| Passport to Treason | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by |
|
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on | novel by Paddy Manning O'Brine |
| Produced by | Robert S. Baker |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Monty Berman |
| Edited by | Henry Richardson |
| Music by | Stanley Black |
| Production company | Mid-Century Film Productions |
| Distributed by | Eros Films (UK) |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Passport to Treason is a 1956 British second feature mystery thriller directed by Robert S. Baker and starring Rod Cameron, Lois Maxwell, and Clifford Evans. It was written by Kenneth R. Hayles and Norman Hudis, based on the Manning O'Brine novel of the same name.
Plot
After the death of a friend, private investigator Mike O'Kelly investigates an organisation that claims to be working for world peace, but turns out to be a front for a crime syndicate.
Cast
- Rod Cameron as Mike O'Kelly
- Lois Maxwell as Diane Boyd
- Clifford Evans as Orlando Syms
- Peter Illing as Giorgio Sacchi
- Marianne Stone as Miss 'Jonesy' Jones
- Douglas Wilmer as Dr. Randolph
- John Colicos as Pietro
- Ballard Berkeley as Inspector Thredgold
- Andrew Faulds as Barrett
- Barbara Burke as Katrina
- Derek Sydney as Amedeo Sacchi
- Trevor Reid as McCombe
- Neil Wilson as Sergeant Benson
- Peter Swanwick as cafe proprietor
- Hal Osmond as club barman
- Salvin Stewart as travel agency manager
- Anthony Baird as nursing home orderly
- Tom Bowan as bargee
Critical reception
Monthly Film Bulletin said "Opening with the private detective wandering through a London fog, this thriller goes on to introduce the corpse (stabbed) clutching the book with a vital clue, the private nursing home equipped with a good stock of "truth drug," the equivocally placed heroine, and the gun battle in a dockside warehouse. Such classic situations, here presented earnestly but humourlessly, make up a fairly routine melodrama."
Kine Weekly wrote: "Hearty espionage melodrama ... Vigorously portrayed and realistically staged, it'll keep the crowd on the qui vive. Cast- iron British thick ear."
Picturegoer wrote: "Rod Cameron, fhe Western he-man, made the trip to England to star in this espionage melodrama, set in London. Was his journey necessary? Yes!"
Variety wrote: "Passport to Treason is a run-of-the-mill British whodunit with little to recommend it for the American market ... story line is blurry and frequently burdened by incomprehensible English dialog. ... Baker's direction doesn't help."
Leslie Halliwell said: "Stock melodramatic situations straighforwardly presented make this a watchable support."
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Resolute thriller reminiscent of the late 1930s."
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "Western star Rod Cameron should never have packed his passport to play the private eye in this dire British B-feature with its sub-Hitchcockian plot about neo-fascists in London concealing their activities within an organisation for world peace. A better actor than granite-jawed Cameron might have breathed some life into the line-up of hackneyed situations."
References
- Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
- "Passport to Treason". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
- "Passport to Treason (1955) - Robert S. Baker | Cast and Crew | AllMovie" – via www.allmovie.com.
- Goble, Alan (September 8, 2011). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110951943 – via Google Books.
- "Passport to Treason". Monthly Film Bulletin. 23 (264): 118. 1956 – via ProQuest.
- "Passport to Treason". Kine Weekly. 471 (2554): 16. 26 July 1956 – via ProQuest.
- "Passport to Treason". Picturegoer. 32: 17. 6 September 1956 – via ProQuest.
- "Passport to Treason". Variety. 204 (3): 22. 19 September 1956 – via ProQuest.
- Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 784. ISBN 0586088946.
- Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 360. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
- Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 707. ISBN 9780992936440.