's Gudrun Ure, a nursing sister whom he breaks in on while the London cops are chasing him.

Terror Street is a nice no frills noir film. No suspense since we know who did the deed, but the tension is good and the cast performs well.

In 1950, American producer Robert Lippert formed a business alliance with Hammer studios. Under the agreement, Lippert would provide American acting talent - frequently shop-worn stars or just supporting actors who fancied a profitable trip out of the country - while Hammer would supply the rest of the cast and the production facilities. Together they would split the profits. Famous for his concern with the bottom line, Lippert produced over 140 films between 1946 and 1955, characteristically genre pieces such as I Shot Jesse James or Rocketship XM. For the British deal, most of the films were noir-ish thrillers - and include this title.

The American noir icon Dan Duryea is the best thing in 36 Hours, which is at its strongest in the first half. He plays Major Rogers, a flyer smuggled into the country to discover what his wife has been up to during his absence away on duty. Shortly after he catches up with her, she is dead, leaving the stunned Rogers waking up next to her body with just a few hours to prove his innocence. Duryea's opening scenes, mostly played solo as he explores his wife's apartment piecing together her new relationships, are the essence of noir - an alienated man, lost in an environment where moral certitudes are missing. Unfortunately the script by Steve Miller (responsible for earlier classics such as Dead Reckoning, and Lady In The Lake) grows less interesting as it proceeds, and the final complexities are forced and unconvincing. Along the way, Duryea brings life to his relationship with Jenny (Ann Gudrin), equally as good as the unfussy woman who believes his story. Kenneth Griffith also makes impact as the weasely Slosson - a character which, on a different continent, would no doubt been of interest to Elisha Cook Jr.

Terror Street (AKA: 36 Hours) is directed by Montgomery Tully and written by Steve Fisher. It stars Dan Duryea, Elsy Albiin, Ann Gudrun, John Chandos and Eric Pohlmann. Music is by Ivor Slaney and cinematography by Walter Harvey. Plot finds Duryea as Major William Rogers, who is in London to see his estranged wife. When he arrives at her apartment, he is attacked and knocked unconscious. Upon awakening he finds that his wife has been shot and killed with his own gun. Taking to the streets, Rogers must find the real culprits before the police find and charge him with the murder.

Simple and effective little B crime picture out of Hammer Productions that plays on the wrong man on the run theme. There's the odd little film noir touch here and there on the production side of things (night time wet cobbled streets/Duryea under a street lamp/finale in swinging shadow), which somehow warrants it being part of the Hammer Film Noir Collection, but really it's best to approach this one as purely a race against time drama that is competently acted (though the script rarely allows Duryea chance to brood and be emotionally battered), well paced and a film that retains a good mystery element throughout. Safe viewing and film making really. 6/10