''Piccadilly Third Stop'' is a 1960 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
Wolf Rilla
Wolf Peter Rilla (16 March 1920 – 19 October 2005) was a film director and writer of German background, although he worked mainly in the United Kingdom.
Rilla is known for directing '' Village of the Damned'' (1960). He wrote many books for stu ...
and starring
Terence Morgan
Terence Ivor Grant Morgan (8 December 1921 – 25 August 2005) was an English actor in theatre, cinema and television. He played many "villain" roles in British film but is probably best remembered for his starring role in the TV historical ...
,
Yoko Tani
was a French-born Japanese actress and nightclub entertainer.
Early life
Tani was born in Paris. Her birth name was ''Itani Yōko'' (猪谷洋子). She has occasionally been described as 'Eurasian', 'half French', 'half Japanese' and even, in o ...
and
John Crawford. The screenplay concerns a wealthy playboy who hires a gang of criminals to help him steal £100,000.
It was shot at
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London.
The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to ...
and
on location around
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, including numerous locations around
Belgravia
Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dange ...
.
Holborn tube station
Holborn ( ) is a London Underground station in Holborn, Central London, located at the junction of High Holborn and Kingsway. It is served by the Central and Piccadilly lines. On the Central line the station is between Tottenham Court Roa ...
filled in as the fictional "Belgravia station" on the
Piccadilly line
The Piccadilly line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the north to the west of London. It has two branches, which split at Acton Town, and serves 53 stations. The line serves Heathrow Airport, and some of its stations are ...
. The film's sets were designed by the
art director Ernest Archer.
Plot
Crook Dominic Colpoys-Owen (Terence Morgan) has his eye on the loot inside an
embassy
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
in London after an ambassador's daughter, Seraphina (Yoko Tani), unwittingly reveals that her father, away on business, has left big money behind in the safe. Colpoys-Owen works his smooth-talking charm on the innocent girl, who becomes so infatuated that she agrees to help his gang with its plan. This involves a robbery from the embassy, which is in
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End.
Toponymy
Knightsbridge is an ancient ...
, via the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The U ...
.
Trivia
Whilst Terence Morgan's character (Dominic) is standing in the Tube-Station eyeing the station staff, he is positioned next to some film posters that are daubed onto the tube station's walls. At least one of those posters next to him is from an actual film that Terence Morgan had starred in earlier in the year (The Shakedown).
Cast
*
Terence Morgan
Terence Ivor Grant Morgan (8 December 1921 – 25 August 2005) was an English actor in theatre, cinema and television. He played many "villain" roles in British film but is probably best remembered for his starring role in the TV historical ...
as Dominic Colpoys-Owen
*
Yoko Tani
was a French-born Japanese actress and nightclub entertainer.
Early life
Tani was born in Paris. Her birth name was ''Itani Yōko'' (猪谷洋子). She has occasionally been described as 'Eurasian', 'half French', 'half Japanese' and even, in o ...
as Seraphina Yokami
*
John Crawford as Joe Pready
*
Mai Zetterling
Mai Elisabeth Zetterling (; 24 May 1925 – 17 March 1994) was a Swedish film director, novelist and actor.
Early life
Zetterling was born in Västerås, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actor at the age of 17 at ...
as Christine Pready
*
William Hartnell
William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the first incarnation of the Doctor in '' Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, Hartnell notably appeared in '' Bri ...
as Colonel
*
Dennis Price
Dennistoun Franklyn John Rose Price (23 June 1915 – 6 October 1973) was an English actor, best remembered for his role as Louis Mazzini in the film '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949) and for his portrayal of the omnicompetent valet Jeev ...
as Edward
*
Ann Lynn
Elizabeth Ann Lynn (7 November 1933 – 30 August 2020) was a British actress, especially prominent during the British New Wave of the 1960s, appearing in many films that represented what is known as kitchen sink realism.
Lynn's career spanne ...
as Mouse
*
Charles Kay
Charles Kay (born Charles Piff, 31 August 1930) is an English actor.
Early life
Kay was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, the son of Frances (née Petty) and Charles Beckingham Piff.
Originally educated at Warwick School, Kay went on to study me ...
as Toddy
* Doug Robinson as Albert
* Gillian Maude as Bride's Mother
*
Trevor Reid
Trevor Reid (25 January 190816 April 1965) was an English actor. Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, UK. He acted in 47 films from 1938 to 1965. He died at age 57 in London.
Selected filmography
* '' Dangerous Cargo'' (1954) - Watson
* '' ...
as Bride's Father
*
Ronald Leigh-Hunt
Ronald Leigh-Hunt (5 October 1920 – 12 September 2005) was a British film and television actor.
His father was a stockbroker and he attended the Italia Conti Academy. He began acting whilst serving in the army. Though never a major star, he ...
as Police Sergeant
* Tony Hawes as Harry Prentice
*
Clement Freud
Sir Clement Raphael Freud (24 April 1924 – 15 April 2009) was a German-born British broadcaster, writer, politician and chef.
The son of Ernst L. Freud and grandson of Sigmund Freud, Clement moved to the United Kingdom from Nazi Germany as ...
as Chemmy dealer
*
Judy Huxtable
Judy Huxtable (born 4 July 1942) is a British actress.
Early life and career
Born in Surrey, England, to wealthy parents, Huxtable was initially a society débutante and then became a fashionable figure in 1960s "swinging London" and, as a mo ...
as Angela Vaughan
Critical reception
Allmovie called it a "fast-paced, standard crime story"; while the ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') 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 May 1923 by J ...
'' called it a "plodding low-budget thriller".
External links
*
References
1960 films
1960s crime thriller films
Films directed by Wolf Rilla
Films shot at Pinewood Studios
British crime thriller films
Films set in London
Films shot in London
Films set on the London Underground
1960s English-language films
1960s British films
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