There are a number of films that simply seem to disappear without trace and one of these in the UK is Clive Donner's directorial debut "The Secret Place", made in 1956 with a strong cast that included Belinda Lee, Ronald Lewis, David McCallum, Michael Gwynn and child actor Michael Brooke. On one level it is a well made film about a jewel heist that inevitable goes wrong, but what makes it more interesting is the sub-plot that involves a lonely teenage boy who gets unwittingly caught up in events through his friendship with Molly (Belinda Lee), girlfriend of one of the gang. Michael Brooke gives an astonishing and moving performance as Freddie, the young boy who is duped into assisting the gang when he believes that he is just doing Mollie a favour. A nail biting climax will have you on the edge of your seat!
This film has been unseen on UK tv for well over 40 years and is one of very few films released by J. Arthur Rank to be in limbo. It has never been officially released on either VHS or dvd, but it was televised on the ABC Network in Australia about 20 years ago, and more recently has been shown on TCM in the USA. It was also finally shown again in the UK early in 2020 by the marvellous Talking Pictures TV.
The record played at the start of the film ("But you" by Jimmy Parkinson) was released on Columbia DB 3876 and is also quite difficult to find. I eventually sourced a copy but it took a long time!
"The Secret Place" is a special film for me because it was one of the earliest films I do recollect seeing on tv, way back in the mid 1960s when BBC (there was no BBC1 or BBC2 then) featured it one Sunday afternoon in their long running "Film Matinee" series.
16 сен 2024
