The Fake (1953)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Godfrey Grayson

Writers:

Bridget Boland (writer)
Patrick Kirwan (writer)

Release Date:

25 September 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

An American has to guard da Vinci's "Madonna and Child" when it is being shown in Britain. When it arrives he suspects it is not the real painting.

Plot Keywords:

Painting | Beautiful Woman | Art Theft

Cast

Dennis O'Keefe	...	Paul Mitchell
Coleen Gray	...	Mary Mason
Hugh Williams	...	Sir Richard Aldingham
Guy Middleton	...	Smith
John Laurie	...	Henry Mason
Eliot Makeham	...	Pavement Artist
Gerald Case	...	Peter Randall
Seymour Green	...	Weston
Stanley Van Beers	...	Cartwright (as Stanley van Beers)
Dora Bryan	...	Barmaid
Ellen Pollock	...	Miss Fossett
Philip Ray	...	Bearded Tramp
Morris Sweden	...	Pettigrew
Michael Ward	...	Art Salesman
Arnold Bell	...	Police Inspector

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #16687)

Company:

Pax Films

Trivia:

The first film of Billie Whitelaw.

Nice little Anglo-American mystery

"The Fake" is a British film made in 1953 and features two American leads, film noir stalwarts Dennis O'Keefe (T-Men, Raw Deal) and Coleen Gray (The Killing).

O'Keefe plays an American detective who is in charge of guarding a masterpiece painting by Leonardo da Vinci during an exhibition at London's famous Tate Gallery. Gray plays the American daughter of a somewhat destitute British painter who never received the artistic recognition he deserved and who arouses O'Keefe's suspicion.

O'Keefe is investigating the theft of two other da Vinci masterpieces that had occurred earlier in Florence and New York. In both cases, the paintings were stolen and replaced with near-perfect forgeries as cover-ups. O'Keefe suspects something similar is bound to happen at the Tate Gallery, which would give him a chance to catch the thief and cash in on a $ 50,000 reward. Problem is, while he suspects Gray's father to be involved in the art forgery scheme, he also falls in love with her.

While certainly no film noir, the movie does use some typical and nice to look at noirish lighting techniques. The film's pace and storytelling is more American than British and O'Keefe and Gray do a credible job, although neither gets much of a chance in terms of character development, not to mention the other actors.

The Tate Gallery footage seems to have been shot on location, which lends the picture an air of authenticity. A splendid touch is the use of variations on Mussorgsky's famous composition "Pictures At An Exhibition" for the musical score.

While "The Fake" is certainly no masterpiece, it does keep the viewer interested while it lasts. Being both an O'Keefe and a Gray fan, I give the movie 7 out of 10 points.