The Safecracker is a 1958 British Noir crime film directed by Ray Milland and starring Ray Milland, Barry Jones and Victor Maddern.[2][3][4]
The Safecracker | |
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Directed by | Ray Milland |
Written by | Rhys Davies Bruce Thomas Paul Monash |
Produced by | David E. Rose John R. Sloan |
Starring | Ray Milland Barry Jones Jeanette Sterke Victor Maddern |
Cinematography | Gerald Gibbs |
Edited by | Ernest Walter |
Music by | Richard Rodney Bennett |
Production company | Coronado Productions |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release dates |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $471,000[1] |
Box office | $855,000[1] |
Colley Dawson lives a quiet life at home with his mother, but his real life is lived as an expert safecracker at weekends, breaking into wealthy homes and stealing valuable art. When he's eventually arrested and convicted, Colley is approached in prison by Army Major Adbury. He's offered a deal by the Major in exchange for helping with the war effort. Colley will be given his freedom if he uses his safecracking expertise to perform a mission behind enemy lines. The dangerous mission is to break into a difficult safe in a Nazi chateau and steal a list of German spies operating in England. Colley agrees and soon finds himself being trained up as a commando and parachuted into Belgium for the caper of his life.
The film was originally known as The Tale of Willie Gordon. Milland left for England in June 1957.[6]
In December 1957 Rose announced he and Milland would make a second film together but none eventuated.[7]
In The New York Times, Bosley Crowther called it " a good, not great, suspense thriller," adding, "The film is full of those tense situations in which the hero slips into a room and opens a safe in terrifying silence. Mr. Milland is good in it. So is Barry Jones."[8]
According to MGM records the film earned $280,000 in the US and Canada and $675,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $59,000.[1]
Films directed by Ray Milland | |
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