IMDb > Hell Is a City (1960)

Hell Is a City (1960) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   215 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 16% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Val Guest
Writers:
Val Guest (writer)
Maurice Procter (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for Hell Is a City on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 November 1960 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Thriller | Drama more
Tagline:
From Dives to Dames...From Nightsticks to Nightmares...From Dusk to Dawn... more
Plot:
Committed but seen-it-all police inspector Martineau rightly guesses that after a violent jailbreak... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. more
User Reviews:
A Good Un-British, British film. more (10 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Stanley Baker ... Insp. Harry Martineau
John Crawford ... Don Starling

Donald Pleasence ... Gus Hawkins
Maxine Audley ... Julia Martineau
Billie Whitelaw ... Chloe Hawkins
Joseph Tomelty ... Furnisher Steele
George A. Cooper ... Doug Savage
Geoffrey Frederick ... Detective Devery
Vanda Godsell ... Lucretia ('Lucky') Luske
Charles Houston ... Clogger Roach
Joby Blanshard ... Tawny Jakes
Charles Morgan ... Laurie Lovett
Peter Madden ... Bert Darwin
Dickie Owen ... Bragg
Lois Daine ... Cecily Wainwright
more
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
Germany:88 min | USA:93 min | UK:98 min (original version)
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Norway:16 | Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16 | UK:PG (video rating) | UK:A (original rating)
Filming Locations:
Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK more
Company:
Hammer Film Productions more

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User Reviews

   (Review this title)
11 out of 13 people found the following review useful.
A Good Un-British, British film., 10 March 2004
Author: jeremyehowell from Los Angeles

This is a wonderful example of how worldly some british films can seem, while maintaining their local flavor. I believe that this film is very appropriately set in Manchester, anyone having been to Manchester will tell you its quite a tough place.

50s British entertainment was heavily influenced by Hollywood and continued to be influenced especially on TV until the late 70s, when things all started to get a bit colorless. This movie was made in a time when entertainment came first and the needs of the audience and hence a box office return, came before the politically correct requirements of the day. Having said that I have to say I'm VERY glad that you don't see many characters quite as sorry as Martineau's repressed housebound wife these days!

For those who are not familiar with director Val Guest - check out his other movies. He was a director who knew exactly what he was doing.

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