The Weapon

Post War British a decade past, hence the genuine bombed-out ruins where a pistol (THE WEAPON) is buried from an unsolved wartime murder, and local little boy Jon Whiteley finds it, accidentally shoots a bully, and runs like hell...

Morphing Val Guest's thriller from war to noir as Whiteley's Erik hits the dark shadowy streets while worried American widow/mom Lizabeth Scott, in her penultimate still-young big screen role, hitting the right emotional marks, is charmed by shady Brit George Cole while putting up with ultra-serious military investigator Steve Cochran...

And Cole, as the sole heavy, has the most fun here, getting to both sneakily and violently interact with side-characters (while charming Scott), including scene-stealing French starlet Nicole Maurey as a tough yet wispy showgirl just past her prime, who eventually shares an emotional turned sizzling/sexy scene with Cochran...

Meanwhile, in the thankless leading role, the handsome WHITE HEAT actor (who slowly warms up to Noir veteran Scott) plays THE WEAPON like a throwback gumshoe more than an MP, and for the sparse run-time, director Val Guest throws everything into the picture including sudden deaths, chases, rooftop fights and race-against-time suspense.