As far as late cycle noir goes, this one is certainly engrossing. It was one of Lizabeth Scott's last films, filmed on location in England with Steve Cochran and Herbert Marshall as her costars. Miss Scott plays the mother of a pre-teen boy (Jon Whiteley) who has been hanging out in some ruins with a group of friends. These ruins are what remains of old buildings that had been bombed by the Nazis during air raids a decade earlier and have not yet been completely cleared off.
We are told that young Erik Jenner (Whiteley) is the product of a relationship between a kind British man and an American woman (Scott). They were married during the war, but the boy's father was killed a short time later. Elsa Jenner stayed in England to raise her son and has a minimum wage job at a diner. At the beginning of the story, Erik who is what you'd call a latchkey child, is in the ruins with his pals when he discovers a gun lodged in a block of concrete. He is able to pull the gun out, but his friends want to take it from him.
During a skirmish that ensues, Erik accidentally fires the gun and one of the other boys is shot. As a group of adults rush over, Erik takes off with the gun. Soon a police chief (Marshall) and a fellow detective who is associated with the military (Cochran) are paying Mrs. Jenner a visit. They reveal that the gun Erik found was used in the murder of a soldier at the end of the war. They need to get the gun back. But Mrs. Jenner doesn't care about the gun, she only wants her son back. Due to their conflicting priorities, she gets off on the wrong foot with Detective Andrews.
Meanwhile, there is an interesting subplot involving a local man Joshua Henry (George Cole). He notifies the police that he saw Erik who is still missing. But unbeknownst to Mrs. Jenner and the detective, this helpful citizen is really the man responsible for the murder of the soldier. It was his weapon that Erik found. He wants to get the gun back before the police catch up with Erik, so he is using the boy's mother to this end.
Related to this subplot is the presence of a nightclub singer (Nicole Maurey) who could provide testimony against the killer. Not surprisingly she will be bumped off, and she has a very shocking death scene that occurs while the detective is questioning her.
There is a great deal of suspense in this 77-minute film. A lot of on-location filming through the streets of London gives the drama added appeal. In addition to the sequences filmed at the site of the old ruins, there are other scenes shot outdoors. Almost all of the scenes with Erik are done away from a movie studio, since he remains on the run for nearly the whole story.
Jon Whiteley had made a film called HUNTED (1952) with Dirk Bogarde in which he and Mr. Bogarde were also on the run, so in some ways this is a natural follow-up for him.
Whiteley earned an honorary juvenile Oscar for his work in another film, and he certainly was one of the cinema's most technically polished young performers in the 1950s. There is nothing cloying or disingenuous about him on screen, and his work as Erik hits all the right notes. The scene where he is reunited with his mother is beautifully played, and the car crash scene that follows is unexpected and excitingly staged.
We are told that young Erik Jenner (Whiteley) is the product of a relationship between a kind British man and an American woman (Scott). They were married during the war, but the boy's father was killed a short time later. Elsa Jenner stayed in England to raise her son and has a minimum wage job at a diner. At the beginning of the story, Erik who is what you'd call a latchkey child, is in the ruins with his pals when he discovers a gun lodged in a block of concrete. He is able to pull the gun out, but his friends want to take it from him.
During a skirmish that ensues, Erik accidentally fires the gun and one of the other boys is shot. As a group of adults rush over, Erik takes off with the gun. Soon a police chief (Marshall) and a fellow detective who is associated with the military (Cochran) are paying Mrs. Jenner a visit. They reveal that the gun Erik found was used in the murder of a soldier at the end of the war. They need to get the gun back. But Mrs. Jenner doesn't care about the gun, she only wants her son back. Due to their conflicting priorities, she gets off on the wrong foot with Detective Andrews.
Meanwhile, there is an interesting subplot involving a local man Joshua Henry (George Cole). He notifies the police that he saw Erik who is still missing. But unbeknownst to Mrs. Jenner and the detective, this helpful citizen is really the man responsible for the murder of the soldier. It was his weapon that Erik found. He wants to get the gun back before the police catch up with Erik, so he is using the boy's mother to this end.
Related to this subplot is the presence of a nightclub singer (Nicole Maurey) who could provide testimony against the killer. Not surprisingly she will be bumped off, and she has a very shocking death scene that occurs while the detective is questioning her.
There is a great deal of suspense in this 77-minute film. A lot of on-location filming through the streets of London gives the drama added appeal. In addition to the sequences filmed at the site of the old ruins, there are other scenes shot outdoors. Almost all of the scenes with Erik are done away from a movie studio, since he remains on the run for nearly the whole story.
Jon Whiteley had made a film called HUNTED (1952) with Dirk Bogarde in which he and Mr. Bogarde were also on the run, so in some ways this is a natural follow-up for him.
Whiteley earned an honorary juvenile Oscar for his work in another film, and he certainly was one of the cinema's most technically polished young performers in the 1950s. There is nothing cloying or disingenuous about him on screen, and his work as Erik hits all the right notes. The scene where he is reunited with his mother is beautifully played, and the car crash scene that follows is unexpected and excitingly staged.