Escape (1948)

Matt Denant, ex-RAF flier, sentenced to three years in Dartmoor for striking and accidentally killing a detective who was attempting to arrest a lady of the evening to whom Denant had been ... See full synopsis »

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

Philip Dunne, John Galsworthy (play)

Stars:

Rex Harrison, Peggy Cummins, William Hartnell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rex Harrison	...	Matt Denant
Peggy Cummins	...	Dora Winton
William Hartnell	...	Inspector Harris
Norman Wooland	...	Minister
Jill Esmond	...	Grace Winton
Frederick Piper	...	Brownie - convict
Marjorie Rhodes	...	Mrs. Pinkem
Betty Ann Davies	...	Girl in Park
Cyril Cusack	...	Rodgers
John Slater	...	Salesman
Frank Pettingell	...	Constable Beames
Michael Golden	...	Detective Penter
Frederick Leister	...	Judge
Walter Hudd	...	Defense Counsel
Maurice Denham	...	Crown Counsel

Storyline

Matt Denant, ex-RAF flier, sentenced to three years in Dartmoor for striking and accidentally killing a detective who was attempting to arrest a lady of the evening to whom Denant had been casually speaking. Rankling under the injustice... See full synopsis »

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Plot Keywords:

remake | based on play

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Genres:

Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 September 1948 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Homem em Fuga

Filming Locations:

Dartmoor, Devon, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century-Fox Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

William Hartnell (Inspector Harris) and Patrick Troughton (Shepherd) would both later achieve widespread fame for playing the Doctor in Doctor Who. Hartnell played the First Doctor from 1963 to 1966 while Troughton played the Second Doctor from 1966 to 1969.

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Connections

Remake of Escape (1930)

User Reviews

No way out

Although based on a play,unlike many Mankiewicz' s movies,this one is no "filmed stage production" style .It even sometimes recall Hitchcock's 'the thirty-nine steps " for the bulk of the action is a chase .

A strong performance by Rex Harrison (who would be the star of three other Mankiewicz works :" the ghost and Mrs Muir" " the overlooked "honey pot" and the largely underrated "Cleopatra " in which he was the best Julius Ceasar in the history of cinema),who is sentenced to jail (three years!)for what he considers a just act.Actually what happened to him could happen to anyone .That's why it's so easy to identify with him and to feel he had been treated unfairly.

"Escape" has two meanings :escape from jail for the convict ,escape from a world she does not fit in for Dora:she's going to make a money match ,because "she's tired of being poor" ,but she realizes ,after meeting the fugitive that she would live in a prison too.

This is an offbeat story ;the conclusion is not what the audience is expecting and may be off-putting for some viewers.God himself intervenes ,and ,as the priest says ,only Him can judge man,only his justice is infallible.Besides ,one of the hero's friends betrays him to get Judas' thirty pieces of silver.