The Cracksman ** (1963, Charlie Drake, Nyree Dawn Porter, George Sanders, Dennis Price) – Classic Movie Review 11,479

Director Peter Graham Scott’s 1963 British comedy film The Cracksman stars Charlie Drake as honest locksmith Ernest Wright who is tricked by The Guv’nor (George Sanders)’s gang of safecrackers and gets locked up himself for three years in jail, where he has a reputation as a master safe cracker. On his release, he joins undercover police woman Muriel (Nyree Dawn Porter) in rounding up rival gangs of crooks out for a gem collection.

Popular TV star of the day Drake eagerly grabs his good big-screen opportunity in Associated British Picture Corporation’s generous, well-staged production, which even affords widescreen and Technicolor.

With a reasonable old-style comedy script, this early 60s-style comedy thriller is funny if you like the star, and the quality cast is a plus.

The cast are Charlie Drake as Ernest Wright, Nyree Dawn Porter as Muriel, George Sanders as Guv’nor, Dennis Price as Grantley, Percy Herbert as Nosher Jenkins, Eddie Byrne as Domino, Finlay Currie as Feathers, Geoffrey Keen as Magistrate, George A. Cooper as Fred, Patrick Cargill as Museum Guide, Norman Bird as Policeman, Neil McCarthy as Van Gogh, Christopher Rhodes as Mr King, Ronnie Barker as Yossle, Wanda Ventham as Sandra, Jerold Wells as Chief Prison Officer, Tutte Lemkow as Choreographer, Richard Leech as Detective Sergeant, and Richard Shaw as Moke.

It is the third in a series of four films produced by Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) featuring Drake. Television fame with The Charlie Drake Show (with its opening catchphrase ‘Hello, my darlings!’) led to four films featuring Drake, none of them successful: Sands of the Desert (1960), Petticoat Pirates (1961), The Cracksman (1963) and Mister Ten Per Cent (1967).

Mister Ten Per Cent is also directed by Peter Graham Scott and features Wanda Ventham, the mother of Benedict Cumberbatch.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,479

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/

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