''The Glass Cage'' (American title: ''The Glass Tomb'') is a 1955 British

second feature A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, s ...

mystery film A mystery film is a film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, ...

, directed by

Montgomery Tully Montgomery Tully (6 May 190410 October 1988) was an Irish film Film director, director and writer. Film career Born in Dublin, Tully studied at the University of London, and originally entered the film industry as a director of documentaries. ...

and starring

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian-American actor and film director. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in New York City, he came to prominence with film audiences for his supporting roles i ...

Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress and singer, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. ...

and

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a South African–British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. Noted for his distinctive laugh, he was best known for numerou ...

. It was made by

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

. The screenplay was by Richard H. Landau based on the 1945 novel ''The Outsiders'' (a.k.a. ''Common People'') by A. E. Martin. J. Elder Wills was the art director. Filming began on July 19, 1954, and it was trade shown a year later. The film's original working title was supposed to be ''The Outsiders'', but it was changed to ''The Glass Cage'' instead.

Plot

Showman Pel Pelham (who works contracting sleazy acts for a freakshow carnival) is contacted by an old friend Tony who has received a blackmail letter signed "Delores". Pel agrees to check her out as she lives near a friend of his. Reaching her apartment, he discovers she is an old pal of his named Rena Meroni, who has fallen on hard times and gotten mixed up with someone she regrets. She agrees to withdraw her blackmail attempt, as it wasn’t her idea. In the apartment downstairs Pel offers to set up his Russian friend, Sapolio, in a freakshow "starvation act" in a glass cage to break the world record. A party is hastily arranged for that night for their carnival pals. In the evening, Sapolio sees a man going up to Rena’s room. During the party Rena is found murdered. The chief suspect is Tony because his blackmail letter was discovered near her body. Unsavoury character Rorke first attempts to blackmail Stanton who he knows had a motive, then also Tony but the latter draws a gun and in a struggle it is Tony who is killed. Rorke tries to frighten Pel by kidnapping his wife, but she escapes and the police arrest Rorke. Pel tries to get Sapolio to remember who he saw on the night of Rena’s murder while he is "starving" in a glass cage. But someone passes strychnine-laced food inside the cage and Sapolio, suffering from the poisoning, breaks the glass and accidentally kills himself. His death is covered up by Pel and the police to tempt the poisoner to come back to finish the job. He falls for the trick and returns only to be confronted by police and shot dead while trying to escape.

Cast

as Pel Pelham *

as Jenny Pelham *

Geoffrey Keen Geoffrey Keen (21 August 1916 – 3 November 2005) was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many films. He is well known for playing British Defence Minister Sir Frederick Gray in the ''James Bond'' films. Biography Early li ...

as Harry Stanton *

Eric Pohlmann Eric Pohlmann (; born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. He is known for voicing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the primary antagonist of t ...

as Sapolio *

as Tony Lewis *

Liam Redmond Liam Redmond (27 July 1913 – 28 October 1989) was an Irish character actor known for his stage, film and television roles. Early life Redmond was one of four children born to cabinet-maker Thomas and Eileen Redmond. Educated at the Christi ...

as Lindley *

Sydney Tafler Sydney Tafler (31 July 1916 – 8 November 1979) was an English actor who after having started his career on stage, was best remembered for numerous appearances in films and television from the 1940s to the 1970s. Personal life Tafler was bor ...

as Rorke *

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 George *

Ferdy Mayne Ferdy Mayne or Ferdie Mayne (born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel; 11 March 1916 – 30 January 1998) was a German-British stage and screen actor. Born in Mainz, he emigrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1930s to escape the Nazi regime. ...

as Bertie * Tonia Bern as Rena Maroni *

Arthur Howard Arthur Howard (born Arthur John Steiner; 18 January 1910 – 18 June 1995) was an English stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Camberwell, London, Howard was the younger son of Lilian (née Blumberg) and Ferdinand "Frank" ...

as Rutland *

Dandy Nichols Dandy Nichols (born Daisy Sander; 21 May 1907 – 6 February 1986) was an English actress best known for her role as Else Garnett, the long-suffering wife of the character Alf Garnett, in the BBC sitcom '' Till Death Us Do Part''. Early l ...

as woman with child (uncredited) *

Bernard Bresslaw Bernard Bresslaw (25 February 193411 June 1993) was an English actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the '' Carry On'' film franchise. Bresslaw also worked on television and stage, performed recordings and wrote a series of poetr ...

as Ivan the Terrible, Cossack dancer (uncredited)

Critical reception

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 ...

'' said "Whatever possibilities were latent in this crime story, the result is so disjointed and jerky as to suggest that at some stage some fairly heavy cutting has taken place. The film’s more melodramatic incidents are naively handled, and little is done effectively to exploit its fairground settings and characters." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "poor" and wrote: "Fragmented, unsatisfactory thriller bears signs of heavy cutting." 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 ...

Guide to Films'' gave the film 1/5 stars, calling it a "bungled yarn".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glass Cage, The 1955 films 1955 crime films 1950s mystery films British crime films British mystery films Films directed by Montgomery Tully British black-and-white films Circus films Hammer Film Productions films Lippert Pictures films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films English-language crime films English-language mystery films