Scarlet Thread

This early fifties British film starts off really well, and features some excellent London and Cambridge locations. The chase scene, concerning the students pursuing the crooks through the streets of Cambridge, is novel and very well staged. Unfortunately, from thereon in the film tails off, and becomes bogged down in a talky and drawn out scenario. Kathleen Byrom and Sydney Tafler acquit themselves well, although it has to be said that Laurence Harvey, in an early role, gives a patchy performance, at best. The interlude between Byrom and Harvey, referred to by other reviewers, is certainly a surprise especially given the age of the film. The censor must have nipped out for a coffee at that point, but obviously returned for the end of the film which simply terminates far too abruptly (can anyone shed any light on this?) In conclusion, it's a pity the film wasn't condensed a bit more before its finale, which could have done with being more conclusive.

Laurence Harvey tries to lift Sidney Tafler's wallet. Tafler calls him out on it, but does not call the nearby police. Instead, he takes him home, gives him dinner, and tells him that when he has a job for him, he'll send for him. The job is a smash-and-grab on a jeweler's window in Cambridge. Harvey shoots a man who tries to interfere, a crowd gets between them and their getaway car, which drives off. The men outrace the crowd and take refuge in the University, where they impose, due to Tafler's having gone to Trinity, on Kathleen Byron, whose father has gone to a meeting in London.

Lewis Gilbert does a nice job directing his first feature. After a look at the town and the university grounds, it turns into a nice study in Tafler's and Harvey's minds. Harvey is a punk, exhibiting the craziness he would use to advantage in future movies. There's also a nice bit of suspense in the situation, with the police looking for them with poor descriptions, and the fate of the shot man. There is a touch too much in the way of coincidence in the second half of the movie, but it's tightly plotted and it holds together well while watching it.

There are two things memorable about this crime drama. The first is Laurence Harvey's hair - two or three tubs of Brylcream? The second is - as always - Kathleen Byron's eyes. She can smile all she likes but those eyes always look they are about to impale you, violently, on a nearby rusty nail! Actually, as this film unfolds it proves distinctly possible that the former may well end up a victim of the latter as he and his partner-in-crime "Marcon" (Sydney Tafler) take refuge at her stately pile whilst on the run from the police. Harvey ("Freddie") is a cocky young man who panics during a jewel robbery and he kills an innocent man. Now the two must flee the pursuing constabulary and slowly but surely begin to mistrust one another - a situation that comes to an head as Miss Byron ("Josephine") discovers the identity of their victim. Lewis Gilbert assembles a decent supporting cast - Dora Bryan and Tafler's regular screen pal Harry Fowler to keep this rather less predictable and more interesting than many of the genre. There is a bit of scope for characterisation and the story has a twist at the end that adds a certain element of just desserts too. Rarely seen nowadays, but worth a watch.

What distinguishes this crime film from many of its contemporaries is not so much the plot, though the dialogue is above average, but the degree of authenticity its characters have and the location shooting in Cambridge and the West End of London.

Laurence Harvey's cheap aggressive spiv, complete with trilby and a phony accent, modelling himself on an American gangster, or at least the Hollywood version of one, had his real life counterparts, as court cases of the period show. One clever scene is set in a seedy amusement arcade as Harvey's womanising Freddie tries to pick up a low class tart (Dora Bryan) much to the disapproval of Sydney Tafler's educated, rather aloof, possibly gay character Marcon (alias Bellingham). There's also a vague resemblance at first to the relationship between Terry and Arthur in MINDER; Tafler is excellent throughout. We meet the magnetic Kathleen Byron's Josephine just before the botched smash and grab resulting in murder and soon learn of her anxiety at the prospect of being stifled amid the tranquil, cloistered "backwater" of her university surroundings with her suitor, staid academic Arthur Hill. Byron was one of the few British actresses of the day whose characters were clearly made of flesh and blood, and here the refined Josephine is sufficiently attracted to the working class, pseudo American Freddie, as to be quite ready to jump straight into bed with him, an unusual development for a film of the time. There's some tension and moments of dry humour, particularly involving Josephine's aunt Eleanor (Renee Kelly). But the film's main interest in the later stages lies in the relationship between the three leading characters, as it works out against the university background.

Sadly, the recent DVD release confirms that the film has only survived in a mutilated form, with minutes missing toward the end, leaving the eventual fate of Freddie, Marcon and accomplice Harry Fowler unclear.

This film has just been shown as part of the "British films forever" season on BBC2.The film was made by Butchers Films(1910-1980)which made films for the bottom half of double bills.The film stars Sydney Tafler,the brother in law of that very versatile director Lewis Gilbert.Also starring is a very young Laurence Harvey ,before he adopted the "arent i beautiful"mannerisms of his later career,There are some very interesting location shots of the West End of London,including a number of cinema exteriors and also of Cambridge.The plot is a typical thriller of its times and has more holes in its plot than you would find in a piece of Swiss cheese.There is however one very daring scene for its time.Kathleen Byron plays the frustrated girlfriend of a don.She is immediately attracted to Harvey.They have a dance then a very sensual kiss and there is a clear indication that he can have his wicked way with her when mum has gone to sleep.To ensure an early night for mum she is given a sleeping pill but fate intervenes.Anyway to buffs of British cinema it is worth a watch.