White Fire

Scott Brady is a merchant mariner who gets off ship in England to visit his brother. He finds his brother in prison, doomed to hang in three days for murder, unless Brady can make his way through a murky underworld conspiracy that involves smuggled diamonds.

I find it interesting, the number of British programmers that begin with a sailor of some sort making port, hoping to see a relative, and discovering he is in jail or dead. It's a nice technique for plopping the protagonist down in a plot in a new situation, forcing him to deal not only with the plot, but the part of society he's caught up in. Usually it's a guy; Howard Hawks liked to use the situation with a woman coming into a tight-knit community of men -- Jean Arthur in ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS; Angie Dickinson in RIO BRAVO are two of those movies. However, in those movies, it's the exploration of that society that is the point of the movie; sure, there's a plot, but what it turns into is a story about bonding.

Brady is good in the role, and the story is well told, but while the mystery aspect is good, it's a decent programmer, and little more... which is fine.

As some other reviewers have mentioned, THREE STEPS TO THE GALLOWS is a highly superior British film noir which doesn't let up from beginning to end. A twisty turny mystery style plot line throws up some familiar tropes - it seems half of British crime films made during the 1950s consisted of criminal enterprises utilising nightclubs as their lairs - but runs away with them thanks to a fast pacing and a complete refusal to deviate from the thriller aspects of the storyline.

American actor Scott Brady plays a sailor who gets some shore leave to visit his brother, only to discover that he's disappeared. He soon uncovers a sinister, conspiracy-style mystery that will lead to his brother's imminent execution, so it's a race against time to prove his innocence. Along the way he tangles with femme fatales, dogged detectives, and various henchmen, often slugging it out with the latter in some engaging fight scenes.

Brady is a slightly boring main actor but the supporting cast make up for deficiencies, with Ferdy Mayne and Michael Balfour on particularly strong form. Ballard Berkeley plays a cop and must have been one of the most typecast actors of the era. Director John Gilling, who would later direct the likes of THE REPTILE for Hammer, does a sterling job, but the real star here is Welshman Paul Erickson, whose debut script is never less than compelling.

I saw this under the title of "3 Steps to the Gallows". A better title would have been "3 Days to the Gallows," since when American seaman Scott Brady arrives in London and goes in search of his brother he finds the latter is due to be executed in three days' time for murder: he's innocent, of course. The film's scriptwriter plays the brother, and he's definitely a better writer than actor, seeming remarkably calm for someone facing imminent death for something he didn't do. John Gilling made several low-budget crime films in the 50s, and seeing this one made me want to see the others.The plot has some good twists, and there's a lot of interesting location filming. It was common practice to import minor American stars for such films, and Brady made a spirited hero, while Mary Castle, who I'd never seen before, bears a considerable resemblance to Rita Hayworth. She even sings in a nightclub, a la Gilda. The weaknesses are the way Brady wins all his fist fights (even against a professional boxer!) and the climax, in which the police turn up like the 7th Cavalry even though they had no way of knowing where the protagonists were. Very odd.

Excellent British Film Noir "3 Steps to the Gallows" follows American Sailor Scott Brady trying to visit and then just locate his brother while docked in London. Mary Castle as the lounge singer at the Gay Mask club gives this film an extraordinary aura. Her abbreviated performance of "There's No Way Out" paves the way for Brady to commence making contact with all of the characters involved in the plot. Pay attention - no one is above suspicion. Brady is more than a bit of a bull in a china shop but the rest of the cast is more subtly believable. This moves along at a good pace with no dead time. Worth seeking out.

Scott Brady is a military man who learns that his brother is about to be hanged in "Three Steps to the Gallows" from 1953.

Brady is Gregor Stevens who arrives in London planning on visiting with his brother. His brother, however, was convicted of murder in will be executed in three days.

This doesn't give Gregor much time to find out what happened and hopefully clear his brother. He finds himself involved with smugglers but gets some help from Yvonne Durante (Mary Castle) a nightclub singer. It's risky business because these are diamond smugglers who will stop at nothing to silence anyone they think might talk.

A lot of action in this one, as Brady is constantly getting into fights. One funny part occurs when a secretary (Genevieve Brune) introduces herself as a school friend of Yvonne's. Since they were 19 years apart in age, that must have been some school.

Ferdy Mayne and Michael Balfour do excellent jobs supporting Brady, one of many American actors who made British films in the '50s. Scott Brady at that time was something of a matinee idol, though low level. He later went into character work and worked into the '80s, dying in 1985.

Most of these films starring Americans are B level, but I usually enjoy them, especially the Hammer films, of which this is one. Not the horror ones though.