Tomorrow at Ten
Tomorrow at Ten is a 1962 British thriller film directed by Lance Comfort and starring John Gregson, Robert Shaw and Kenneth Cope.[1]
Tomorrow at Ten | |
---|---|
Directed by | Lance Comfort |
Written by | James Kelley Peter Miller |
Produced by | Tom Blakeley |
Starring | John Gregson Robert Shaw Alec Clunes Alan Wheatley |
Cinematography | Basil Emmott |
Edited by | Peter Pitt John Trumper |
Music by | Bernie Fenton |
Release date | 1962 |
Running time | 80 mins |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Plot
A man calling himself Marlow kidnaps Jonathan Chester, the young son of wealthy industrialist Anthony Chester, and locks him in a rented house with a golliwog containing a time bomb. He then goes to see the boy's father and announces that he will only reveal his whereabouts once he has been paid £50,000 (a large sum at the time) and is safely in Brazil. The boy's nanny alerts the police and Inspector Parnell arrives to discourage Chester from paying up lest it encourages giving in to blackmailers' demands. Marlow then reveals that the time bomb will go off at 10 a.m. the next day, killing Jonathan. This is too much for Chester who attacks Marlow, causing the crook serious injuries from which he later dies, leaving the police with little time or indication as to where to find Jonathan.
Cast
- John Gregson as Inspector Parnell
- Robert Shaw as Marlow
- Alec Clunes as Anthony Chester
- Alan Wheatley as Assistant Commissioner Bewley
- Kenneth Cope as Sergeant Grey
- Ernest Clark as Dr Towers
- Piers Bishop as Jonathan Chester
- Helen Cherry as Robbie
- William Hartnell as Freddie Maddox
- Betty McDowall as Mrs Parnell
- Harry Fowler as Smiley
- Renée Houston as Masie Maddox
- Alan Curtis as Inspector
- Noel Howlett as Brain specialist
- Trevor Reid as Q Detective
- Ray Smith as Briggs
- Norman Coburn aa Desk Man
Critical reception
Tomorrow at Ten was selected by the film historians Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane as one of the 15 most meritorious British B films made between World War II and 1970. While they praise the characterisation, the performances, the production design, the cinematography and the screenplay, they say that "the film's real strength is in the direction of the veteran Lance Comfort in one of his last films".[2]
References
- BFI.org
- Steve Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, The British 'B' Film, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2009, pp. 281–82.