The Long Arm (1956)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Charles Frend

Writers:

Robert Barr (screenplay)
Robert Barr (story)

Release Date:

June 1956 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

The True Inside Story of Scotland Yard's Crime Busters!

Plot:

Police drama. The sleuths of Scotland Yard try to solve a series of burglaries. |

Plot Keywords:

Police | Ealing

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win

Cast

Jack Hawkins	...	Supt Tom Halliday
John Stratton	...	Sgt Ward
Dorothy Alison	...	Mary Halliday
Michael Brooke	...	Tony Halliday
Sam Kydd	...	Police Operator (opening shots)
Glyn Houston	...	Sgt
Richard Leech	...	Gilson, the burglar
Newton Blick	...	Detective Commander Harris
Geoffrey Keen	...	Chief Superintendant Malcolm
Sydney Tafler	...	Mr. Stone
Peter Burton	...	Mr. Creasey
George Rose	...	Slob, the informer
Arthur Rigby	...	Detective-Inspector at Chester
Ralph Truman	...	Colonel Blenkinsop
Ian Bannen	...	Workman, Hit and Run Victim.

Also Known As:

The Third Key (USA)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | UK:U | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Trivia:

The last film made at Ealing Studios, London.

Good solid stuff.

This is a superb police detection drama, with Jack Hawkins as the warm-hearted focus of a rather complex crime saga. The best supporting performance is by Ursula Howells, who brilliantly conveys neurotic menace and desperation in just a few scenes. The young Ian Bannen is killed off very quickly, but already in this early appearance we can see his superior qualities working on screen. This 1956 British film is clearly an attempt to emulate the 1940s and 1950s Hollywood films such as 'The House on 92nd Street', directed by Henry Hathaway, since it also portrays stolid and patient police work, shown in loving detail. There are no 'noir' elements to this drama, and the crime is just crime, with no psychology or angst. The plot has some intriguing novelties. In the first safe robbery at the beginning of the film, the thief remains at the scene of the crime and pretends to be a night watchman, lets the police in, shows sympathy and bewilderment, and then makes his escape after they have gone. The whole case really is a brain-teaser, and well worth viewing by any chess player or detective enthusiast. It is a superior British film of its genre.