One Jump Ahead *** (1955, Paul Carpenter, Diane Hart, Jill Adams) – Classic Movie Review 13,652

Paul Carpenter stars as a reporter who sets out to track down the killer of a female blackmailer and a schoolboy, in the 1955 British second feature crime thriller film One Jump Ahead.

Director Charles Saunders’s nimble and nifty 1955 British second feature crime thriller film One Jump Ahead stars Paul Carpenter, Diane Hart, and Jill Adams.

When an unknown woman involved in blackmail and a schoolboy (whom the killer believed was a witness) are murdered at a London bombed-out ruined church, it’s up to canny Canadian news reporter Paul Banner (Paul Carpenter) and his reporter partner Maxine (Diane Hart) at The Daily Comet to solve the mystery. The killer has killed the wrong schoolboy, and of course now the other one is in mortal danger. The blackmailing woman obviously has been murdered to stop her blackmailing, but who was she blackmailing? Paul Banner is clever about everything, except dames that is, his one weak spot.

This fast-moving, humorous crime melodrama is a pretty successful one of a host of British thrillers of the 50s adapted from popular books, in this case American novelist Robert Chapman’s 1951 pulp crime novel One Jump Ahead. Though it is often humorous, it has a dark tone about it too. It never forgets it’s about a serious case of double murder. Commendably, it ends darkly too, in a dark place. Though it is a British film, and set in London, it has an American flavour to it, which must be to do with the sensibilities of the American novelist. Prolific British screenwriter Doreen Montgomery writes the tidy, economical script.

The plot is surprisingly complex and ingenious, the characters are entertaining, and the script is nicely written, with a lot of quirky detail and offbeat, amusing dialogue. The identity of the killer is well concealed, for, hey, it’s a mystery! Paul Carpenter is really good, relaxed, credible and oddly charming, and Diane Hart is appealing and amusing as the girl he likes but has to take second place to his ex, Judy (Jill Adams), the girl he loves.

There is an astonishing amount of ground to cover in an hour, and One Jump Ahead achieves it in some command and style. It is excellent of its kind. Two or three of the character performances from largely forgotten actors are great, and there is even room for boxer Freddie Mills in a rather funny turn as a thick, pugilist crook.

Of course the journalist is not helping the police track down the mystery killer, he is constantly trying to keep one jump ahead of the police (Arnold Bell as Superintendent Faro).

Carpenter and Hart are playing characters previously acted by Peter Reynolds and Honor Blackman as Rex and Maxine Banner in The Delavine Affair (1955) .

Paul Carpenter returns as reporter Paul Banner in director Charles Saunders’s Behind the Headlines (1956).

In 1957, Saunders also directed Murder Reported, also based on a Robert Chapman crime novel, again with Paul Carpenter (this time as ace reporter Jeff Holly) and a similar story about a news reporter investigating a murder. 

The cast: Paul Carpenter, Diane Hart, Jill Adams, Peter Sinclair, Arnold Bell, Freddie Mills, Roddy Hughes, David Hannaford, Edward French, June Ashley, Rose Howlett, Charles Lamb, Mary Jones.

One Jump Ahead is directed by Charles Saunders, runs 66 minutes, is made by Kenilworth Film Productions and Fortress Films, is released by General Film Distributors (UK), is written by Doreen Montgomery, is shot in black and white by Brendan J Stafford, is produced by Guido Coen, and is scored by Edwin Astley (uncredited).

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,652

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