The Challenge (U.S. title: ''It Takes a Thief''), is a 1960 British

neo noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

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 and written by

John Gilling John Gilling (29 May 1912 – 22 November 1984) was an English film director and screenwriter, born in London. He was known for his horror film, horror movies, especially those he made for Hammer Films, for whom he directed ''The Shadow of the ...

and starring

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, ''Playboy'' Playmate, and sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was known for her numerous publicity stunts and open personal life. He ...

and

Anthony Quayle Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was a British actor. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969). He also played impor ...

Plot

Billy Lacross is a ruthless gang leader who persuades Jim Maxton to take part in a big robbery. Maxton is shopped and convicted of the robbery. He serves his time, and returns home to his son. The gang want the money he buried but Maxton wants nothing more to do with it or them. The gang then kidnap Maxton's son and demand the money as ransom. There follows a race against time to save Maxton's son.

Cast

as Billy Lacross *

as Jim Maxton * Carl Möhner as Kristy * Peter Reynolds as Buddy *

Barbara Mullen Barbara Mullen (9 June 19149 March 1979) was an American-born actress well known in the United Kingdom for playing the part of Janet McPherson, the housekeeper in ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook''. Although the role of Janet brought her fame in later ye ...

as Ma Piper *

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 Bob Crowther *

Dermot Walsh Dermot Walsh (10 September 1924 – 26 June 2002) was an Irish stage, film and television actor, known for portraying King Richard the Lionheart in the 1962 television series '' ''Richard the Lionheart'. Early life Born in Dublin, Ireland, ...

as Detective Sergeant Willis *

Patrick Holt Patrick Holt (31 January 1912 – 12 October 1993) was an English film and television actor. Biography Born Patrick Parsons in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Holt spent some of his childhood in India with his uncle, after which he was sent to ...

as Max *

Edward Judd Edward Judd (4 October 1932 – 24 February 2009) was a British actor. Biography Born in Shanghai, Judd and his English father and Russian mother fled when the Japanese attacked Republic of China (1912–49), China five years later. His ca ...

as Detective Sergeant Gittens * John Bennett as Spider *Lorraine Clewes as Mrs. Rick * Percy Herbert as shop steward * John Stratton as Rick *Liane Marelli as striptease artiste *

Bill McGuffie Bill McGuffie (11 December 1927 – 22 March 1987) was a British pianist, who went on to become a film composer and conductor. He also made several television appearances, most notably in '' Softly, Softly'' as a pub pianist. Biography Bill McG ...

as nightclub pianist *Peter Pike as Joey

Production

Mansfield made the film in England immediately after ''Too Hot to Handle''. "I want a chance to prove myself in strong, dramatic roles," she said. The film was shot in England from 12 October to around December 1959. Mansfield flew back to America on the 16th, after she finished filming.

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: "This British excursion into violent crime owes something to an old Edward G. Robinson film, ''

The Last Gangster ''The Last Gangster'' (also called ''Another Public Enemy'') is a 1937 American crime drama film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Edward G. Robinson and James Stewart. The supporting cast features Rose Stradner, Lionel Stander and John Ca ...

937 Year 937 ( CMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * A Hungarian army invades Burgundy, and burns the city of Tournus. Then they go southwards to Italy, pillaging the environs of ...

but still makes very little impact. There are few thrills, and those of a mostly unpleasant nature, and the pace is sluggish and erratic. Admittedly the sight of Jayne Mansfield as the brains of a gang of thieves, doing the books by day in horn-rims and a black wig, slinking about in sequins by night and entertaining her guests with little songs, provides at least one good laugh. Otherwise the plot is a routine matter of assault and battery, police bafflement and small child appeal, its detail loosely contrived with some careless railway observation and no satisfactory explanation why the gang made a "fall guy" out of Jim." ''

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), ...

'' wrote: ''The Challenge'' suffers because it doesn't gather momentum fast enough and the story line is spasmodic and loosely contrived. Only Quayle, of the principal characters, emerges as much more than a cardboard figure and he gives a good performace of stolid determination and fear. Miss Mansfield does little for her role though she seems happier in the later sequences than as the tough gang leader. ... John V. Smith's edtiing is often jerky and John Gilling has directed his own screenplay soundly but sluggishly at first and with insufficient thrills." ''

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, "most of the actors, with the exception of Quayle, are pretty stiff, and the story is hardly inspired." ''

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema on ...

'' noted, "filled with such familiar leading men of British 'B' features as Peter Reynolds,

and

. Some of the best moments, though, are provided by Hollywood's

as the criminal mastermind, demure in black wig and horn-rimmed glasses as she does her 'firm's' books by day, but slinking around in sequins by night with a smile and a song."

References

External links

*
Review of Renown Pictures DVD release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Challenge, The 1960 films British neo-noir films 1960 crime films Films directed by John Gilling British crime films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films English-language crime films