East of Piccadilly [The Strangler] *** (1941, Judy Campbell, Sebastian Shaw, Niall MacGinnis) – Classic Movie Review 12,326

The 1941 thriller East of Piccadilly [The Strangler] stars Judy Campbell as a crime reporter who links up with a thriller writer (Sebastian Shaw) to reveal a London Soho silk stocking strangler

Director Harold Huth’s 1941 thriller East of Piccadilly [The Strangler] is based on a story by Gordon Beckles, and stars Sebastian Shaw, Judy Campbell and Niall MacGinnis.

Campbell plays Penny Sutton, a crime reporter who links up with a thriller writer, Tamsie Green (Shaw), to reveal a London silk stocking strangler after they find one of the victims in Soho’s Greek Street.

The trail leads to an American millionaire, Oscar Kuloff (George Pughe), but if he is found to be guilty so early in the film, there is still a lot of running time left to fill.

East of Piccadilly is a convincing tale of 40s wartime Soho. The spirited performances and nifty writing make this a handy British B-feature.

Edana Romney makes her feature film debut in the small pivotal role of Sadie, murdered in the opening sequence. She went on to star in Corridor of Mirrors.

The cast are Judy Campbell as Penny Sutton, Sebastian Shaw as Tamsie Green, Niall MacGinnis as Joe, Henry Edwards as Inspector, George Pughe as Oscar Kuloff, Martita Hunt as Ma, George Hayes as Mark Struberg, Cameron Hall as George, Edana Romney as Sadie Jones, Bunty Payne as Tania, Charles Victor as Editor, Frederick Piper as Ginger Harris, Bill Fraser as Maxie.

East of Piccadilly is directed by Harold Huth, runs 77 minutes, is made and released by Associated British Picture Corporation, is written by Lesley Storm and J Lee Thompson, is shot in black and white by Claude Friese-Greene, is produced by Walter C Mycroft, and is scored by Marr Mackie.

It was released on 5 July 1941. Producers Releasing Corporation released it in the US as The Strangler.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,326

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com