''Rough Shoot'', released in the USA as ''Shoot First'', is a 1953 British

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Robert Parrish and written by Eric Ambler, based on the 1951 novel by Geoffrey Household. The film stars

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

, in his only postwar non-Western role, with

Evelyn Keyes Evelyn Louise Keyes (November 20, 1916 – July 4, 2008) was an American film actress. She is best known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film ''Gone with the Wind''. Early life Evelyn Keyes was born in Port Arthur, Texas, to Omar Do ...

as the

leading lady A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...

, and featuring

Herbert Lom Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (), was a Czech-British actor who moved to the United Kingdom in 1939. In a career lasting more than 60 ye ...

Marius Goring Marius Re Goring, (23 May 191230 September 1998) was a British stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in '' A Matter of Life and Death'' and as Julian Cr ...

and

Roland Culver Roland Joseph Culver, (31 August 1900 – 1 March 1984) was an English stage, film, and television actor. Life and career After Highgate School, he joined the Royal Air Force and served as a pilot from 1918 to 1919. After considering other c ...

. The scenario is set in Cold War England when tensions ran high regarding spying.

Plot

A U.S. Army colonel Robert Taine (

) living in the English countryside shoots at a man he takes to be a poacher on Taine's rented property in Dorset. The man named Reimann (Denis Lehre), has been mortally wounded but Robert is unaware that a foreign spy named Hiart (

) simultaneously shot Reimann. Believing he has killed the poacher, Robert hides Reimann's body under a shrub. Robert encounters Hiart and his driver, Diss (

Karel Stepanek Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley, talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel, Dutch painter Business * Karel Electronics, a Turkish electronics manufacturer * Gr ...

) looking for the body. Later that night, Hiart's colleague, Magda Hassingham ( Patricia Laffan), discusses the incident with him. Magda's drunkard husband (

Frank Lawton Frank Lawton Mokeley (30 September 1904 – 10 June 1969) was an English actor. His parents were stage players Daisy May Collier and Frank Lawton (I). His first major screen credit was ''Young Woodley'' (1930). In the mid-1930s, Lawton appe ...

), the major landowner in the area, is ignorant of her involvement with enemy agents. Intending to bury Reimann the next day, Robert finds Peter Sandorski (

), a Polish operative for British military intelligence is there. Sandorski enlists his help with a secret operation to foil a gang out to steal atomic secrets. British Colonel Cartwright ( Cyril Raymond) introduces Robert and his wife Cecily (

) to government official Randall (

) who confirms Sandorski's identity and story and instructs Robert to cooperate with Sandorski. When Randall leaves, Robert confesses to Cecily he has accidentally killed a man. Cecily insists on accompanying her husband and Sandorski to a nearby field where an enemy agent is expected to land an aircraft. While Cecily stays in the car, Robert and Sandorski see Hiart, Magda and their assistants arrange landing beacons. When he overhears that the agent, identified as Lex (

David Hurst David Hurst (born Heinrich Theodor Hirsch; 8 May 1926 – 15 September 2019) was a German actor, best known for his role in the film '' Hello, Dolly'' as Rudolph the headwaiter. Biography Early life and career Hurst grew up in a family of ac ...

), will only be in town for 48 hours, Sandorski decides to capture him. By moving a beacon, the landing is disrupted, allowing Sandorski who is impersonating Hiart to grab the spy. Sandorski tosses grenades so they cannot be followed. While Robert and Cecily impersonate the Hassinghams, Sandorski drugs Lex so he will sleep. The next morning police discover Reimann's body. Diss, meanwhile, attempts to locate Lex and learns about Robert and Cecily's unusual houseguests from their housekeeper's son, Tommy Powell (Robert Dickens). After police inspectors Matthews ( Jack McNaughton) of Dorchester and Sullivan (

Clement McCallin Clement Schuyler McCallin (6 March 1913 – 7 August 1977) was a British actor from London. RADA trained, he made his stage debut in 1931, and worked extensively with the RSC and The Old Vic. He was married to actress Brenda Bruce, with whom he ...

) of Scotland Yard question Robert and take one of his boots to compare to the prints found near Reimann's body. Robert insists they all leave for London, where Lex has a meeting. On Robert's instruction, Mrs. Powell (

Megs Jenkins Muguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins (21 April 1917 – 5 October 1998) was an English character actress who appeared in British films and television programmes. Life and career Jenkins was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, the daughter of a construction ...

) contacts Randall with a request to call off Scotland Yard. Hiart pursues Robert, Cecily, Sandorski and Lex who arrive at a train station where Randall makes contact with Cecily, who admits that her husband killed Reimann. While on the train to London, Cecily takes Lex's briefcase while he is asleep. At the London train station Hiart manages to alert Lex, who escapes. However, the next day at London's

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer use ...

, Randall and Sandorski arrest Lex after he passes an envelope to an unidentified spy. Lex and the spy are arrested, but Hiart and Diss flee. Sandorski shoots Diss during a pursuit in a stairwell, and Hiart is killed when he opens Lex's briefcase, triggering an explosion. Randall later reveals to Robert and Cecily that Lex, a scientist, was brought to England to interpret stolen reports about British atomic weapons trials in Australia. He and Sullivan then inform a relieved Robert that it was Hiart who killed Reimann. Before departing, Sandorski cautions Cecily that any future strange behaviour by her husband may be related to espionage.

Cast

as Lt. Col. Robert Taine *

as Cecily Taine *

as Peter Sandorski *

as Randall *

as Hiart *

as Hassingham * Patricia Laffan as Magda Hassingham * Cyril Raymond as Cartwright *

as Diss * Jack McNaughton as Inspector Matthews *

as Inspector Sullivan *

as Lex * Denis Lehrer as Reimann *

Laurence Naismith Laurence Naismith (born Lawrence Johnson; 14 December 1908 – 5 June 1992) was an English actor. He made numerous film and television appearances, including starring roles in the musical films '' Scrooge'' (1970) and the children's ghost fil ...

as Blossom *

as Mrs. Powell * Robert Dickens as Tommy * Arnold Bell as Sergeant Baines * Ellis Irving as Wharton *

Joan Hickson Joan Bogle Hickson, OBE (5 August 1906 – 17 October 1998) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She was known for her role as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series ''Miss Marple''. She also narrated a number ...

as Station announcer

Production

Inspired by Geoffrey Household's novel ''Run from the Hangman'' (1953), ''Rough Shoot'' was filmed on location in England. Studio work took place at Riverside Studios, London. Some scenes were shot in

in London.

Reception

In a contemporary review of ''Shoot First'' (the title of the U.S. release), ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine declared: "McCrea is excellent as the colonel forced by circumstances into the counterplot, and Keyes is appealing and believable as his wife. Lom scores as the swash-buckling counterspy, making a completely engaging character out of what's intended as a caricature. Goring scores as the fanatic foreign agent, and Karl Stepanek is excellent as his brutal sidekick. Robert Parrish's inventive direction keeps the story moving at a rapid pace." Film reviewer Leslie Halliwell in ''Leslie Halliwell's Film Guide'' (1989), noted that ''Rough Shoot'' was a "minor Hitchcock-style thriller with a climax in Madame Tussauds; generally efficient and entertaining."Halliwell 1989, p. 869.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Halliwell, Leslie. ''Leslie Halliwell's Film Guide''. New York: Harper & Roe, 1989. . * Milne, Tom. "Review: 'Rough Shoot'(aka 'Shoot First')" in Pym, John, ed. ''Time Out Film Guide''. London: Time Out Guides Limited, 2004. .

External links

* * * *Sterritt, David
''Shoot First'' (1953)
article on TCM.com {{Robert Parrish 1953 films 1950s thriller films Films directed by Robert Parrish British drama films British thriller films British spy films British black-and-white films Cold War spy films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films