''Three Crooked Men'' is a 1958 British 'B' crime film directed by

Ernest Morris Ernest Morris (17 October 1913 – 17 September 1987) was an English film and television director. He began his film career in 1932 as an assistant director. As a director the majority of his output comprised second features. Filmography ...

and starring Gordon Jackson and Warren Mitchell. It was written by

Brian Clemens Brian Horace Clemens (30 July 1931 – 10 January 2015) was an English screenwriter and television producer. He worked on the British TV series '' The Avengers'' and created '' The New Avengers'' and '' The Professionals''. Early life Clemen ...

and Eldon Howard.

Plot

Three crooks break into a shop, planning to gain access to the bank next door. The shopkeeper has remained in the rear of the store after a drunken argument with his wife, and the men take him hostage. A passer-by, a bank employee, hears him shout, knocks on the front door, tries to help, but he too is captured. The two kidnapped men are dumped in the countryside, eventually getting free, and are recognised and arrested as the "wanted men" described in news reports. Under questioning the police do not believe their account, and decide the shopkeeper and bank employee have committed the crime. While awaiting court the two men return to the shop and find a photo which had been dropped by one of the thieves during the break-in. They decide their best chance is to track down the thieves themselves.

Cast

* Gordon Jackson as Don Wescot * Sarah Lawson as May Wescot *

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 Masters *

Philip Saville Philip Saville (28 October 1927 – 22 December 2016) was a British director, screenwriter and former actor whose career lasted half a century. The British Film Institute's Screenonline website described Saville as "one of Britain's most prolifi ...

as Seppy * Warren Mitchell as Walter Prinn * Michael Mellinger as Vince * Kenneth Edwards as Inspector Wheeler * Michael Goodliffe as shop customer * Frank Sieman as Constable Jason * Peter Bathurst as Mr Bond *

Arnold Bell Arnold Bell (23 May 1901 – 12 March 1988) was a British actor. Selected filmography * '' Convict 99'' (1919) − Warder Gannawy * '' Doctor Josser K.C.'' (1931) * '' Josser in the Army'' (1932) − Becker * '' Doss House'' (1933) − Repor ...

as Mr Brady, the bank manager * Michael Allinson as photographer's assistant * Len Sharp as Joe, proprietor of café

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 film falls between two stools: it builds up some suspense as a crime melodrama; it is occasionally interesting as a character study of two men, Wescot and Prinn, who imagine themselves to be failures, but, as a result of the events in the story, recover their sense of purpose. But the two halves are awkwardly joined, and despite good performances from Gordon Jackson and Warren Mitchell, the long arm of coincidences is sometimes violently wrenched." ''

Picturegoer ''Picturegoer'' was a fan magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1911 and 23 April 1960. Background The magazine was started in 1911 under the name ''The Pictures'' and in 1914 it merged with ''Picturegoer''. Following the merge it was ...

'' wrote: "Convincingly acted by Jackson the film achieves some smart suspense." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Mixture of suspense-drama and character studies; not too bad."

References

External links

* * {{The Danzigers 1958 films British crime films Films shot at New Elstree Studios 1950s English-language films Films directed by Ernest Morris 1950s British films Films scored by Edwin Astley Films scored by Albert Elms English-language crime films