The End of the Line * (1957, Alan Baxter, Barbara Shelley, Arthur Gomez, Jennifer Jayne, Ferdy Mayne) – Classic Movie Review 13,270

The 1957 British second feature crime thriller film The End of the Line stars Barbara Shelley, Alan Baxter, Arthur Gomez, Jennifer Jayne, and Ferdy Mayne.

Director Charles Saunders’s 1957 British black and white second feature crime thriller film The End of the Line stars Barbara Shelley, Alan Baxter, Arthur Gomez, Jennifer Jayne, and Ferdy Mayne. The story and screenplay are written by Paul Erickson.

American actor Alan Baxter stars as Mike Selby, an American author living in England, who gets involved with alluring Liliane Crawford (Barbara Shelley), the wife of jewel fence John Crawford (Arthur Gomez). She persuades Mike to steal a fortune in stolen goods from her husband, giving him a false alibi. The husband is then promptly found dead, and Mike begins to get blackmailed.

Jennifer Jayne (14 November 1931 – 23 April 2006).

There are the expected twists and turns in this moderate mystery, but they seem artificial and lack credibility. With some of the acting as florid and incredible as the plotting, this is a creaky, none-too-good Fifties British filler thriller with a cheap production from producer Guido Coen for Eros Films. Nevertheless, there are three worthwhile performances from Barbara Shelley as Liliane Crawford, Ferdy Mayne as Edwards, and Jennifer Jayne as Anne Bruce. And of course it does have some fragrant Fifties flavour to recommend it.

Guido Coen and Charles Saunders followed it with Naked Fury in 1959.

It was made at Southall Studios, Middlesex.

The opening scene show London’s Ambassadors Theatre with a board advertising the 5th year of the Agatha Christie play The Mousetrap, which opened on 25 November 1952 and ran till 23 March 1974 when it immediately reopened in the larger St Martin’s Theatre next door on 25 March 1974, keeping its initial run status. It ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when performances stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic, but re-opened on 17 May 2021. The Mousetrap first entered the record books in 1958 when it became the longest running show of any kind in the history of British theatre. It is now by far the longest run of any play in the world.

It was released in 1959 in the US.

The End of the Line is directed by Charles Saunders, runs 62 minutes, is made by Fortress Film Production, is distributed by Eros Films (UK) and Jerome Balsam Films (US), is written by Paul Erickson (story and screenplay), is produced by Guido Coen, is shot in black and white by Walter J Harvey, and is scored by Edwin Astley.

Release date: December 1957 (UK).

The cast are Alan Baxter as Mike Selby, Barbara Shelley as Liliane Crawford, Ferdy Mayne as Edwards, Jennifer Jayne as Anne Bruce, Arthur Gomez as John Crawford, Geoffrey Hibbert as Max Perrin, Jack Melford as Inspector Gates, Charles Clay as Henry Bruce, Marianne Brauns as Sally, Sheldon Allan as barman, Harry Towb as Vince, Barbara Cochran as Cynthia, Colin Rix as Detective Parker, Stella Bonheur as Mrs Edwards, and Charles Cameron as publican.

Barbara Shelley (born Barbara Teresa Kowin; (13 February 1932 – 3 January 2021).

Barbara Shelley (born Barbara Teresa Kowin; (13 February 1932 – 3 January 2021).

Barbara Shelley was admitted to hospital in December 2020, for a check-up and contracted COVID-19. She died on 3 January 2021, aged 88.

Ferdy Mayne (born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel; 11 March 1916 – 30 January 1998)

Versatile character actor Ferdy Mayne (born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel; 11 March 1916 – 30 January 1998) was born in Mainz and emigrated to the UK in the early 1930s to escape the Nazis. He worked almost continuously in the UK for six decades.

Ferdy Mayne appeared in 230 films and TV shows.

Jennifer Jayne (14 November 1931 – 23 April 2006).

Charles Cameron

Charles Cameron was born Charles Ewen Cameron Wilson on March 29, 1899 in Totnes, Devon, England, and died on October 29, 1974 in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,270

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