Interpol (film)

Last updated

Interpol
Interpol film Theatrical release poster (1957).png
UK theatrical release poster
Directed by John Gilling
Written by John Paxton
Based onInterpol
1955 novel
by A.J. Forrest
Produced by Albert R. Broccoli
Irving Allen
Starring Victor Mature
Anita Ekberg
Trevor Howard
Cinematography Ted Moore
Edited by Richard Best
Music by Richard Rodney Bennett
Production
company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • 2 April 1957 (1957-04-02)
Running time
92 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
USA
LanguageEnglish

Interpol (U.S. title: Pickup Alley; also known as International Police) is a 1957 British-American CinemaScope crime film noir directed by John Gilling and starring Victor Mature, Anita Ekberg, Trevor Howard, Bonar Colleano and Sid James. [1] The screenplay was by John Paxton, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by A.J. Forrest. The film was produced by Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli for Warwick Films.

Contents

It concerns an Interpol effort to stamp out a major drug-smuggling cartel in numerous countries.

In the United States, the film was released as a double feature with The Brothers Rico (1957). [2]

Plot

Charles Sturgis is an FBI agent on the trail of a drug-smuggling operation run by crazed criminal mastermind Frank McNally, who has murdered Sturgis's sister. He travels to Europe to find McNally and destroy the organisation. In Rome he gets a tip that he can find McNally by following his mistress, Gina Broger. Sturgis is captured and beaten up, then rescued by an Interpol officer. Sturgess tails McNally to New York, where McNally falls to his death from a dockyard crane.

Cast

Production

Michael Wilding was originally announced for the role later played by Trevor Howard. [3]

The story was based on the files of the International Criminal Police Commission. Filming began on 15 August 1956 and took place in New York, Paris, Rome, Genoa (Italy), Madrid, London and Athens. [4]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Despite extensive location shooting in London, Paris, Rome, Athens and New York, and an elaborate, elliptical sub-Welles plot, this film does not escape the common rut. It suffers from obvious and unresourceful type-casting, and badly fumbles its few climaxes. There is a superficial vitality about it – mainly achieved by noise; and Trevor Howard plays with jaded relish." [5]

British film critic Leslie Halliwell said: "Drearily routine thick ear electrified by one performance but not helped by wide screen." [6]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Howard dominates rather sloppy thriller." [7]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "this feeble thriller about tracking down a dope-peddling syndicate by the international police force boasted that it was filmed in London, Paris, Athens, Naples, Rome, Lisbon and New York. It looks as though they sometimes forgot to take the script with them. Trevor Howard obviously relishes acting the master villain for a change, though co-stars Victor Mature and Anita Ekberg don't try to act at all." [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor Howard</span> English actor (1913–1988)

Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film Brief Encounter (1945), followed by The Third Man (1949).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Ekberg</span> Swedish actress (1931–2015)

Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg was a Swedish actress active in American and European films, known for her beauty and curvy figure. She became prominent in her iconic role as Sylvia in the Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita (1960). Ekberg worked primarily in Italy, where she became a permanent resident in 1964.

<i>The One That Got Away</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film by Roy Ward Baker

The One That Got Away is a war film. It was produced in United Kingdom. The film was biographical. It was starring Hardy Krüger and featuring Michael Goodliffe, Jack Gwillim and Alec McCowen. The film was directed by Roy Ward Baker. The screenplay written by Howard Clewes. It was based on the 1956 book of the same name. The book was written by Kendal Burt and James Leasor.

<i>Zarak</i> 1956 British film

Zarak is a 1957 CinemaScope adventure film based on the 1949 book The Story of Zarak Khan by A.J. Bevan. It was directed by Terence Young with assistance from John Gilling and Yakima Canutt. Set in the Northwest Frontier, the film stars Victor Mature, Michael Wilding and Anita Ekberg and features Patrick McGoohan in a supporting role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonar Colleano</span> American actor

Bonar Colleano was an American-British stage and film actor based in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Shaw</span> English actress (1929–1978)

Susan Shaw was an English actress.

<i>Fire Down Below</i> (1957 film) 1957 film by Robert Parrish

Fire Down Below is a 1957 British-American adventure drama film with a screenplay written by novelist Irwin Shaw, starring Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum and Jack Lemmon, and directed by Robert Parrish. Based on Max Catto's 1954 novel with the same title, the picture was made by Warwick Films on location in Trinidad and Tobago, in Technicolor and CinemaScope, and released by Columbia Pictures.

<i>The Night My Number Came Up</i> 1955 British film by Leslie Norman

The Night My Number Came Up is a 1955 British supernatural drama film directed by Leslie Norman with screenplay by R. C. Sherriff. The film stars Michael Redgrave, Sheila Sim and Alexander Knox.

Warwick Films was a film company founded by film producers Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli in London in 1951. The name was taken from the Warwick Hotel in New York where Broccoli and his wife were staying at the time of the final negotiations for the company's creation. Their films were released by Columbia Pictures.

<i>The Man Inside</i> (1958 film) 1958 British film by John Gilling

The Man Inside is a 1958 British crime adventure film directed by John Gilling and starring Jack Palance, Anita Ekberg, Nigel Patrick, Anthony Newley and Bonar Colleano. It was produced by Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli for Warwick Film Productions. The screenplay by David Shaw was based on the 1954 novel of the same name by M. E. Chaber. It was Bonar Colleano's final film role.

<i>Pool of London</i> (film) 1951 British film

Pool of London is a 1951 British noir crime film directed by Basil Dearden. It stars Bonar Colleano, Earl Cameron and Susan Shaw.Set in post-war London, the film is of note for portraying the first interracial relationship in a British film.

<i>A Tale of Five Cities</i> 1951 British-Italian film by Romolo Marcellini et al

A Tale of Five Cities is a 1951 British-Italian international co-production comedy drama film directed by Romolo Marcellini, Emil E. Reinert, Wolfgang Staudte, Montgomery Tully, Irma von Cube and Géza von Cziffra. The five cities cited in the title are: Rome, Paris, Berlin, London, and Vienna.

<i>Manuela</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film by Directed by Guy Hamilton

Manuela is a 1957 British drama film directed by Guy Hamilton, starring Trevor Howard and Elsa Martinelli.

<i>The Long Haul</i> (1957 film) 1957 British drama film directed by Ken Hughes

The Long Haul is a 1957 British drama film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Victor Mature, Patrick Allen and Diana Dors. It is based on the novel The Long Haul by Mervyn Mills.

<i>Too Young to Love</i> (film) 1959 film by Muriel Box

Too Young to Love is a 1959 British drama film set in New York. It was directed by Muriel Box and starring Pauline Hahn, Joan Miller, and Austin Willis. It was based on the play Pickup Girl by Elsa Shelley. An adaptation of the story was broadcast on British TV on 6 December 1957 in the ITV Television Playhouse series.

<i>Child in the House</i> 1956 British film by Cy Endfield

Child in the House is a 1956 British drama film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Phyllis Calvert, Eric Portman and Stanley Baker. It is based on the novel A Child in the House by Janet McNeill. A girl struggles to cope with her uncaring relatives.

<i>Valerie</i> (film) 1957 film by Gerd Oswald nice

Valerie is a 1957 American Western film directed by Gerd Oswald and starring Sterling Hayden, Anita Ekberg and Anthony Steel. The film was apparently inspired by Akira Kurosawa's 1950 classic Rashomon.

<i>No Time to Die</i> (1958 film) 1958 British film by Terence Young

No Time to Die is a 1958 British war film directed by Terence Young and starring Victor Mature, Leo Genn, Anthony Newley and Bonar Colleano. It is about an American sergeant in the British Army during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Balfour (actor)</span> English actor

Michael Creighton Balfour was an English actor, working mainly in British films and TV, following his TV debut in the BBC's The Marvellous History of St Bernard, in 1938. He was a recognisable face, often in small character parts and supporting roles, in nearly two hundred films and TV shows, from the 1940s to the 1990s, often playing comical heavies or otherwise shady characters notable for their "loud" clothes, sometimes convincingly cast as an American.

<i>Death Over My Shoulder</i> 1958 British film by Arthur Crabtree

Death Over My Shoulder is a 1958 British 'B' crime film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Keefe Brasselle, Bonar Colleano and Jill Adams. It was written by Norman Hudis based on a story by Alyce Canfield.

References

  1. "Interpol". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  2. Interpol at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  3. Schallert, Edwin (24 March 1956). "Drama: 'Interpol' on Schedule for Wilding; Richards Booming; Elliott Sleuth". Los Angeles Times. p. 13.
  4. OSCAR GODBOUT (23 June 1956). "GREGORY TO FILM NOVEL BY KANTOR: Producer Will Make 'On My Honor' From 'God and My Country' for R.K.O. Warwick Signs Two Of Local Origin". New York Times. p. 15.
  5. "Interpol". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 24 (276): 60. 1 January 1957 via ProQuest.
  6. Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 217. ISBN   0586088946.
  7. Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 328. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
  8. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 468. ISBN   9780992936440.