The Challenge [It Takes a Thief] ** (1960, Jayne Mansfield, Anthony Quayle, Carl Möhner, Peter Reynolds, Barbara Mullen, Robert Brown, Dermot Walsh) – Classic Movie Review 13,168

The 1960 British B-movie noir crime film The Challenge [It Takes a Thief] is a routine thriller, though starring Jayne Mansfield as a ruthless gang leader tempting a businessman (Anthony Quayle) into taking part in a big robbery.

‘The fabulous Jayne. A terrific draw in any situation!’

Writer/ director John Gilling’s 1960 British B-movie noir crime film The Challenge [It Takes a Thief] is a routine thriller, though starring Jayne Mansfield as gang leader Billy Lacross, a ruthless crook tempting businessman Jim Maxton (Anthony Quayle) into taking part in a big robbery.

He stashes the cash, but gets arrested and convicted of the robbery. When he is freed from jail and returns home to his son, Mansfield’s gang abducts his child to get to the loot he buried, demanding the money as ransom.

The cast of British reliable actors and the surprising casting of Hollywood sexpot heartthrob Mansfield as a ruthless gang leader in a Brit B-movie add interest to the old-fashioned melodramatics, efficiently scripted by Gilling from his own story.

Anthony Quayle is dull, and it may be a cheap-looking and basic B-movie, but nevertheless it is pacy and sprightly.

The film was shot at Twickenham Studios, London, England, (with location work at Longmoor military railway in Hampshire, and at a house in Hamilton Road, Brentford, Middlesex) from 12 October 1959 to early December 1959. Mansfield flew back to America on the 16 December.

The cast are Jayne Mansfield as Billy Lacross, Anthony Quayle as Jim Maxton, Carl Möhner as Kristy, Peter Reynolds as Buddy, Barbara Mullen as Ma Piper, Robert Brown as Bob Crowther, Dermot Walsh as Detective Sergeant Willis, Patrick Holt as Max, Edward Judd as Detective Sergeant Gittens, John Bennett as Spider, Lorraine Clewes as Mrs Rick, Percy Herbert as shop steward, John Stratton as Rick, Liane Marelli as striptease artiste, Bill McGuffie as nightclub pianist, and Peter Pike as Joey.

The Challenge [It Takes a Thief] is directed by John Gilling, runs 101 minutes, is made by Alexandra Productions, is released by J Arthur Rank Film Distributors (UK) and Valiant Films (US), is written by John Gilling, is shot in black and white by Gordon Dines, is produced by John Temple-Smith, and is scored by Bill McGuffie.

Release date: May 17, 1960 (London) and February 1961 (US).

The Challenge was released as It Takes a Thief in the US.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,168

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