To the Public Danger

To the Public Danger
Opening titles
Directed byTerence Fisher
Written by
  • T.J. Morrison
  • Arthur Reid
Based onradio play by Patrick Hamilton
Produced byJohn Croydon
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byGraeme Hamilton
Music byDoreen Carwithen
Production
company
Highbury Productions
Distributed byGeneral Film Distributors
Release date
  • September 1948 (1948-09)
Running time
43 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

To the Public Danger is a 1948 British short entertainment/public-information film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Dermot Walsh, Susan Shaw, Barry Letts, and Roy Plomley.[1] The screenplay, written by T.J. Morrison and Arthur Reid, was based on a 1939 BBC radio play by Patrick Hamilton

The film was produced by John Croydon at Highbury Studios as a second feature ('B')[2] for release by the Rank Organisation, with sets designed by Don Russell.

Synopsis

While having a quiet drink together in a road house, young working-class couple Fred and Nancy fall into the company of two raffish motorists: the self-confident Captain Cole and his drunken pal Reggie. Cole takes a shine to Nancy. After a game of billiards and a number of drinks, Cole takes them out driving. While speeding along in the dark, with Nancy holding the steering wheel while Cole lights a cigarette, they hit what they think to be a man on a bicycle.

Although Fred wants to stop, Cole insists on driving on. Nancy takes Cole's side and begins taunting Fred, who eventually manages to escape and raise the alarm. A police investigation reveals that nobody had been injured in the collision with the bike, which had belonged to a poacher who didn't report the accident. In the meantime, Cole, Nancy and Reggie have suffered a crash of their own while drunken speeding, killing all three of them.

Cast

Radio play

The film was based on a 1939 radio play by Patrick Hamilton[3][4], who had been encouraged to write the story as part of a government road safety campaign. Hamilton had himself been knocked down by a drunk driver. The story was updated slightly, and represents the post-war malaise with the use of noirish sequences.[5] In his biography of Hamilton, his brother wrote the "reception was wonderful" and he received "huge fan mail" and "a number of abusive letters" due to its subject matter.[6] The play's producer Val Gielgud called it "one of the very best of radio plays".[7]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This is a story with a twist to it which points a sad moral, but which as a film has little to distinguish it."[8]

The Daily Film Renter wrote: "With realistic performances by Dermot Walsh, Susan Shaw, Barry Letts and Roy Plomley, and several small studies, notably by Betty Ann Davies, Frederick Piper, and Sidney Bromley, this is a good example of the entertainment-propaganda film. The moral is firmly registered at the end, but is not allowed to take away from the general impact of the story."[9]

Kine Weekly wrote: "Grisly and ironic curtain raiser. Designed to keep death off the road and as a warning to working-class couples not to speak to strangers, it starts with four main characters and ends up with one. ... Dermot Walsh thoroughly suggests a nasty piece of work as Cole, and Susan Shaw and Barry Letts are adequate as Nancy and Fred, but Roy Plomley's alcoholic humour is hard to take as Reggie."[10]

References

  1. ↑ "To the Public Danger". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  2. ↑ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  3. ↑ "To the Public Danger". BBC Programme Index. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  4. ↑ French, Sean (1993). Patrick Hamilton: a life. Faber and Faber. p. 146. ISBN 978-0571143535.
  5. ↑ Hutchings, Peter (2001). Terence Fisher. Manchester University Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 9780719056376.
  6. ↑ Hamilton, Bruce (1972). The Light Went Out: The Life of Patrick Hamilton by his brother. Constable. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-0094587007.
  7. ↑ Gielgud, Val (1965). Years in a Mirror. The Bodley Head. p. 59.
  8. ↑ "To the Public Danger". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 15 (169): 139. 1 January 1948. ProQuest 1305815061.
  9. ↑ "To the Public Danger". The Daily Film Renter (5757): 14. 20 September 1948. ProQuest 2594720330.
  10. ↑ "To the Public Danger". Kine Weekly (2160): 20. 23 September 1948. ProQuest 2732611820.
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