''Kill Me Tomorrow'' is a 1957 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

Terence Fisher Terence Fisher (23 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Film Productions, Hammer Films. He was the first to bring gothic horror alive in full colour, and the sexual overtones and explic ...

and starring Pat O'Brien and

Lois Maxwell Lois Ruth Maxwell (née Hooker; February 14, 1927 – September 29, 2007) was a Canadian actress. She was best known for portraying Miss Moneypenny in the first 14 Eon Productions, Eon-produced James Bond in film, ''James Bond'' films (1962–1 ...

. It was written by Robert Falconer and Manning O'Brine and made by Tempean Films at

Southall Studios Southall Studios was a film studio located in Southall, Middlesex (now West London) which operated between 1924 and 1958. The studio was a vibrant and productive part of Southall's cultural history. At its peak – in the early 1950s – the fi ...

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

. The film features a cameo by

Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele recor ...

Plot

After suffering a series of personal setbacks and in desperate need of cash, reporter Bart Crosbie tries to get his old job back. But when he returns to the newspaper offices, Crosbie discovers that his former boss has been murdered. He is then offered money by the killer, a diamond smuggler, to take the murder rap.

Cast

* Pat O'Brien as Bart Crosbie *

as Jill Brook *

George Coulouris George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor. He was perhaps best known for his collaborations with Orson Welles, most notably ''Citizen Kane''. Early life Of Anglo-Greek origin, Coulouris ...

as Heinz Webber * Wensley Pithey as Inspector Lane *

as himself *

Freddie Mills Frederick Percival Mills (26 June 1919 – 25 July 1965) was an English boxer, and the world light heavyweight champion from 1948 to 1950. Mills was tall and did not have a sophisticated boxing style; he relied on two-fisted aggression, relen ...

as Waxy Lister * Ronald Adam as Mr. Brook *

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

as Steve Ryan *

Richard Pasco Richard Edward Pasco (18 July 1926 – 12 November 2014) was a British stage, screen and television actor. Early life Pasco was born in Barnes, Surrey, the only child of insurance company clerk Cecil George Pasco (1897–1982) and milliner Ph ...

as Dr. Fisher *

April Olrich April Olrich (17 July 1931 – 15 April 2014), born Edith April Oelrichs, was an English ballerina and actress, born in Zanzibar, now part of Tanzania. Early life Edith April Oelrichs was born in Zanzibar in 1931 (some sources incorrectly give 1 ...

as Bella Braganza *

Peter Swanwick Walter Peter Swanwick (29 September 1922 – 14 November 1968) was a British actor best remembered as the "Supervisor" (sometimes called the Controller) in the 1967 TV series, ''The Prisoner''. Swanwick's film career began with bit parts in fi ...

as Harrison *

Al Mulock Alfred Mulock Rogers (June 30, 1926 – May 1968), better known as Al Mulock or Al Mulloch, was a Canadian character actor. Early life Alfred Mulock Rogers was born on June 30, 1926, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the only child of Adè ...

as Rod *

Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of the blues rock band Canned Heat. Before joining Canned Heat, he had been a session musician, session bassist for T ...

as Carson (uncredited) * Ian Wilson as Marty (uncredited)

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: "Spiced with maudlin sentiment on the one hand and a guest appearance by Tommy Steele on the other, this is a competent but unconvincing crime story. However odd the teaming of Pat O'Brien and Lois Maxwell, the playing is quite adequate." The ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' called the film a "far-fetched B-movie ...Terence Fisher directs with little enthusiasm, but it's worth hanging in there to catch the debut of Tommy Steele." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Sombre drama, adequately acted." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' wrote, "it's overplayed and melodramatic but has enough intrigue to make it watchable."

References

External links

* {{Terence Fisher 1957 films 1957 crime films British crime films Films directed by Terence Fisher British black-and-white films Films shot at Southall Studios 1950s English-language films 1950s British films English-language crime films