The Large Rope

A subject as old of the hill : the ex-convict, unfairly imprisoned , who comes back to his native village where he is not the welcome; he is definitely an outcast, and his place is no longer among the well-respected people ;only his mother and his old flame still trusts him .

The movie is too short and too hurried for comfort ,but it is an estimable work : pay attention to the girlies the newcomer unwittingly scares, it's one the details which urges the villagers to take the law in their own hand ,after a murder which takes place just at the moment when the unfortunate young guy arrives .The chase across the streets which may lead to a lynching is the best moment ,but the ending seems botched .

Tom Penney (Donald Houston) is returning to his small English village after spending three years in prison. However, he apparently did not actually commit any crime though the town is about as unfriendly as it can be. They all assume he's guilty and treat him like dirt. Only a couple people in town know the truth but they won't speak up about it.

In the midst of all this antipathy, a dead woman is discovered. Immediately the town assumed Tom killed her and a lynch mob mentality erupts. As for Tom, he's scared out of his wits and runs. Can the truth be revealed? I must first point out that my wife wasn't as thrilled with this film as I was. When it was over, she complained that although the film was good, they really didn't explain what happened to send Tom to prison three years earlier. While it's true that this is vague, I liked the way the picture portrayed human nature at its worst. An interesting story.

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.

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.

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.