You Pay Your Money ** (1957, Hugh McDermott, Jane Hylton, Honor Blackman) – Classic Movie Review 13,282

The 1957 British crime drama B film You Pay Your Money is a sturdy and energetic filler thriller, based on Michael Cronin’s novel about kidnapping and rare book smuggling. It stars Hugh McDermott, Jane Hylton and Honor Blackman.

Director Maclean Rogers’s 1957 British crime drama B film You Pay Your Money is a robust, sturdy and energetic, way more than just passable filler thriller, based on Michael Cronin’s novel about kidnapping and rare book smuggling. It stars Hugh McDermott, Jane Hylton and Honor Blackman.

Maclean Rogers also writes the screenplay, in which rare books are smuggled and a young married English woman, Susie Westlake (Honor Blackman), is kidnapped by Arabs as a hostage to get hold of one particular book. Her husband Bob (Hugh McDermott) has to get her back safely while keeping hold of the books.

The married couple have visited Belgium and become involved with wealthy financier Steve Mordaunt (Ivan Samson) in the sale and transfer of a collection of rare books. His lover Mrs Rosemary Delgado (Jane Hylton) is rightly suspected of an attempted burglary at Mordaunt’s home perpetrated by her accomplice Delal (Ferdy Mayne).

[Spoiler alert] Mrs Delgado wants to get her hands on a book of the ancient writings of Achmed that have inspired an extreme political group, which are initially thought to be in Mordaunt’s collection. But, in return for her freedom, she eventually leads Bob Westlakes to find his wife and the ancient writings.

At least the story of kidnap and rare book smuggling is complex and unusual, if a shade over-blown and low on credibility and clarity, and the acting is a very considerable improvement on the sometimes cheap-looking production, thanks to busy film and TV professionals like McDermott, Blackman and Hylton.

Blackman is a feisty, alluring heroine and Hylton makes a considerable villainess. The urbane Ivan Samson impresses as the dodgy wealthy financier Steve Mordaunt. Hugh McDermott is a rough diamond at the centre of the plot but his smooth tough guy turn does work, and he forms a good double act with Blackman.

Ferdy Mayne as Delal, Peter Swanwick as the hall porter, Basil Dignam as Mordaunt’s suspicious servant Currie, and Elsie Wagstaff as old Ada Seymour do not have too much to do, but they make, and leave, a flavourful strong impression. It is B-movie character acting at its near finest.

Maclean Rogers handles it briskly and capably enough, and throws in several fights and gunplay scenes, staging them rather well too. And, despite the low budget production, even so the biggish sets and considerable outside filming are more than serviceable, given that it is a British ‘B-movie crime drama. Cinematographer Walter J Harvey does his absolute level best to make the photography look distracting and interesting.

Talking of You Pay Your Money, I’m baffled how Butcher’s Film Service made their money back. Audiences didn’t pay their money for this one, it was the freebie they got before the big picture. They still don’t have to pay for it. It is showing free on Talking Pictures TV.

It is shot at Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England.

The cast are Hugh McDermott as Bob Westlake, Jane Hylton as Mrs Rosemary Delgado, Honor Blackman as Susie Westlake, Hugh Moxey as Tom Cookson, Ivan Samson as Steve Mordaunt, Ferdy Mayne as Delal, Shirley Deane as Doris Squire, Gerard Heinz as Dr Burger, Peter Swanwick as hall porter, Basil Dignam as Currie, Fred Griffiths as driver Fred, Ben Williams as Seymour, Elsie Wagstaff as Ada Seymour, Vincent Holman as Briggs, Mark Daly as Goodwin, Myles Rudge as estate agent, Jack Taylor as 1st thug, Larry Taylor as 2nd thug, Robert Dorning as birdwatcher, Don Qureshi as Arab, Lucette Marimar as telephonist, Amando Guinlee as Belgian seaman, Shaym Bahadur as Said, Shripad Pai as man, and George Roderick as Oley Jackson.

You Pay Your Money is directed by Maclean Rogers, runs 68 minutes, is made and released by Butcher’s Film Service, is written by Maclean Rogers, is shot in black and white by Walter J Harvey, and is produced by W G Chalmers.

Release date: February 1957 (UK).

Edinburgh-born Hugh McDermott (20 March 1906 – 29 January 1972) made a large number of film, stage and TV appearances between 1936 and 1972. He specialised in playing Americans, so most British film fans had no idea he was Scottish.

English actress Jane Hylton (16 July 1926 – 28 February 1979, born Audrey Gwendolene Clark) made around 30 films, mostly in the late 1940s and 1950s.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,282

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