Highly Overrated But Still Good

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Film reviewing is an irregular art. I find I have written up two reviews of "Dancing With Crime". In the first review, I have awarded the film only five points out of ten. I write that the chief interest in watching this movie is to catch young Diana Dors in a small unbilled role as a dance hall "hostess". Otherwise, I wrote, this movie is just an ordinary crime melodrama with all the suspense taken out of it by our knowledge of the murderers. In the second review, however, I have given the movie an 8/10 score and described it as an excellent thriller! This time, I thought the direction by John Paddy Carstairs was well above his usual humdrum standard and that the cast, led by Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim, was perfect! Long after this movie was made, I met Diana Dors and helped her publicize her book. She commented that she had ended up in the movies right where she started – namely as a character actress. Yes, she was a character actress before she became a sex symbol and she was very pleased that I had seen some of these films like "Penny and the Pownall Case" and "Oliver Twist".

Even though Bill Owens was shot in the first reel, he loved his role. It was an interesting part, a sharp young spiv, a real Cagney character he thought and the critics took a lot of notice. It didn't hurt either that his character was completely pivotal to the plot - I don't think 10 minutes went by without his name being mentioned. Of course Richard Attenborough was the star, he played poor but honest cabby Ted Peters who drops off old friend Dave (Owens) at the palatial Palais De Dance club for his date with death!! They had been childhood mates but as Ted told the police Dave wanted the good life and fast!!Definitely a British noir, most of the film is shot on the dimly lit, often rain drenched streets in the wee small hours. A particularly gripping scene is a dying Dave's frantic effort to draw whistling Ted's attention to his predicament - when Ted (who doesn't realise Dave is in the cab) opens the door, Dave slithers out. At the cab headquarters Ted is visited by "Mr. Big" posing as a detective. Ted, as gormless as ever, tells all he knows as well as his opinion that the glittering Palais is at the bottom of it all. And that is where all the brightness and light come from - the gaudy monolithic dance hall that seems packed to capacity every night. It is there that gang boss, Gregory (Barry Jones) and his henchman, Paul Baker, the popular dance band M.C. rule their empire, rubbing out whoever gets jittery and gives the impression that they want to talk. Toni, the sullen girlfriend of Paul, who also has a drinking problem, is one they let get away.Suddenly Joyce, (Sheila Sim, Richard Attenborough's real life wife) Ted's girl, finds a job at the Palais - she has just finished up in a play and meets an old girlfriend Annette who finds her a job there. Diana Dors, who at the time was going through Rank's Charm School, was gorgeous and very eye catching in her small role as a sassy talking dance hall hostess. Even when she is in the background all eyes are on her - she should have had a bigger part. Dirk Bogarde has the teeniest, tiniest part at the end as a radio policeman (with almost his back to the camera). I agree, definitely the most interesting actress is Australian Judy Kelly as Toni, the alcoholic. Intriguingly, even though she had been in films from the early 1930s, this may well have been her best role, but she soon disappeared from films - all a bit of a mystery!!Very Recommended.

Richard Attenborough is the lead in this excellent UK film.Attenborough plays a cab driver who gets involved in the murder of a friend. Attenborough, gives a mate from his army days, Bill Owen, a ride and drops him at a dance club. He then goes into a nearby café for a drink and a sandwich.Owen, is a member of a robbery and black-market smuggling gang. He is at the club to collect his end of a 50,000 pound jewel heist. His boss, Barry Jones, runs the club as a cover for his crime activities. Jones, along with his number two, Barry K. Barnes, meet Owen in his office. They hand him a small packet with 50 pounds. Owen is not happy at all with this. Owen growls, "That is all I get for a 50,000 pound job?" Owen starts towards Jones who quickly produces a pistol. Owen sees the gun, stops, picks up the cash as if to pocket it. Jones lowers his piece and Owen decks him with a solid punch. Barnes decides Owen is no longer an asset to the gang and shoots Owen in the chest. Owen gets a punch in on Barnes and then staggers out. Owen makes it into the street and manages to collapse in the back seat of Attenborough's still parked taxi.Barnes, who has followed him out into the crowded street, sees Owen climb into the taxi. He decides there are too many witnesses to risk a second shot. He watches as Attenborough comes out of the café and drives away.Attenborough, has a date with his dancer girlfriend, Shelia Sim. He has no idea that Owen is dead on the back seat.He meets Sim for their night out on the town. He opens the back door of the cab for Sim, and a rather dead Owen falls out. A handy copper puts the call into Scotland Yard.Yard Inspectors, John Warwick and Gary Marsh give Attenborough and Sim a grilling. The detectives want to make sure they had nothing to do with the murder. Owen was just a buddy from the Army. He had dropped him off and had no idea Owen had returned to the taxi. The Police show the two a signed photo they had found. It shows Owen and a woman. Attenborough and and Sim shake their heads. They have never seen her before. The Police tell them they are free to go. .The next night, Attenborough and Sim decide on a bit of detective work of their own. They hit the dance club to ask if anyone knows Owen. Not 10 feet in the door and they see the woman from the photograph. The woman, Judy Kelly, is the singer in the club band.Barnes, who is also the M.C. for the club, recognizes Attenbrough from the night before. Why is he here wonders Barnes. He grabs the boss, Jones, and tells him that maybe Owen had talked before he died. Jones says that if Owen had talked, John Law would have put the pinch on them by now.Sim, gets herself hired as a floor dancer so she can keep an eye on Kelly.Several days go by, and Barnes still insists Attenborough needs to be dealt with. Jones calls in one of the gang, Cyril Chamberlain, and tells him to hire a couple of "heavy boys" and dispose of Attenborough.Chamberlain hires Attenborough's taxi and has him drive to a warehouse. Once there, Chamberlain asks him to help carry out a box for a return trip back to town. Once he gets our boy inside, the heavy lads pop out with the blackjacks etc.Attenborough, manages to get a few licks of his own in and escapes. The Yard is called and they come to collect him. By the time Marsh and Warwick arrive, the nasty types have hit the road. Chamberlain reports to Jones he has botched the hit. A less than amused Jones has another gang member take Chamberlain for a ride. Needless to say this ride has a less than happy ending for Chamberlain.Attenborough is at the Yard explaining what had happened when Sim calls. She has overheard a talk between Jones and Barnes about a robbery set for that night.The Police decide to stake out the robbery site and grab the gang in the act. The gang shows and the Police swarm them and apply the cuffs. Barnes though, evades capture and phones Jones to warn him. Jones empties the wall safe and gets ready to flee the country. He has also discovered that Sim was the one who ratted out the gang.The Police and Attenborough pile back in their cars and speed to the club. Jones comes out with a gun planted in the middle of Sim's back. The Police pull up and Jones starts blasting. Attenborough works his way behind Jones and tackles him, saving Sim. A cuffed Jones is hauled away while Attenborough and Sim embrace.This well-paced, rather violent film, features some very nice camera work. It was on the whole, a very pleasant surprise.The director was John Paddy Carstairs. THE SAINT IN London is the only other film of his I've seen. The D of P was Reg Wyer. He lensed, THE UPTURNED GLASS, MY BROTHER'S KEEPER, SO LONG AT THE FAIR, HIGHLY DANGEROUS, STREET CORNER, WHEEL OF FATE, EYEWITNESS, THE WEAPON, and THE INFORMERS.Attenborough had roles in BRIGHTON ROCK, BOYS IN BROWN, THE MAN UPSTAIRS, EIGHT O'CLOCK WALK and 10 RILLINGTON PLACE. Look close and you will see an unbilled Dirk Bogarde and Diana Dors in the crowd.(b/w)

This film sounded interesting from the subject matter, especially the dance-hall setting: and there is some good acting from the 'heavies', Barry K. Barnes as Paul Baker, the suave, good-looking and dangerous master of ceremonies, and Barry Jones as 'Mr Gregory', the mind behind the scenes. Unfortunately I didn't find the young hero and heroine particularly involving -- they are basically blank spots in the script marked "Generic Virtuous Character" -- and as the plot begins to be twisted in their favour with more and more incredulity-straining coincidences I found my tolerance decreasing. Diana Dors catches the eye in an unbilled (and for all that surprisingly prominent) part as one of the 'professional partners' at the dance hall, and various character actors do their reliable stuff. There are moments of genuine tension: but, alas, for me at least they always involved conflict between the villains rather than the endangerment of Our Heroes which was supposed to provide excitement. I'm afraid I got much more worried by Toni Masters' possible fate at the hands of a psychotic lorry-driver -- since she is a Bad Girl and therefore has some actual character conflict -- than by a punch-up involving Ted Peters, who is bound to win by some total fluke anyhow.The film looked promising at the start, but I failed to get involved and ended up feeling manipulated instead.