The Safecracker *** (1958, Ray Milland, Barry Jones, Jeanette Sterke, Victor Maddern) – Classic Movie Review 7,918

Ray Milland directs and stars in the 1958 British low-budget film noir thriller The Safecracker, an involving, fact-based wartime story of a locksmith, gone criminal as an antiques robber.

Ray Milland directs and stars in the 1958 British low-budget film noir thriller The Safecracker, an involving, fact-based story of a British locksmith, Colley Dawson, gone criminal as an antiques robber, freed from a 10-year jail term in return for breaking into a bank vault in Belgium in 1940.

The safe in a German-occupied château holds a vital record of World War Two Nazi enemy agents working in England. The plan is that the contents of the safe will be photographed leaving no trace of the break-in.

With a screenplay by Paul Monash based on a book by Lt Colonel Rhys Davies and Bruce Thomas, The Safecracker is an above-standard, small-scale British wartime crime drama adventure that offers much of the style and scope of its successful big-league counterparts.

Milland shows considerable skill as director, keeping his film tense and pacy, and his presence as star actor as expert on locks Colley Dawson certainly injects spice into an often nail-biting and entertaining production.

Also in the cast are Barry Jones, Jeanette Sterke, Victor Maddern, rnest Clark, Cyril Raymond, Melissa Stribling, Percy Herbert, Barbara Everest, Anthony Nicholls, David Horne, Colin Gordon, Clive Morton, Colin Tapley, John Welsh, Pamela Stirling, Henry Vidon. Ian McNaughton, Bernard Fox, Charles Lloyd Pack, Barry Keegan, and Sam Kydd.

It was shot in black and white at MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England.

Release dates: 5 March 1958 (London) and 5 March 1958 (NYC).

MGM released it in 1958 in a double bill with Underwater Warrior starring Dan Dailey, Ross Martin, James Gregory, and Claire Kelly.

On a $471,000 budget, it earned $855,000 globally, resulting in a tiny profit of $59,000 for MGM.

The Safecracker was a Warner Archive DVD release in April 2016.

It is Milland’s third film as director, following A Man Alone and Lisbon.

The Safecracker is directed by Ray Milland, runs 96 minutes, is made by Coronado Productions, is released by MGM, is written by Paul Monash, based on a book by Rhys Davies and Bruce Thomas, is shot in black and white by Gerald Gibbs, is produced by John R Sloan and David E Rose, and is scored by Richard Rodney Bennett.

Cast: Ray Milland as Colley Dawson, Barry Jones as Bennett Carfield, Jeanette Sterke as Irene, Victor Maddern as Morris, Ernest Clark as Major Adbury, Cyril Raymond as Inspector Frankham, Melissa Stribling as Angela, Percy Herbert as Sergeant Harper, Barbara Everest as Mrs. Dawson, Anthony Nicholls as General Prior, David Horne as Herbert Fenwright, Colin Gordon as Dakers, Clive Morton as Sir George Turvey, John Welsh as Inspector Owing, Colin Tapley as Colonel Charles Mercer, Ian MacNaughton as Thomson, Charles Lloyd-Pack as Lambert, Ferdy Mayne as Greek Ship Owner, Arnold Bell as Detective, Bernard Fox as Shafter, Jackie Collins as Fenwright’s Secretary, Basil Dignam as Air Vice Marshal, Sam Kydd as McCullers, Hilda Fenemore as Mrs McCullers, David Lodge as Parachute Instructor.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7,918

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