Terror Street (1953)
"36 Hours" (original title)

An American pilot AWOL from the states is framed for his wife's murder and has just 36 hours to prove his innocence.

Director:

Montgomery Tully

Writer:

Steve Fisher (story)

Stars:

Dan Duryea, Elsie Albiin, Gudrun Ure

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dan Duryea	...	Major Bill Rogers
Elsie Albiin	...	Katherine 'Katie' Rogers (as Elsy Albiin)
Gudrun Ure	...	Sister Jenny Miller (as Ann Gudrun)
Eric Pohlmann	...	Slossen, the smuggler
John Chandos	...	Orville Hart
Kenneth Griffith	...	Henry Slosson
Harold Lang	...	Harry Cross, desk clerk
Jane Carr	...	Soup Kitchen Supervisor
Michael Golden	...	The Inspector
Marianne Stone	...	Pam Palmer

Storyline

Bill Rogers, an American pilot taking special training in the States, gets an unauthorized hop to England to pay a surprise visit his beautiful Norwegian wife. He is devastated when he finds that she has moved out of their flat and is living a new and glamorous lifestyle entertaining a lot of men. After being knocked unconscious by an unseen assailant in her upscale West End apartment, he awakens to find his wife shot to death with his service pistol. On the run from police he persuades a young woman who runs a Salvation Army soup kitchen to believe in his innocence and help him uncover the real culprit. Although the police do not know as yet that he is in Britain, he has just 36 hours before he is declared AWOL and his identity is exposed. The trail leads to a corrupt customs official, smuggling, blackmail, and a mysterious safety deposit box.

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Plot Keywords:

pilot | salvation army | blackmail | soup kitchen | norwegian | 

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Taglines:

Her face was only the build-up to a frame-up!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 December 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Terror Street

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Film Productions, Lippert Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 85 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Major Bill Rogers: I've got a club membership card. It's got both our signatures on it. You can copy from the original.
Sister Jenny Miller: She wrote beautifully.
Major Bill Rogers: She did everything beautifully.

User Reviews

The Come-On

There's no mystery in Terror Street since we know right away who murders Dan Duryea's wife Elsie Albiin. But the film is a neat little noir thriller from the United Kingdom and released here under the banner of Lippert Pictures.

As was a common practice in Great Britain of the Fifties an American name was obtained to star and was supported by players from there and the continent. Duryea plays an American Air Force major who goes AWOL and has a friend smuggle him to Great Britain. He had been stationed there and then temporarily transferred stateside as a flight instructor. That did not please Albiin as she's left behind.

As we learn in flashback she got herself a fancy new apartment in an upscale part of London. And Albiin starts hanging around with a real shady crowd consisting of Erich Pohlmann, John Chandos, and Kenneth Griffith. We also learn she's become a come on in a blackmail scheme and wants out.

We learn this at the same time Duryea does, but he rather stupidly polishes off a bottle of liquor while he waits for Albiin and one of the cast murders her. And as usual he's the one holding the bag.

It's always fascinating in these kind of films how these men on the run always get some woman to help them. In this case it's Gudrun Ure, a nursing sister whom he breaks in on while the London cops are chasing him.

Terror Street is a nice no frills noir film. No suspense since we know who did the deed, but the tension is good and the cast performs well.