Kill Her Gently

"Kill her gently" is another brilliant example of B toughness in british 1950's cinema. And I do not know any other movie by the director Charles Saunders who directs energically this psycho hostage story in the main setting of a house. Marc Lawrence is a powerful threatening badman, Griffith Jones is the husband taken in hostage with his beautiful wife Maureen Connell threatened by Marc Lawrence but always resisting (what a performance), and Marianne Brauns is another Marc Lawrence's victim. And virtuoso shootings in the main violent scenes. Don't grip on the few mistakes in the story.

Two escaping convicts hitch a ride with someone who may be more disturbed than either of them. Griffith Jones is well cast as a cool, mannered and devious husband with emotional baggage to spare with Maureen Connell as his well-meaning and unfortunate spouse.

As one previous reviewer has noted, this is quite a brutal film in its sometimes violent treatment of both male and female characters. The film quality as seen on the estimable TPTV was far from perfect but didn't detract from the pace of the narrative. Although the casting of an American and a European as the escapees was obviously intended to attract a wider global audience, the latter role (George Mikel) was underwritten; the plaudits for the film mainly go to Marc Lawrence, who I had only really previously known in his roles in Diamonds Are Forever ("I didn't know that there was a pool down there "), and The Man with the Golden Gun.

In 1957's Kill Her Gently, Connors (Marc Lawrence) and Svenson (George Mikell), an American and a Swede, escape from prison and are picked up by a man, Jeff Martin (Griffith Jones) on his way home. He knows who they are and tells the police blockade that they are two friends.

The escapees don't quite understand why he's being so nice, until he offers them 1000 pounds to kill his wife. In exchange, he offers to get them out of the country that night.

The men put on an act of treating both Jeff and wife Kay (Maureen Connell) as hostages.

Turns out that the true looney-tunes in this group is Jeff. Kay cheated on him with the doctor who had him committed. Well, he doesn't seem to have fully recovered.

Kay is the one with the money, but when the monthly deposit hasn't yet arrived, tensions grow, and Jeff needs to sell his car. He's arranged for them to leave by evening, but they're not going anywhere without the money.

Eventually bodies start piling up in this violent and misogynistic film. Director Charles Saunders keeps the tension going. The American and British cast was for a wider distribution of the film. Marc Lawrence seems to be the biggest name, living in Europe due to being blacklisted.

The makers of this film clearly wanted to cast this film so that they could get distribution both in America and Europe.What else can explain the the strange casting of the convicts.Nevertheless this is quite a reasonable British film noir,with plenty of bodies scattered around.Though you have to get through one major implausibility.The police blockade not looking to see the 2 passengers in the car with Griffiths Jones.Jones depiction of his growing insanity seems to depend on him being lathered in sweat and his eyes becoming rather more prominent.One would have thought that his rather strange behaviour would have given a clue to people.As usual the police only get there in the end to mop up the pieces.

Kill Her Gently is a sub Hitchcockian British B thriller starring American Marc Lawrence who had escaped to Europe after being blacklisted for his political views in the 1950s.

Two convicts break out of prison. Connors is an American and Svenson is a Swede. While on the run they are picked up by a motorist, Martin who realises who they are but helps them pass a police road block. Martin makes the a proposition to the fugitive. He will help them leave the country if in return they will kill his wife.

It looks like Martin is more deranged than the convicts who has suffered a mental breakdown for which his wife had him sectioned and who also thinks she might be having an affair.

Most of the film is set in the couple's home as Martin initially comes across as a victim with his wife. However the convicts become reluctant carrying out his task especially Svenson.

This is a tight, short thriller but with a very rushed ending. Marc Lawrence impresses as a tough guy with a looming conscious. Griffith Jones is also memorable as the conniving, cunning and desperate husband who wants to punish his wife for having him incarcerated.