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The Challenge, released as It Takes a Thief in the United States, is a 1960 British neo noir crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Jayne Mansfield and Anthony Quayle.[1]

The Challenge
Directed by	John Gilling
Written by	John Gilling
Produced by	John Temple-Smith
Starring	Jayne Mansfield and Anthony Quayle
Cinematography	Gordon Dines
Edited by	Alan Osbiston and John Victor-Smith
Music by	Bill McGuffie
Production company	Alexandra
Distributed by	J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (UK)
Release date	17 May 1960 (1960-05-17)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The film was shot in England from 12 October[2] to around December 1959. Mansfield flew back to America on the 16th, after she finished filming.[3]

Plot

Mansfield plays Billy, the ruthless gang leader who persuades Maxton to take part in a big robbery. Maxton is shopped and convicted of robbery. Maxton serves his time, returns home to his son. The gang want the money which he buried but Maxton wants nothing more to do with it or them. The gang then kidnap Maxton's son and demand the money as ransom. There follows a race against time to save Maxton's son. At the end of the film, a policeman tells Maxton that the stolen money had been found three years previously.[4]

Cast

• Jayne Mansfield ... Billy
• Anthony Quayle ... Jim
• Carl Möhner ... Kristy
• Peter Reynolds ... Buddy
• Barbara Mullen ... Ma Piper
• Robert Brown ... Bob Crowther
• Dermot Walsh ... Detective Sergeant Willis
• Patrick Holt ... Max
• Edward Judd ... Detective Sergeant Gittens
• John Bennett ... Spider
• Lorraine Clewes ... Mrs. Rick
• Percy Herbert ... Shop Steward
• John Stratton ... Rick
• Liane Marelli ... Striptease Artiste
• Bill McGuffie ... Nightclub Pianist
• Peter Pike ... Joey

Critical reception

• TV Guide wrote, "most of the actors, with the exception of Quayle, are pretty stiff, and the story is hardly inspired."[4]
• Sky Movies noted, "filled with such familiar leading men of British 'B' features as Peter Reynolds, Edward Judd, Dermot Walsh and Patrick Holt. Some of the best moments, though, are provided by Hollywood's Jayne Mansfield as the criminal mastermind, demure in black wig and horn-rimmed glasses as she does her 'firm's' books by day, but slinking around in sequins by night with a smile and a song."[5]

External links

• The Challenge at IMDb
• Review of Renown Pictures DVD release

References

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