I enjoy watching these old British crime films...... this one is in the Edgar Wallace Mystery type of story and direction.... There's a good few well known British film actors in this including a very funny cameo by Jimmy Hanley, as himself. The film has the typical British humour and even makes reference to Ian Fleming and his James Bond novels including a good guy, Conrad Phillips, just back from Japan and with a few 'spy' gadgets that were super small (for the day 😀) and even two way radios..... disguised as cigarette cases, the film is well worth watching and from my own experience, not readily available, indeed I was lucky enough to catch it on, Talking Pictures TV (They have a website too that you can watch it on if you can't get the channel yourself) ..... if you enjoy these old 1950's or early 1960's films this film will not disappoint....
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mch246916 May 2022
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barkiswilling30 November 2022The Switch is a standard B feature but on the surface looks as if it should have so much more - a cast led by the trio of Anthony Steel (by now on the downslope of his briefly stellar career), Dermot Walsh (minus famous badger quiff) and Zena Marshall (fresh from cavorting with then spitting at Sean Connery in 'Dr No') - never really takes off.
Nevertheless, there are some nice touches- a 5 minute cameo from Jerry Desmonde, a 10 second cameo by Jimmy Hanley, a few minutes for Susan Shaw in (sadly), her last role, and a hilariously camp Peter Butterworth for a preciously short appearance, and at least two very nice Sunbeam Alpines (the first Bond car and one of several nods to 007). It also has to be mentioned in dispatches that Arnold Diamond is the least convincing Frenchman since 'Allo Allo'. -
Sleepin_Dragon27 November 2022John Curry gets mixed up with Carolyn Markham, who's targeted by a gang who have smuggled in a stash of watches.
A very enjoyable mystery, it put me in mind of The Edgar Wallace mysteries and The Frances Durbridge shows, it's along the same lines. It's a clever mystery, that moves along at a decent pace, and has several moments of intrigue.
What starts off as a seemingly ordinary crime, car theft, soon turns into something a whole lot more interesting, kidnap, assault, violence and murder.
That Alpine Sunbeam was one exquisite looking car, a time when Great Britain truly did manufacture the most exquisite cars.
I loved the visuals, the cars, the fashions, people and streets, you can't argue with the style of the 1960's.
Quality acting from a very reliable cast, Conrad Phillips, Bill Craddock and the excellent Zena Marshall.
Two amusing moments, Peter Butterworth's scene was very funny, I also chuckled seeing Jerry Desmonde, hard to take him seriously, buy a good actor Northerner.
7/10. -
jamesraeburn200321 October 2022A freelance fashion model called Caroline Markham (played by Zena Marshall) finds herself the unwitting courier of smuggled wrist watches whilst holidaying in France. A gang led by the smooth and charming Jean Lecraze (played by Arnold Diamond) use the petrol tank of her Sunbeam sports car to sneak the goods into Britain. However, on her return she takes her car into a garage for a service and she is supplied with an identical courtesy car, which means that when Lecraze's gang steal it expecting to retrieve the watches they find that they are missing. Thinking that Caroline has stolen their haul, they abduct her and threaten to kill her unless she tells them where they are. Caroline's new boyfriend, a salesman called John Curry (played by Conrad Phillips), sets out to rescue her with the help of customs man Bill Craddock (played by Anthony Steel) and Yard man Inspector Tomlinson (played by Dermot Walsh)...
A pretty standard British 'B'-pic with an unremarkable plot that provides only a modicum of tension. However, the real pleasures to be had from watching it are the attractive period locations of London and the Home Counties as well as the abundance of vintage cars pottering about like Sunbeams, Ford Zephyrs, Prefects and many others. It also has an interesting cast including Anthony Steel, 'B'-movie regular Dermot Walsh, former William Tell star Conrad Phillips and even future Carry On mainstay Peter Butterworth puts in an unaccredited appearance as a fashion photographer. On the acting side, Phillips and Marshall stand out as the pair brought together by their predicament of unwittingly becoming the targets of a criminal gang and, as a result, they fall in love. The script allows for some humorous interplay between them. Director Peter Maxwell handles the proceedings with brisk paced efficiency even if he fails to create much in the way of suspense or dramatic attention. The film is superbly photographed by Stephen Dade, which gives it a much needed sense of place and period. All in all, a pleasant reminder of an era of British filmmaking that has long since disappeared. -
wilvram17 May 2022A typical British supporting feature of its day, with the classy Zena Marshall as the victim of a watch-smuggling racket. With the heroic figures of Anthony Steel, Dermot Walsh, and Conrad 'William Tell' Phillips on the case though, it's clear that the villains don't have much of a chance. Not as complicated as some of the contemporary Edgar Wallace movies but not lacking in some dry humour and very watchable. Steel was no longer a major star by now and Fifties leading lady, at least in 'B' pictures, Susan Shaw, has only a minor role as the Search Officer.
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richardchatten17 May 2022A breezy quickie in which Conrad Phillips and the always glamorous Zena Marshall make a charming couple as they cross the path of the usual bunch of mean-looking crooks.
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simondeeley1215 May 2022Once the mystery about why the same model of car keeps getting stolen is explained this becomes a rather flat and predictable crime story. Fans of b-movies like me will still find it worth watching though, even if only to see some familiar English stars of the 1950's whose careers by now were clearly on the downward slope.
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radbond26 March 2024After watching thousands of movies, I get really tired of stereotyped characters - the stupid black person, the dumb sidekick, the precocious child, the hot head that endangers the mission, the girl that is being stalked in the empty house, etc. The list goes on and on. Too much screen time spent on a stereotyped character ruins the film for me. Here we have two dumb women. One of the villain's girlfriends is an airhead and the leading lady is beautiful but dumb. Upon being kidnapped, Miss Beautiful refuses to tell the bad guys that the police already have what they are looking for. It would be no skin off of her nose if she told them but then there wouldn't be enough drama.
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clanciai2 March 2023This is not very remarkable, and there is nothing special about it. Anthony Steel and Conrad Phillips are on the hunt for smugglers of wristwatches, and that gang of professional crooks are so fanatic about their business that they don't hesitate to murder if anyone impedes their activity. Dermot Walsh is also in that customs team, and they take their job dead seriously, intending to stop that gang at any price. There are no shoot-outs but plenty of fighting by the knuckles, and some really get hurt. Even a lady gets caught up in the desperate racket and actually risks getting her throat cut, but naturally it never goes that far in the pictures, and the one corpse of the film is only shown floating head down in the water. It is exciting but very predictable. You will know exactly what will happen next, and nothing will surprise you. The one character that could have been of some interest is the Frenchman Arnold Diamond, and the one almost funny character is Dawn Beret, but this is neither any laughing matter nor even quite serious.
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Leofwine_draca28 May 2022A classic British B-movie crime thriller of the kind they regularly churned out in the 1950s; by the time of the early '60s, a few were still being made. This one has Zena Marshall being kidnapped by a gang smuggling wristwatches (!) and Anthony Steel as the customs guy on their trail. Short and to the point, this is never spectacular but nonetheless passes the time.
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boblipton27 February 2023Customs man Anthony Steel is looking for smuggled watches with the aid of inspector Dermot Walsh. Also Magazine model Zena Marshall is vacationing in France, when charming Arnold Diamond inveigles her to lunch and a drive. Returning home to London, she finds Conrad Phillips has sublet her apartment. His red Sunbeam, identical to the loaner from her service station has been stolen from her garage. Sparks fly, and the next night, her red Sunbeam is also stolen from her garage. The following night, she is dining with Phillips. After he drops her off, she finds herself confronted with a couple of nasty men who want the watches.
It's a nicely set up melodrama, with gallant cops, threatening goons, secret passages, and Dawn Beret playing as annoying a specimen of Muta Flava as you'd never hope to meet. Susan Shaw and Jimmy Hanley have small roles. -
malcolmgsw16 August 2022She plays the bit part of a search officer. She became a alcoholic on her way to an early death. Anthony Steel is on his own downward path. Even Jimmy Hanley has a beef camcameocameo. This otherwise a fairly standard if entertaining B feature of the type turned out in their dozens until the end of double bT.ills self their dom.
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barton-company19 April 2023A showcase for British cars for sure, and cups of tea all round.
Zena Marshall has very distracting eyes it's almost like one is glass, i am sure that not the case, but her charming sexy suggestiveness puts spring in the step of this cabinet of wooden curios.
Beret as Janice is as annoying a 50s mockney as you can imagine, her crowned? Incisor glowing like a torch, which pays tribute to some bad lighting, while her hair is simply beautiful to behold.
Who gets alcohol.as part of an arrest? Yes they tried to push boundaries a little.
Also a hilarious nod to James Bond tech (Marshall having been in Dr No) The whole thing is patriarchal, with basic 'dumb blondes' (Beret) and the fragile but sexy Marshall, not a great beacon for women's equality but a la mode for the day.
Contains I believe the worst/funniest fight scene I've witnessed to date, but the film bowls along nicely in a classic London setting. -
CinemaSerf14 March 2024Nope, there's nothing at all original with this short-ish feature, but it's still just about worth watching. You see, freelance model "Carolyn" (Zena Marshall) has gone and got herself mixed up with some luxury watch smugglers and they have had to put her under lock and key when their shipment goes missing and she's thought to be the culprit! Perplexed that she hasn't been in touch, her beau "John" (Conrad Phillips) manages to enlist the help of customs inspector "Craddock" (Anthony Steel) and policeman "Tomlinson" (Dermot Walsh) - and soon they are hot on the trail of the gang. The plot itself is all pretty procedural - as is the acting and writing, but hats off to Peter Butterworth for a fun cameo as a fashion photographer and to Jimmy Handley for brightening things up too - for a frame or two - as our story bubbles along for just over an hour of vintage cars and pretty scenery without the merest hint of menace or jeopardy.