Booby Trap (film)

Booby Trap is a 1957 black and white British comedy drama film, directed by Henry Cass and starring Tony Quinn, Harry Fowler and Sidney Tafler.[1]

Booby Trap
Lobby card
Directed byHenry Cass
Written byPeter Bryan
Produced byBill Luckwell
StarringSydney Tafler
CinematographyJames Wilson
Edited byRobert Jordan Hill (as Robert Hill)
Music byWilfred Burns
Production
company
Jaywell Productions
Distributed byEros Films
Release date
1957
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Professor Hasdane has invented an explosive fountain pen, which will explode if it detects the first chime of Big Ben. The absent-minded professor leaves his briefcase, containing the pen, in a taxi. The next customer in the taxi, Sammy the spiv, takes the case. He pawns the pen. Sammy and Hasdane subsequently trace the pen to a seedy club operated by narcotics gangster Hunter. which distributes its drugs in mock fountain pens. Hunter unwittingly mixes up the Professor's pen with his own, and escapes pursued by the police. His car explodes when Big Ben chimes over the car radio.

Cast

Crititical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A lively, if juvenile, idea is sacrificed after the opening scenes, promising a suspense which never materialises. The development of this uninspired thriller is thin, the characters are pasteboard and the production is sparing."[2]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as “average” and wrote: “Bright comedy thriller, fast and amusing, misses on the thrills.''[3]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "This dire British B-feature was barely seen when it first came out. [...] The build-up is feeble and none of the characters engage one's interest."[4]

References
  1. "Booby TrapAbroad". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  2. "Booby Trap". Monthly Film Bulletin. 24 (276): 100. 1 January 1957.
  3. Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 286. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
  4. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 851. ISBN 9780992936440.
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