The Marked One

William Lucas was an obscure British actor whose small amount of fame was as the father in an adaptation of BLACK BEAUTY, no longer the Bogart-looking tough guy from a string of early-1960's b-crimes as leading bad guys (THE BREAK), sketchy middlemen (PAYROLL) or criminals in-between (CALCULATED RISK, BREAKOUT)...

And THE MARKED ONE leans to that middle-ground... an ex convict who, with a divorced wife, young daughter and nowhere factory gig, is threatened by enigmatic prior-partners-in-crime to retrieve forgery plates that he might or might not have, providing more mystery to the character than his dire circumstance...

His daughter's threatened for an anticipated kidnapping; and when it finally happens Lucas's Don Mason's rushed through the usual neo noir cadence of asking questions: from woodwork goons including David Gregory as a goading womanizer and photographer Brian Nissan, whose model girlfriend is THE GIRLS HUNTERS ingenue Kim Tracy...

But it's our subtle hero's wife played by always-dependable British actress Zena Walker who not only steals the show but has the most to gain or lose including her daughter, her job, and the man she's born to retrieve: if only their relationship were tested more intensely, overall making THE MARKED ONES more an idea than movie.

William Lucas - never the most versatile of actors - is "Mason", a man who works on the docks and lives in a B&B. It turns out that he has a bit of a criminal past, and when his erstwhile colleagues get the idea that he knows the whereabouts of some valuable bank note plates, they kidnap his daughter who lives with his estranged wife "Kay" (Zena Walker). The thing is, the man has no idea where they are - and with the police "Mayne" (Patrick Jordan) on one side, his wife and the gangsters all also on his back his options are limiting and his desperation growing. Largely devoid of any jeopardy - I always found that thrillers from this period that involved children always lacked any real sense of menace - it's a bit of a ramshackle affair with one too many half-baked scenarios thrown in to try and sustain what is essentially a bit of a non-story. Clearly made on a shoestring budget by the experienced if not exactly innovative Francis Searle, it meanders to a conclusion that is hardly a surprise to anyone. It's adequate afternoon cinema fayre this, but production line stuff.

Veteran director Francis Searle equips himself very well in his fabulously terse crime thriller 'The Marked One' in one of the more actively thrilling, under-documented British crime B-pictures of the 1960s. Handsome, tough-as-hobnail boots Truckie, and ex-lag, trying to go straight Don Mason (William Lucas) has his altogether noble attempts to make a new start for himself brusquely thwarted by a savage back-alley beating by burly thugs unknown, this violent altercation heralds an increasingly frantic series of threatening events, Don's estranged wife Kay (Zena Walker), and innocent young daughter being inexorably drawn into the toxic miasma of the underworld, as, sadly, Don's foolhardy past dalliances with crime are proving increasingly hard to avoid! 'The Marked one' is a consistently engaging, competently-made, brightly acted, flint-edged B-Thriller; a lean, well-sprung, moodily photographed monochrome marvel from the sin-slinging Britain of the 1960s, with the delightfully appealing, blonde-haired actor William Lukas energetically making for a compellingly twin-fisted anti-hero in his desperate, adrenalized rush to make good. This a must-see for 60s B/W crime movie buffs, and also includes a commendably sprightly jazzy score by Bernie Fenton & Frank Patten ta' boot!

This is a British Crime thriller which manages to long outstay its welcome despite the fact that it only lasts just over one hour.Lucas plays a lorry driver who is recently out of prison.It appears that he either has or knows where he can find plates for making forged banknotes.For this reason he is a very popular or unpopular man,The scriptwriter seems to have decided to throw in as many elements as he can think of for this type of thriller with the result that it is an unexciting mess.Furthermore it is not that difficult to work out the identity of the mysterious threatening voice on the telephone.Despite the fact that this film was made at MGM Borehamwood studios the production looks threadbare and poverty stricken.The producer is Tom Blakely so presumably this film had some connection with Mancunian Studios.

Some very well acted scenes. William Lucas and Zena Walker play off each other wonderfully.

The director Francis A. Searle made great use of location shots, including: 'The Pilot' public house and Brentford Dock, Brentford, Middlesex,England, UK.

This stems from Searle's work at Gaumont-British where he joined their instructional unit and made documentaries.

This coupled with outstanding cinematography adds a feel of documentary and realism.

You feel for Lucas's character ; Don Mason. One twist after another. Unexpected punchline.

Summary; Watch and enjoy! I'm sure you will! Excellent!