''The Heart Within'' is a 1957 British second feature ('B')

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

David Eady Sir David Eady (born 24 March 1943) is a retired High Court judge in England and Wales. As a judge, he is known for having presided over many high-profile libel and privacy cases. He was called to the bar in 1966 and became a Queen's Counse ...

and starring James Hayter, Clifford Evans and

David Hemmings David Leslie Edward Hemmings (18 November 1941 – 3 December 2003) was an English actor, director, and producer of film and television. Originally trained as a boy soprano in operatic roles, he began appearing in films as a child actor in the ...

. It was written by Geoffrey Orme. A Trinidadian dockside worker goes on the run in London suspected of the murder of another Trinidadian.

Plot

West Indian Victor Conway, suspected of murder, is in hiding but is chanced upon by young Danny Willard. Believing him to be innocent, Danny and his grandfather try to help him. Learning the true identity of the murderer – drug dealer Matthew Johnson – Danny is kidnapped, but Victor rescues him, the murderer is killed during the struggle, and Victor is exonerated.

Cast

* James Hayter as Grandfather Willard * Clifford Evans as Matthew Johnson *

as Danny Willard *

Earl Cameron Earlston Jewett Cameron CBE (8 August 19173 July 2020), known as Earl Cameron, was a Bermudian actor who lived and worked in the United Kingdom.Some use report his given name as "Jewitt" instead of "Jewett". The ''Oxford Dictionary of National ...

as Victor Conway * Dan Jackson as Joe Martell * Jack Stewart as Inspector Matheson * Betty Cooper as Miss Trevor * Gloria Ann Simpson as Violet *

Frank Singuineau Francis Ethelbert Dominic Singuineau (4 August 191311 September 1992) was a Trinidadian actor of stage and screen who worked in the United Kingdom, where he moved from Trinidad and Tobago in the 1940s.Stephen Bourne"Obituary: Frank Singuineau" ' ...

as Bobo * Pauline Henriques as Ella * Janice Hughes as Dilli * Denton De Gray as Gow * Wally Thomas as sergeant *

Glynn Edwards John Glynn Edwards (2 February 1931 – 23 May 2018) was a British actor who worked in television and films. He came to national prominence for his portrayal of the barman Dave Harris in the television comedy drama series '' Minder'' (1979—19 ...

as 1st constable *

Ivor Salter Ivor Charlie Salter (22 August 1925 – 21 June 1991) was an English actor who appeared in character roles in numerous United Kingdom television productions and films from the early 1950s until the 1980s often appearing as a police constable. ...

as 2nd constable *

Frank Pettitt Frank Pettitt (16 October 1899 – 27 March 1964) was an English film, stage and television actor. He played Albert Finney's father in the film ''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' (1960). Filmography * '' Night and the City '' (1950) � ...

as 3rd constable * "The Kings of the Caribbean" steel band as musicians

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 "With some good camerawork, a London docks setting, and cautious but not unenterprising use of its West Indian characters, this film has a more convincing air than most thrillers of its type. Unfortunately, the effect is somewhat handicapped by an over-melodramatic and stereotyped climax and by some indifferent playing. Earl Cameron and David Hemmings play agreeably, though, as the West Indian and the cockney boy who befriends him. Background music is effectively provided by a West Indian steel band." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Variably acted, quite pleasing racial-problem thriller." ''

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 "Well-acted presentation of a man accused of murder because of the color of his skin...Intriguing effort given power mainly through the handling of the theme of prejudice." Chilbnall and McFarlane in ''The British 'B' Film'' wrote that the film has "irreproachable attitudes to racial problems at the time when these were surfacing in Britain."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heart Within, The 1957 films 1957 drama films Films directed by David Eady British drama films Films set in London 1950s English-language films 1950s British films Films scored by Edwin Astley