Eight O'Clock Walk (1954)

Taxicab driver Tom Banning is led to an abandoned bomb-site by an eight-year-old girl as an April-fool prank. The girl is later found murdered and Manning is picked up by Scotland Yard for ... See full summary »

Director:

Lance Comfort

Writers:

Jack Roffey (story), Gordon Harboard (story),

Stars:

Richard Attenborough, Cathy O'Donnell, Derek Farr

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Attenborough	...	Thomas 'Tom' Leslie Manning
Cathy O'Donnell	...	Jill Manning
Derek Farr	...	Peter Tanner
Ian Hunter	...	Geoffrey Tanner
Maurice Denham	...	Horace Clifford
Bruce Seton	...	Detective Chief Inspector
Lily Kann	...	Mrs. Adeline Zunz
Harry Welchman	...	Justice Harrington
Kynaston Reeves	...	Munro
Eithne Dunne	...	Mrs. Evans
Cheryl Molineaux	...	Irene Evans
Totti Truman Taylor	...	Miss Ribden-White
Robert Adair	...	Albert Pettigrew
Grace Arnold	...	Mrs. Higgs
David Hannaford	...	Ernie Higgs

Storyline

Taxicab driver Tom Banning is led to an abandoned bomb-site by an eight-year-old girl as an April-fool prank. The girl is later found murdered and Manning is picked up by Scotland Yard for questioning and is later arrested and charged with murder. The trial is scheduled for London's Old Bailey. Manning's wife, Jill, convinced he is innocent, fights for and wins the sympathy of Council-for-the-Defense Peter Tanner, and he is opposed at the trail by his father, prosecuting-attorney Geoffrey Tanner. The trail is presided over by Justice Harrington, whose wife is in the hospital undergoing an operation. It soon becomes evident, following the testimony of prosecution-witness Horace Clifford, that the evidence points to Manning's guilt. During a recess, Peter Tanner sees Clifford outside the courthouse, giving candy to a young girl. Farr identifies the candy as being the same brand as that found on the murdered girl. The judge's wife has died, but the trial resumes with Tanner recalling ...

---

Plot Keywords:

trial | candy | testimony | operation | evidence | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 1954 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Aprilmordet

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Aviation Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Oranges and Lemons"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Arranged by George Melachrino

User Reviews

Part Of The Abolishionist Debate

At the time that this film was made there was a fierce debate about capital punishment.In the early fifties Timothy Evans was wrongly hung for murders committed by Christie.Then Derek Bentley was hung for a murder he did not commit,merely present when the actual murderer fired the weapon.The actual murderer went to jail as he was too young to hang.So this film sets up a perfect set of circumstances where an innocent man could be convicted of murder.It is only because of the theatrical contrivances that in fact Attenborough goes free.The trial in the film is fairly brief in that it appears to last a couple of days.frighteningly that is the way it was.At times it was all about "pour encourage les autres" rather than justice being seen to be done.A thoughtful film with sincere performances.