''Forbidden'' (a.k.a. ''Scarlet Heaven'' ) is a 1949

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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. ...

, produced and directed by

George King George King may refer to: Politics * George King (Australian politician) (1814–1894), New South Wales and Queensland politician * George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839), Irish nobleman and MP for County Roscommon * George Clift King (184 ...

, and starring

Douglass Montgomery Robert Douglass Montgomery (also credited as Kent Douglass; October 29, 1909 – July 23, 1966) was an American film actor. Early years The son of Chester Montgomery, a jeweler, and Leona Smith, Montgomery graduated from Los Angeles High ...

Hazel Court Margery Hazel Court (10 February 1926 – 15 April 2008) was an English actress. She is known for her roles in British and American horror films during the 1950s and early 1960s, including Terence Fisher's ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' (19 ...

and Patricia Burke.BFI Database entry
/ref> King's last production both as independent producer and as director, it also features the final screen appearance by Montgomery.

Plot

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, trained chemist Jim Harding has been reduced to making a living peddling potions and medicines from a fairground stall with a former army colleague Dan Collins. Trapped in a loveless marriage with the vulgar, shrewish and domineering harpy, Diana, a woman who harbours ambitions of breaking into showbusiness, Jim finds himself attracted to the kinder working-class Jane Thompson, who sells candyfloss and ice cream at an adjacent stall. Jim does not reveal to Jane that he is married as the two fall in love and begin an affair. Diana meanwhile is engaged in a liaison of her own with the older Jerry Burns who, she believes, will be able to help with her theatrical aspirations. Diana finds out about Jim's affair and visits Jane at home. Diana reveals Jim's married status, tries to convince Jane that Jim is a serial philanderer and that she is only the latest in a succession of young women he has targeted, and offers her cash to end the relationship. Jane refuses to be bought off and confronts Jim, who protests that he is caught in an intolerably unhappy marital situation with a selfish, unscrupulous woman. Jim then confronts Diana and demands a divorce, which she refuses out of hand. In desperation, Jim determines that the only solution is to kill Diana. Aware of her addiction to multiple medications, he uses his knowledge to concoct pills containing a lethal dose which he slips amongst her habitual supply. Then, having second thoughts, he hurries home but finds Diana dead. In a panic, he buries her body beneath the floorboards in his workshop, only to discover later when clearing up in the bedroom that the deadly pills he made up are untouched – Diana, in fact, has died of natural causes and his disposal of her body has been unnecessary and incriminating. Diana's disappearance in unexplained circumstances arouses the suspicions of the police, who come to the conclusion that all the indications are that she has been murdered by her husband. Jim attempts to flee but is tracked down and chased through the streets of the town, where the final confrontation takes place at

Blackpool Tower Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man-made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in P ...

Cast

as Jim Harding *

as Jane Thompson * Patricia Burke as Diana Harding *

Garry Marsh Garry Marsh (21 May 1902 – 6 March 1981) was an English stage and film actor. Biography Born Leslie March Gerahty on 21 May 1902 in St Margarets, Middlesex, his parents were George and Laura. His elder brothers were the author Digby George ...

as Jerry Burns *

Ronald Shiner Ronald Alfred Shiner (8 June 1903 – 29 June 1966) was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall. Early life and career When he was seventeen, Shiner joined the Royal North-Wes ...

as Dan Collins *

Kenneth Griffith Kenneth Griffith (born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths, 12 October 1921 – 25 June 2006) was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker. His outspoken views made him a controversial figure, especially when presenting documentaries which have been ca ...

as Johnny *

Eliot Makeham Harold Elliott Makeham (22 December 1882 – 8 February 1956) was an English film and television actor. Career Makeham was born in London, England. Between 1931 and 1956, Makeham appeared, primarily in character roles, in 115 films and in 11 t ...

as Pop Thompson *

Frederick Leister Frederick Leister (1 December 1885 – 24 August 1970), was an English actor. He began his career in musical comedy and after serving in the First World War he played character roles in modern West End plays and in classic drama. He appeared in ...

as Dr. Franklin * Richard Bird as Jennings *

Michael Medwin Michael Hugh Medwin (18 July 1923 – 26 February 2020) was an English actor and film producer. Life and career Medwin was born in London. He was educated at Canford School, Dorset, and the Institute Fischer, Montreux, Switzerland. He first ...

as Cabby *

Andrew Cruickshank Andrew John Maxton Cruickshank (25 December 190729 April 1988) was a Scottish actor, most famous for his portrayal of Dr Cameron in the long-running UK BBC television series ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'', which ran for 191 episodes from 1962 until ...

as Inspector Baxter *

Peggy Ann Clifford Peggy Ann Clifford (23 March 1921 in Poole, Dorset – 26 May 1986, in Kensington), was an English film, stage, and television character actress. She was born Peggy Anne Hamley Champion. Her mother's maiden name was Clifford. She appeared in tw ...

as Millie * Peter Jones as Pete *

Erik Chitty Erik Chitty (8 July 1907 – 22 July 1977) was an English stage, film and television actor. Early life Chitty was the son of a flour miller, Frederick Walter Chitty and his wife Ethel Elsie Assistance née Franklin; they married in 1902. He at ...

as Schofield *

Sam Kydd Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British actor. Most of his film roles were very small but he appeared in more than 290 films, more than any other British actor, including 119 between 1946 and 1952. His best-known ro ...

as Joe

Reception

As of 30 June 1949 the film earned £64,400 in the UK of which £50,680 went to the producer.

References

External links

''Forbidden''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbidden (1949 film) 1949 films 1940s thriller films British black-and-white films Films directed by George King Films set in Blackpool British thriller films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films English-language thriller films Films scored by George Melachrino