Terror Street (1953) User Reviews

Dan Duryea shines as a man determined to find a killer

[Terrell-4 · 6/10 · 2 February 2008]

Dan Duryea looked his age (46) when he made this Brit noir in 1953. The bags under the eyes aren't disguised. There are wrinkles on his forehead and creases around his mouth. Those wrinkles and creases, and his skill as an actor, are among the best things about this workmanlike film. Duryea was a fine, interesting actor, with in some movies a kind of sleazy menace and in others a puzzled sincerity. In Terror Street he raises our expectations every time he's on camera. As Major Bill Rogers, a U. S. Air Force pilot, he's hitched a ride from the States on a military plane so he can talk to his unhappy wife, Katie. When he shows up at their apartment in London, she's missing. Finally he locates her new apartment. She shows up but before they can talk he's knocked unconscious. When he comes to he finds her lying beside him dead, shot with bullets from his gun. He has 36 hours to find the killer; he must be back at the air-base for his return flight. The conclusion is strictly standard fare for cheaply produced noirs, but getting there is surprisingly rewarding.

In Terror Street, Dan Duryea isn't just one more B-noir tough guy hero. He's distraught that his wife apparently left him while he was gone for a year. For most of the movie he's unsure of himself, unsure of what his wife was doing, unsure of why she would have been killed and unsure if in fact she had ever loved him. Only until the last quarter of the movie, when the script requires him to do tough guy things, does his performance begin to look routine.

Unusual in these low-grade noirs, there are several other performances where the quality shines. Ann Gudrin plays Jenny Miller, the smart young woman who runs a mission and who helps Bill. Very subtly, Gudrin let's us see that Miller's feelings, carefully proper, may be moving in ways that surprise her. Eric Pohlman plays a suave antiques dealer with debonaire assurance.

But at least at the end the bad guys have paid the price, Katie's reputation is restored even if she isn't and, while Bill heads back to the States, we find a hint that he plans to stay in contact with Jenny. She smiles. So do we. They'd make a good match.

Duryea does it again

[FilmFlaneur · 6/10 · 16 May 2009]

In 1950, American producer Robert Lippert formed a business alliance with Hammer studios. Under the agreement, Lippert would provide American acting talent - frequently shop-worn stars or just supporting actors who fancied a profitable trip out of the country - while Hammer would supply the rest of the cast and the production facilities. Together they would split the profits. Famous for his concern with the bottom line, Lippert produced over 140 films between 1946 and 1955, characteristically genre pieces such as I Shot Jesse James or Rocketship XM. For the British deal, most of the films were noir-ish thrillers - and include this title.

The American noir icon Dan Duryea is the best thing in 36 Hours, which is at its strongest in the first half. He plays Major Rogers, a flyer smuggled into the country to discover what his wife has been up to during his absence away on duty. Shortly after he catches up with her, she is dead, leaving the stunned Rogers waking up next to her body with just a few hours to prove his innocence. Duryea's opening scenes, mostly played solo as he explores his wife's apartment piecing together her new relationships, are the essence of noir - an alienated man, lost in an environment where moral certitudes are missing. Unfortunately the script by Steve Miller (responsible for earlier classics such as Dead Reckoning, and Lady In The Lake) grows less interesting as it proceeds, and the final complexities are forced and unconvincing. Along the way, Duryea brings life to his relationship with Jenny (Ann Gudrin), equally as good as the unfussy woman who believes his story. Kenneth Griffith also makes impact as the weasely Slosson - a character which, on a different continent, would no doubt been of interest to Elisha Cook Jr.

Entertaining Hammer Film Noir

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 25 May 2019]

During a 36-hour leave, Major Bill Rogers (Dan Duryea) travels to England to meet his wife Katherine 'Katie' Rogers (Elsy Albiin). Bill is training in the United States and left his wife alone for several months. But soon he learns that Katie has moved from their apartment to a new one to have encounters with men. Bill heads to the address and when Katie arrives, he is knocked out by a stranger in her apartment. Further, the man uses his pistol to kill Katie and frame Bill. Now he has less than 36 hours to find the killer and prove his innocence.

"Terror Street", a.k.a. "36 Hours', is an entertaining Hammer film noir with Dan Duryea in the lead role. The plot has flaws, the fights choreography is weak but the storyline is engaging. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "36 Horas" ("36 Hours")

An interesting plot that unfortunately hinges on a bad and overused cliche.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 12 March 2020]

The basic idea for "36 Hours" is decent....and it could have been a really good British film noir movie. However, it suffers from a huge problem...the reliance on a bad and often overused cliche...the total stranger who helps a wanted man. Hitchcock used it in "The 39 Steps" but so have many other film makers....which is why I wasn't overly impressed by the movie.

Bill Rogers (Dan Duryea) is in the US Air Force and he's on a 36 hour layover in London. He takes this time to go home to see his wife...only to find the apartment empty. After investigating, he finds her in her new apartment...and it appears as if she's been up to no good while Bill was away. But before he can get any answers, he's hit from behind. When he awakens, he finds her dead next to him....shot with his gun!! Seeing he's behind the 8-ball, Bill decides that instead of going to the police, he'll investigate on his own. Now this in and of itself is an overused cliche...but it gets worse when he meets a young lady who, inexplicably, instantly believes him and takes MANY risks to help Bill....none of which makes any sense! It's a shame, as the main plot idea is sound...but what follows isn't.

Duryea is sound in the lead but even a decent performance by him cannot erase cliched writing....and it is cliched (as I mentioned above) and should have been better. In spite of this, the film still is interesting and worth seeing....but nothing more.

36 hours for Major William Rogers to save his bacon.

[hitchcockthelegend · 6/10 · 7 September 2012]

Terror Street (AKA: 36 Hours) is directed by Montgomery Tully and written by Steve Fisher. It stars Dan Duryea, Elsy Albiin, Ann Gudrun, John Chandos and Eric Pohlmann. Music is by Ivor Slaney and cinematography by Walter Harvey. Plot finds Duryea as Major William Rogers, who is in London to see his estranged wife. When he arrives at her apartment, he is attacked and knocked unconscious. Upon awakening he finds that his wife has been shot and killed with his own gun. Taking to the streets, Rogers must find the real culprits before the police find and charge him with the murder.

Simple and effective little B crime picture out of Hammer Productions that plays on the wrong man on the run theme. There's the odd little film noir touch here and there on the production side of things (night time wet cobbled streets/Duryea under a street lamp/finale in swinging shadow), which somehow warrants it being part of the Hammer Film Noir Collection, but really it's best to approach this one as purely a race against time drama that is competently acted (though the script rarely allows Duryea chance to brood and be emotionally battered), well paced and a film that retains a good mystery element throughout. Safe viewing and film making really. 6/10

Dan Duryea tries to find out what happened to his wife

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 10 November 2021]

Dan Duryea stars in "Terror Street," also known as "36 Hours" from 1953. Though this was filmed in Britain and takes place there, the cars had the steering wheel on the American side for some reason.

Duryea is Bill Rogers, an American soldier, returns to London, where he was once stationed, when he hasn't heard from his Norwegian wife Katherine (Elsy Albin) in some time. He arrives at their apartment to find her gone and letters he sent to her unread. Her neighbor finally admits that Katherine is now living in an apartment in the west end.

Rogers convinces the young man at reception to let him into the apartment - mainly because he says if not, he will report that the employee is listening in on private phone calls.

Turns out the apartment is one fancy place, but before learning how it is that Katherine has moved up in the world, Rogers is knocked unconscious. When he regains consciousness, he finds that Katherine is dead, his service pistol was used, and it is in his hand.

Rogers' plane to return to the U. S. is in 36 hours - so he has that long to find out who killed Katherine. On the run from the police, he encounters a soup kitchen worker (Ann Gudrun) who believes his story and endeavors to help him.

Duryea is very good, as is the rest of the cast, including Eric Pohlmann and John Chandos.

The problem with the film is that the writing is weak. First of all, why the soup kitchen worker, whom he surprises after he sneaks into her apartment, didn't run for her life is beyond me. Also, Rogers doesn't turn to the police; he decides to investigate for himself in the typical innocent albeit wanted man way. There is also no big surprise as to who killed Katherine.

Katherine's story turns out to be somewhat interesting, however, and because I like Duryea, I'm giving it six stars.

Dan Duryea lethally stigmatized by Hollywood!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 28 April 2019]

I did remember in some bonus material that Dan Duryea was totally opposite as Hollywood stigmatized him in his countless crook's roles, in fact he complained it largely for his pals, now on this American-British co-production he had finally his good guy's moments, maybe it was the mistake, the picture has innumerable qualities, dark, intense, a true noir and having London's fog atmosphere, like "do you want a cup of tea??" reading some reviews posted here which l'd to disagree with them, meanwhile l've respect all comments, but my vision of cinema was and ever will be by myself, watching a little portion may occur in a bug, maybe watching twice should be a best baseline, it's already happened with me many times, notwithstanding redressed each issue in its turn, the DVD experience is quite different from TV, in this last one we always lost many unnoticed details and cannot turn back at once!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

This was NOT the best year of his life!

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 1 December 2012]

Wherever Dan Duryea travels, film noir is sure to follow! Whether the good guy or the villain (or sometimes the red herring), his world weary face was a perfect example of the "noir look"-a bit sleazy, and someone you'd think twice about trusting. In this Lippert "B" film, he is the good guy, a war veteran whose British wife (Elsie Albiin) abandons him while he's off in America on special assignment. He's back long enough to get caught up in her murder, coming to after confronting her, finding himself next to her dead body with a the murder weapon in his hand. Knowing he is being framed, Duryea runs out just as the police get there, and utilizes the aid of a rather gullible neighbor (Gudrun Ure) both to hide him and help clear his name. You'll instantly know who the killer is, but this is not a mystery. It is all about how he gets around while trying to find out what happened which leads him to find out information on his deceased wife that isn't so pretty.

This is a British made film noir that has many great things going for it, but it is also a bit too much to see the wife's dead body there (shot twice at almost point blank range) with no trace of blood. On the other hand, there are some interesting flashback sequences that let us know how Duryea and his wife met, shown through an obvious projector slide show, which is very interestingly photographed in itself. The cameraman moves much like an unseen bystander, few cuts in between, but filmed in a way that is never static. Also interesting is the character of the wife, both a gentle lady and a femme fatal, showing how many women during the war years found new ways to survive boredom while their spouses were away.

Duryea is never an actor you can take an emotional interest in (his hard looks spoil any vulnerability he might have hidden inside), but he is so good at what he does that all of his characters, regardless of what side of the law they are on, are always extremely interesting. You long to see if (and how) he will get out of this plight. As the innocent mission worker, Ure is too kind to be real. When Duryea asks her to forge his wife's signature to get into her safety deposit box, I said to myself, "Oh, come on." Even in the 1950's, an amateur could not get away with forgery. Typical British eccentrics (always amusing to Americans with their unique use of the language) come in and out of the story to give local flavor. While watching this, I realized how similar it was in many senses to 1946's classic "The Blue Dahlia" which has pretty much the same conflict but a more identifiable hero.

The Come-On

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 12 May 2013]

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.

Eighty two minutes

[searchanddestroy-1 · 2 November 2023]

Do not confound this title with 36 HOURS, from director George Seaton and speaking of another topic, far far far more interesting, surprising, unusual story, with this one. This very film, produced and made in UK is tense, sharp, pulled by an amazing Dan Duryea, for once not a bad guy, but unfortunately so predictable with a scheme already told a million times before. Any one can know in advance what will happen. But as I have already said about British thrillers hiring American actors in the fifties and sixties, it is still worth to watch, and the director Monty Tully - whom I have also told about - deserves to be discovered again.

Lacklustre Hammer noir

[The_Void · 5/10 · 27 June 2009]

This was apparently made as some sort of joint effort between Hammer studios and American producer Robert Lippert. The film was clearly made just to make money, and it shows as it's a disjointed effort with a torrid and derivative script and not much to recommend it for. The plot of Terror Street focuses on an American pilot. He is married to a Norwegian girl, and decides to make an unauthorised trip to the UK to see her (because apparently, American/Norwegian couples live in England). He is surprised upon his return to find she has found a new and glamorous lifestyle, but he is then hit on the head and wakes up to find his girl dead. He than has just thirty sex hours to prove he didn't do it. The plot certainly has plenty of room to be an entertaining thriller, but this is never capitalised on. Lead actor Dan Duryea is good enough, but never really made me care about his character or plight. The film really lacks any interesting set pieces or situations as well, and I have to admit I lost interest long before the end. Overall, I wouldn't recommend tracking this film down to either Hammer fans or Noir fans!

What street? What terror?

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 27 August 2009]

Despite its bad press, "36 Hours" (1953) is not a total write-off. True, Dan Duryea is miscast as hero rather than villain and the girls are not much to write home about. But it's beautifully photographed by "Heads" Harvey (called "Heads" because of his fondness for placing the top of the actors' heads right against the frame line) and directed with a surprising amount of style by Montgomery Tully. The support cast lines up as one of the most solid assembled by Hammer with Eric Pohlmann and John Chandos as the heavies, Russell Napier and Michael Golden as detectives, Kenneth Griffith as the psycho, Lee Patterson in a tiny role as the co-pilot, and best of all, Harold Lang as the desk clerk.

Dan Duryea's Shouting Woke Me Occasionally

[boblipton · 3/10 · 31 July 2021]

Dan Duryea is a US Air Force pilot married to English Elsie Albin. She's upset when he's reassigned for three months for training, and their marriage rapidly winds up on the rocks. When he returns to see if they can mend matters, he finds a corpse.

The word that leaps to mind for this movie is "sodden". The first twenty-five minutes are devoted to Duryea explaining the set-up via voice over. His live performance isn't much better. He spends it shouting angrily. There's much running around to no effect for the first sixty-five minutes, then one of the characters explains everything, Duyea slugs someone, and there's only ten minutes left to wrap things up. By which point I didn't care.

Other performers who cashed checks for this movie include Eric Pohlman, Kenneth Griffith and, in her final film appearance, Jane Carr.

Good entertainment, but nothing special.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 30 June 2022]

American star Dan Duryea ("Scarlet Street"), no stranger to villainous roles, here plays the protagonist, Bill Rogers. Bill is an Air Force pilot who returns to England to be with his wife Katie (Swedish beauty Elsie Albiin, "Hidden Fear"). Unfortunately, while he's been away, she's gotten mixed up with bad people, and one of them murders her and frames Bill for the crime. He then has 36 hours in which to prove himself innocent (after that, he'll be declared A. W. O. L. and be in even *worse* trouble).

Written by Steve Fisher ("Destination Tokyo"), this tells a decent, straightforward story, although director Montgomery Tully ("No Road Back") relates it without giving it a real sense of *urgency*. It's deliberately paced, with a fair amount of time devoted to flashbacks. It also doesn't have the thick atmosphere common to the noir genre. At least the climax is reasonably amusing, with control of the situation continuously switching between the villain (John Chandos, "The Crimson Pirate") and a secondary antagonist (Eric Pohlmann, "The Return of the Pink Panther"). The fight choreography is not great, but it does elicit some chuckles.

Duryea was often at his best in his bad guy roles, but here he's fun to watch as a tough-talking, forceful man of action who's determined to avenge his wife. Chandos & Pohlmann are equally good, with additional sterling support given by Harold Lang ("Paranoiac") as an antsy desk clerk, Marianne Stone ("Berserk") as Bills' friend Pam, and a young Kenneth Griffith ("A Night to Remember") as the lovelorn, lowly would-be killer Henry Slauson. Gudrun Ure ("The Million Pound Note") is an appealing if not especially memorable leading lady.

"36 Hours" a.k.a. "Terror Street" is no great shakes, but it rates as an acceptable example of the film noir genre, made by those fine folks at Hammer (back when they were known as Exclusive).

Six out of 10.

Typical Hammer noir

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 14 April 2021]

36 HOURS (1953, renamed TERROR STREET in the US) is another potboiling Hammer thriller starring imported American lead Dan Duryea as a pilot who arrives back in Britain from a six-month trip abroad only to find that his wife has moved out. When he tracks her to an address in London, he's assaulted and knocked unconscious, waking to find that he's been framed for her murder in the process. He now has just 36 hours to find the real culprits before the USAF declares him AWOL...

It's a familiar kind of storyline from this era and very much a film that goes through the motions. Montgomery Tully was known for his B-movie cheapies and this is no different to any of the others, around the middle of the mark in terms of quality. After a slow start it picks up and holds the interest until the end, and there are fun character turns from reliables like Eric Pohlmann and Kenneth Griffith. I was amused to see Gudrun Ure cast; I grew up watching her playing SUPERGRAN in the 1980s and she's, well, very different here.

By the numbers 'B'-pic thriller with interesting credits.

[jamesraeburn2003 · 5/10 · 29 April 2023]

US air force jet pilot Bill Rogers (played by Dan Duryea) arrives in London to find his wife Katie (played by Elsie Albiin) missing. He learns from a friend and neighbour, Pam (played by Marianne Stone), that she has left as a result of his being away from home for months at a time due to his work in search of a more exciting life, which has seen her make a number of male "friends". He discovers that she has moved into a luxury West End flat where he meets her but is knocked out from behind. He regains consciousness to find Katie murdered with his own gun, which the killer has pressed into his hand. Realising that he has been framed, Bill flees evading the police and is taken in by a charity worker called Jenny Miller (played by Gudrun Ure) who runs a local soup kitchen. She agrees to help him find the real killer and clear his name. Bill only has 36 hours leave in London to do all of this before his plane is due to take off for the States. His investigation leads him to discover that Katie had fallen in with diamond smugglers, blackmailers and confidence tricksters. Does the key to a safe deposit box found on her body hold the key to the mystery?

The title and the premise of a framed man racing against time to clear his name suggests an action packed and suspense filled drama. Alas, this is a strictly by the numbers British 'B'-pic from a pre-horror Hammer studio, which suffers from slack construction, much talk and what little action there is is either clumsily or indifferently presented. Duryea, the obligatory imported American leading man, is a sombre hero and his relationship with the heroine, Gudrun Ure, is insufficiently developed to provide much of an emotional centre to the story. Montgomery Tully, one of Britain's most prolific makers of second features and shorts during the 1950's, directs with pace ensuring that it's never boring to sit through and, remarkably, he even manages a little in the way of mild suspense from the plodding script. You should get the most fun from spotting the many familiar faces who turn up in the supporting cast. They include Canadian Lee Patterson in a bit part as a pilot who would go on to be a leading man in several British 'B's' of the period, Russell Napier from the long running Scotland Yard series of featurettes, Kenneth Griffith and Marianne Stone, who would become a regular in the Carry on comedies, in a rare straight part.

Dan Duryea knocking everyone about in London because of his lost wife

[clanciai · 8/10 · 16 November 2021]

Dan Duryea comes home to find his wife gone and later murdered, and then he is accused of the murder, although he has been gone for a year. There is a mess of a plot including a nice kettle of fish of gangsters, in which his wife was stupid enough to get involved, for which she had to pay more than she could afford. It's a kind of Francis Durbridge complex of a thriller with many threads to follow all intertwined into some inextricable muddle, in which no one is what he appears to be, like John Chandos as Orville Hart, who shows off as a customs officer in the service of intelligence but is anything but that. Then there are few other innocent ladies as well, as Sister Jenny Miller and Pam Palmer, a friend of the murdered wife, who knows nothing about it and has promised her friend never to tell her husband where she has moved, whereupon she tells him that almost at once. The alien element in this Durbridge mystery set-up is Dan Duryea himself, who goes around threatening everyone and especially all those innocent ladies and eventually also presenting a typical hard-boiled fisticuffs knock-out fight knocking an entire antiquities store into a shambles, in which some London policemen finally break in to stop any further atrocities on his side. It is entertaining and not very serious, and if you know Dan Duryea you know what to expect of him, which he will deliver, and you will be rewarded, if you are a fan of his.