Temptation Harbour (1947)

User Rating:

8.8/10   

Director:

Lance Comfort

Writers:

Rodney Ackland (writer)
Frederick Gotfurt (writer)

Release Date:

27 March 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Harbor | Foreign Language Adaptation | Based On Novel

Cast

Robert Newton	...	Bert Mallison
Simone Simon	...	Camelia
William Hartnell	...	Jim Brown
Marcel Dalio	...	Insp. Dupré
Margaret Barton	...	Betty Mallison
Edward Rigby	...	Tatem
Joan Hopkins	...	Beryl Brown
Kathleen Harrison	...	Mabel
Leslie Dwyer	...	Reg
Charles Victor	...	Gowshall
Irene Handl	...	Mrs. Gowshall
Wylie Watson	...	Fred
John Salew	...	CID Inspector
George Woodbridge	...	Frost
Kathleen Boutall	...	Mrs. Frost

Also Known As:

Temptation Harbor (USA)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Company:

Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)

Movie Connections:

Version of L'homme de Londres (1943)

English Noir

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

A fine film with Robert Newton acting well in an ensemble for once. He is a signalman at Newhaven docks where trains were loaded onto ferries to cross the Channel to Dieppe (hence the title of Simenon's original novel) who sees a man pushed into the harbour and rescues not the man but a suitcase holding £5000. He is about to phone the police when the Stationmaster reprimands him for not operating a signal on time and so, step-by-step, he considers keeping the money and his downfall begins. Newton is very good as a man tempted by wealth beyond his dreams- and the limits of his dreams are well-depicted too- but all of the actors are good: Margaret Barton as the daughter having to take on an adult's responsibility, William Hartnell makes the thief and killer a decent man, concerned for his family, Simone Simon as a "radio-active mermaid" in a funfair magic act still has a few illusions left to be stirred by the money. The supporting cast are all convincing- caricatures, sometimes, but never absurd. It's well-directed with some excellent touches and deftly-handled camera-work, giving the atmosphere of a small town on the edge of the world. The only fault is the sometimes over-emphatic music.