A Gunman Has Escaped ** (1948, John Harvey, John Fitzgerald, Robert Cartland, Maria Charles, Jane Arden, Frank Hawkins) – Classic Movie Review 13,526

The modest but effective 1948 British black and white second feature crime thriller film A Gunman Has Escaped tells the tale of three armed robbers who kill a passer-by in a robbery and flee the city.

Director Richard M Grey’s modest but effective 1948 British black and white second feature crime thriller film A Gunman Has Escaped is written by John Gilling and Joyce Cairns, and stars John Harvey, John Fitzgerald, Robert Cartland, Maria Charles, Jane Arden, and Frank Hawkins.

Three Soho armed robbers, gang members Eddie (John Harvey), Sinclair (John Fitzgerald) and Bill (Robert Cartland), kill a passer-by in a jeweller’s shop robbery and flee from the city to the countryside and find work with farmer Mr Cranston (Frank Hawkins), but Bill falls for Cranston’s daughter Jane (Jane Arden) and Eddie starts to go crazy.

Especially given its minor status, low production values and lack of famous stars or character actors, A Gunman Has Escaped is surprisingly good and well acted, with a persuasive, economical screenplay, mostly by the prolific and super-talented John Gilling.

It is made by Condor Film Productions as a second feature at the Maida Vale Studios in London, running only 58 minutes.

It is released in the UK in 1948 by the independent British distributor Monarch Film Corporation, one of their first releases.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,526

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com