Three Sundays to Live *** (1957, Kieron Moore, Jane Griffiths, Basil Dignam, Sandra Dorne, John Stone, Ferdy Mayne) – Classic Movie Review 13,797

Kieron Moore stars as a band leader framed for murdering the shady owner of the club where he’s performing, in the 1957 British black and white second feature crime thriller film Three Sundays to Live.

Director Ernest Morris’s 1957 Danziger Productions British black and white second feature crime thriller film Three Sundays to Live stars Kieron Moore, Jane Griffiths, Basil Dignam, with Sandra Dorne, Harold Ayer, John Stone, and Ferdy Mayne. It is decently written by the prolific and inventive Brian Clemens.

Sexy blonde singer Ruth Chapman (Sandra Dorne) has gone on the run and she is the only hope for framed murderer Frank Martin (Kieron Moore), a dance band leader who is found guilty of murdering the shady owner of the club where he works and now faces the gallows if she can’t be found to tell the truth. Ruth Chapman was with Frank at the time of the murder, and was used to frame him for the killing, but has made herself scarce, very scarce, supposedly having died in America years ago. The police and the court don’t believe Frank’s story. Why would they?

As his execution draws near, Frank escapes from jail, aided by his feisty girlfriend Judy (Jane Griffiths), who desperately tries to help him find her, and by their friendly lawyer Davitt (Basil Dignam). With the help of a contact who owes Frank a favour, they trace the singer. But now the real killer strikes again.

Moore, Griffiths, Dignam and Dorne do their very best with the intriguing material in this decently done, cheaply made but not noticeably cheap looking Brit thriller from the Danzigers. Kieron Moore is solid enough in the star role of amiable victim, capable and alluring Jane Griffiths is outstanding as his pro-active support system, and intense and imperious Basil Dignam is excellent as their loyal lawyer, while a few appealing faces (Ferdy Mayne, John Longden, John Stuart, Bill Fraser) in the support cast of excellent actors also help even if they have little to do. John Stone and Norman Mitchell are disappointing as the dim-witted, prejudiced police, but then their roles are ineffectual.

Director Ernest Morris keeps it moving briskly and capably, with flashes of valuable tension and atmosphere. He handles the courtroom scene of the hero’s murder trial especially well, a highlight of several strong sequences, including the hero’s prison escape. The odd exterior shot is a help: that is Jane Griffiths outside at the Lamb and Flag pub, Covent Garden. It’s a bit rushed and unconvincing at the climax, but not too bad.

The title? British law then required that three Sundays must elapse before execution by hanging after a death sentence had been passed.

Cast: Kieron Moore as Frank Martin, Jane Griffiths as Judy Allen, Basil Dignam as Davitt, Sandra Dorne as Ruth Chapman, Harold Ayer as Al Murray, John Stone as detective, Norman Mitchell as police sergeant, John Longden as prison warder, Ferdy Mayne as Davis, John Stuart as the judge, Bill Fraser as prison warder, George Roderick as second officer, and Nicholas Stuart as Louis.

Jane Griffiths (16 October 1929 – 11 June 1975): Double Confession (1950), The Gambler and the Lady (1952), The Million Pound Note (1954), The Green Scarf (1954), Shadow of a Man (1956), The Traitor (1957), Three Sundays to Live (1957), Tread Softly Stranger (1958), The Impersonator (1961), The Third Alibi (1961), The Durant Affair (1962), Dead Man’s Evidence (1962), The Double (1963).

Jane Griffiths died young at only 45, but the cause of death is not recorded in the publicly available biographical sources. Her last known acting appearance was in the TV series Softly Softly in 1966, after which she retired from acting. She married Gerhard Heinz Herman Nell, a German‑born businessman, sometime in the early 1960s and may have chosen to focus on married life.

Sandra Dorne (born Joan Smith; 19 June 1924 – 25 December 1992) was a British actress who enjoyed a longer career and life than Jane Griffiths. She was married to the actor Patrick Holt from 1954 until her death.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,797

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