''Echo of Barbara'' is a 1960 British

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Sidney Hayers Sidney Hayers (24 August 1921 – 8 February 2000) was a British film and television director, writer and producer. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Hayers began his career as a film editor. Among the films he directed are '' Circus of Horrors'' (1 ...

, and starring

Mervyn Johns David Mervyn Johns (18 February 18996 September 1992) was a Welsh stage, film and television actor who became a fixture of British films during the Second World War. Johns appeared extensively on screen and stage with over 100 credits between 1 ...

and Maureen Connell. It was written by

John Kruse John Kruse (1921–2004) was an English film and television screenwriter, director and novelist. He is mostly remembered for his work on ITC classic TV series '' The Saint'', as well as several films of the franchise, and as the author of the ...

based on the 1959 novel of the same title by Jonathan Burke. It was one of several crime films Hayers made for Anglo-Amalgamated.

Plot

Soho stripper Paula Brown poses as Barbara, the missing sister of crooked Sam Roscoe, hoping to uncover the whereabouts of stolen money.

Cast

as Sam Roscoe * Maureen Connell as Paula Brown *

Paul Stassino Phaedros Stassinos (1930 – 28 June 2012) was a Greek Cypriot actor whose international stage name was Paul Stassino. Early life Stassino was born in Platres and grew up in nearby Limassol, but spent most of his acting career in England. He h ...

as Caledonia *

Ronald Hines Ronald Charles Andrew Hines (20 June 1929 – 28 March 2017) was a British television actor. He had a lengthy career, but possibly his most prominent roles were as Henry Corner in three of the four series of '' Not in Front of the Children' ...

as Mike Roscoe * Tom Bell as Ben *Brian Peck as Ted *

Eddie Leslie Frederick Leslie Whitaker (11 October 1903 – 27 June 1975), known as Eddie Leslie, was a British film actor and screenwriter. He often acted alongside Norman Wisdom, on stage and in his films '' Trouble in Store'' (1953); ''Up in the W ...

as aide *

Beatrice Varley Beatrice Evelyn Varley (11 July 1896 – 4 July 1964) was an English actress who appeared in television and film roles between 1936 and 1964. She made her screen debut in the 1936 film ''Tomorrow We Live'' and began to portray a variety of ...

as Mrs. Roscoe * John Abineri as Rankin *Diana Potter as Pam

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "An intricate and implausible impersonation story, made without style and falling back on sleazy and violent backgrounds and incidents to whip up some artificial excitement." ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' wrote: "There are some seamy and violent passages, but a strong human interest, smoothly developed by Maureen Connell as the heroine, preserves essential balance. It's potent and palatable fare. ... The picture opens in a striptease joint and has a few other sexy moments, but sensationalism is a means to a suspenseful and morally sound climax. Maureen Connell meets all acting demands and is easy on the eyes as Paula, Mervyn Johns scores as Sam, and Paul Stassino and Ronald Hines thoroughly convince as the ruthless Caledonia and two-timing Mike respectively. Its direction, too, has punch, the feminine angle is strong, and its backgrounds are suitably varied."

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

called it "a better-than-usual British

programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...

, entertaining despite its surplus of unpleasant leading characters."

References

External links

Echo of Barbara
at BFI *
Echo of Barbara
at Letterbox DVD {{Sidney Hayers 1960 films British crime films British black-and-white films 1960 crime films Films set in London Films directed by Sidney Hayers Films shot at Beaconsfield Studios 1960s English-language films 1960s British films English-language crime films