Passport to Treason

Passport to Treason (1956)

Boy is this an obvious attempt to be something that it can't quite be. That is, it's a low budget off-beat British movie with an American main character acting like a tough film noir detective. The London fog is thick, the femme fatale (in a nightclub) is cool and mysterious, the police are bothered but mostly clueless, and a crew of Italians are interfering with some kind of anti-peace movement. It even starts with a voice-over, at night, with a laconic world weariness that Bogart made so famous in a couple of his early detective thrillers for Warner Bros.

"Passport to Treason" is moody and not terrible, but if you like all the usual touch points of an American detective noir, you'd be better of with the real deal, of which there are so many better ones, even low budget ones like this. But for now, here we are, and the dark drama is enough to keep things going much of the time. Of course, it would help to have a compelling main character, and the large, deep voiced detective is played by a bit of a bore, Rod Cameron. He has the voice and pace of Lon Chaney Jr. without the sympathetic aura. Of course, since he's American he can take out three well prepared Italian thugs in a warehouse without any trouble, and he can solve the crime even the police don't quite know how to get at.

The main trick is that Cameron's character has stepped into another detective's shoes. So it starts with a deception. Then the Italians try some kind of mind control, coming out of the brainwashing scares of the Korean War I suppose. And at first he works for one client, then another, never quite getting paid for all his back and forth. And behind it all is an international underground group working for world peace. That's right. It's a noble but slightly abstract idea, maybe more tangible in Europe in the 50s than here, then or now, in the U.S. But it's hard to get involved. Eventually things resolve, and that's that.

Honestly, what is really interesting here is just the way a film noir cliché translates into a British realm. The cars and accents are different, but so is a certain feel to the actors and their style. Don't expect much.

PASSPORT TO TREASON is a fun, densely-plotted little British thriller which heavily emulates the American detective noir films of the 1940s; imported Canadian lead Rod Cameron even contributes a voice over narrative in the opening scenes. It's a fairly standard film of its type, but it has a dense little plot and plenty of suspense to see it through, plus a cracking supporting cast.

The tall and pudgy Cameron makes for an imposing presence as the private eye lead; more of a heavy than a hero, he slugs and pushes his way through the villainous members of the plot, who are part of an Italian gang determined to thwart the efforts of a 'peace organisation' of some type. Along the way, he hooks up with a pre-Bond Lois Maxwell, who is at her most beautiful and intelligent in this film.

There are fist-fights a-plenty, alongside character twists and various other scenarios which work out well. Fans of the genre will know exactly what they're in for and they won't be disappointed. The supporting cast includes Clifford Evans (THE 20 QUESTIONS MURDER MYSTERY) as the leader of the slightly bizarre 'peace organisation' and Douglas Wilmer (THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU) as a doctor. Ballard Berkeley plays one of his stock policeman roles and there's a minor part for popular Canadian TV actor John Colicos (who looks very young) as a thug. PASSPORT TO TREASON certainly isn't a work of high art but it's a lot of fun all the same.

O. K. Rod Cameron is no Bogart, but his burly transatlantic presence helps this British B-thriller tick along nicely. Utilising that British staple - fog, P. I. Mike O'Kelly is accosted by three men in quick succession when on his way to see pal Ben Connor. The last man drops a passport and, we're on our way. Connor is found dead by O'Kelly and to save time he follows up on the passport, leaving secretary Jonesy (Marianne Stone) to tell the police. Another British staple of the fifties is introduced; a gang of neo-nazis hiding within a peace organization. Femme fatale ( Diane Boyd (Lois Maxwell) drapes herself pleasingly on the bar in the smoky atmosphere of the Stella Lupari Club. She is obviously involved and leads O'Kelly on a merry, not to mention life-threatening, dance. But what about the mysterious Orlando Syms (Clifford Evans)? The shady Dr Randolph (Douglas Wilmer) and the obviously terrified owner of the passport Amedeo Sacchi (Derek Sydney)? Not forgetting the stereotypical gang of murderously-inclined Italians who can't fight their way out of a paper bag, let alone get past Mike's clubbing right fist! What is the meaning of the list of numbers? Is anyone really what they seem to be? Can anyone be trusted? No! That's what makes the story! From the Berman/Baker stable who made a lot of these entertaining thrillers; they moved on to produce the, very successful, Saint tv series in the sixties. In fact, substitute Roger Moore for Cameron, tweak the script a little, and you have a typical Saint episode. Half of the rest of the cast also appeared regularly in various episodes. A good old-fashioned thriller with no profanity or gratuitous sex, and just complicated enough to keep you on the hook.

In the 1950s it was quite popular in this country to import fading American stars to give the film a bit of a boost at the box office here and to give the film a chance of being sold to a distributor in America.It has to be said that there seems to be a line of descent for American actors.Starting out as leading men,then gravitating to Westerns and then making the trip over to the UK to give films a boost for reasons stated above.However films like this really did not have much chance in any territory.the problem is that for a film of fairly modest ambitions it is really over plotted.You just tend to loose interest in the whole thing after about 20 minutes.So not really worth bothering with.

Lois Maxwell was still working in the field in Berman & Baker's final Cold War quickie for Tempean; the Moneypenny role taken on by Marianne Stone (just before her nose job) in a more substantial and good-humoured role than she usually got to play.