The Large Rope

Donald Houston returns to his small town after two years in prison. He was sent there by the testimony of Vanda Godsell, who admits to him that she lied when she said he assaulted her, but what's a girl to do? When she goes missing, Scotland Yard in the person of Richard Warner investigates, but the town isn't willing to let justice take its leisurely course.

Good performers are in abundance - although one of them speaks uniquely in this film in stages West-County-Old-Coot accents. Neither are the crowd scenes well directed. Still, despite the patent set-up, it's a decent study in mob hysteria.

Now I can imagine a long rope; or a thick rope - but can a rope actually be "large"? Anyway, enough of my pedantry. Donald Houston returns to his rural English village after being in prison for assaulting a women. When another local woman is murdered, he is the obvious suspect and must prove his innocence whilst avoiding the pursuing police and angry villagers. It is quite a fast moving story, and one of the few you will ever see that demonstrates any form of English social disobedience - the villagers almost descend into a lynch mob - of the constabulary. I thought it obvious who the real killer was from early on, but Wolf Rilla keeps it all moving well until a rather soppy, violin-inspired, conclusion.

Donald Houston who plays Tom Penney, is released after three years from prison for a crime of serious assault, which he alleges he didn't commit. However, despite being 'inside' he rashly decides to return to the village where the young woman who accused him of assaulting her is still living. Needless to say many of the villagers are not so keen to 'forgive and forget' Penney's crime, and within a short while are not afraid to show their verbal hostility to the ex con. Matters are not helped when a young, attractive women is found strangled in the woods, and very quickly village suspicion turns to Penney. The storyline rattles along at a good pace and with the arrival of the police, Penney now faces the wrath of the village as well as intense questioning by the police. Sadly, it is at this point, that the storyline gets bogged down as if the director is looking for a way to develop a successful second half of the film but is uncertain how to sustain the drama, with the result that the film runs out of steam. The ending is frankly disappointing! The real killer was easy to identify, and the inept policing handling of the murder investigation is embarrassing. An Americans director would have given Houston more edge to his character as he becomes a potential victim of the village vigilante mob. Also, Houston would have been snarling at the police, as well as the villagers as his innocence is proved beyond doubt, An angry, rebellious Donald Houston, walking away at disgust at his accusers would have been thoroughly justified and merited, but the director decides to let the villagers off the hook. A lame ending to a film which could have been far more dramatic!

Seven years later this film's director & cameraman made 'Village of the Damned' from John Wyndham's 'The Midwich Cuckoos'. This earlier film has a more conventional plot (it's easy to guess whodunnit, for example) but the mood and look compares favourably with classic French rural dramas of the previous decade like 'Le Corbeau' and 'Panique'.

A large and largely unfamiliar cast include one of the first film appearances by Edward Judd and one of the last when she was still an unknown bit player by Katie Johnson.

This film is one of my favourite low budget British mysteries from the 1950's. Houston stars as a man framed for a crime. He serves his time in prison and upon release goes back to the small rural town he grew up in. There, he is considered a crook and treated like an outcast. When a murder occurs in the town, everyone is quick to point their finger at him. Even the police believe he is guilty and a man hunt is initiated.

A small bit of fortune goes his way and he finds evidence that incriminates the real killer. Now it's a race against time as he tries to confront the real killer before he is captured by the police. This is a minor, low budget British mystery. But the performances are well above par, especially Mr. Houston, and I found this an enjoyable 70 minutes. STARS Donald Houston, Susan Shaw, Robert Brown, Peter Byrne, Richard Warner, Vanda Godsell.