Clive Donner's debut feature also gave early leading roles to Belinda Lee, David McCallum and Roland Lewis. They're all quite good actually.
Rank Films had this reputation for old fashioned movies but this is quite snazzy and hip, starting with it's rock and roll song over the title credits. And the cast's performances are young and method-y especially David McCallum as a young teen. I think it helps that Donner was so young - he doesn't look down on his characters.
The story falls into that crime film sub-genre - the one where the protagonist is an adoring younger boy. This had a vogue in British cinema of the time with The Fallen Idol, Hunted, The Kidnappers, Moonfleet.
Here the boy has a crush on Belinda Lee, very good - but she plays the criminal's girlfriend, which means her link to the crime is more tenuous. I wish she'd gotten to take part in the heist herself. Lewis is effective in a villainous part. I'm surprised McCallum's role wasn't bigger.
As the film goes on it gets less interesting. The gang are constantly thwarted in their efforts to get the diamonds - things keep happening. I couldn't put my finger on it why this wasn't working for me - maybe it was the lack of a new element or development in what was going on. I guess the kid finds out the girl knows crooks - but that didn't feel very strong. I wasn't sure what happened to Lewis' character or Lee's a the end - or even the kid.
Still, worth watching.
Clive Donner interview side 7 here says Donner was an editor but he wanted to direct. He was going to Group Three but John Davis offered him a contract. Donner wanted to make Room at the Top but Rank refused bc they didn't like the book. He pitched Secret Place, liked that, and that was approved. Donner called the film a mixture of Pinewood establishment solid movie making and something that was fresher and newer and freer and dealing with ordinary people. He called it "an emotional thriller".
Donner in interview side 8 wanted to cast a cockney girl but Davis refused bc of her accent - she was Anne Archer. Donner knew Davis wanted to use Rank contract artists so picked Belinda Lee. Said she was young, lovely, her family was well to do. Called her unpretentious, relatively innocent, sweet. In love with Cornwell Lucas who did stills that looked as though they came out of never never land. Donner did tests with her. Says she worked fantastically hard and she was good. Donner says the picture was well received and he's proud of it. He talks about Lee's life briefly - the affair, moving to Europe, said she did well "big hair big tits", says she was going to Hollywood and was only there a short time when she died.
Donner talks about her in side 10 - recaps what he said earlier, went to see her play Rosalind in the Park. Donner argued to Rank she wasn't convincingly working class. He did a test of Barbara Archer but Davis had his heart set on Belinda.
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