Scarlet Thread

Scarlet Thread
Scarlet Thread
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lewis Gilbert
Written by	Moie Charles; A.R. Rawlinson
Produced by	Ernest G. Roy
Starring	Kathleen Byron; Laurence Harvey
Cinematography	Geoffrey Faithfull
Music by	Kenneth D. Morrison
Distributed by	Butcher's Film Service (UK); Realart Pictures (US)
Release date	1951;
Running time	85 mins.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Scarlet Thread is a 1951 British second feature ('B')^[1] crime drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and produced by Ernest G. Roy.^[2] It was written by Moie Charles and A.R. Rawlinson.

Plot

Two criminals plan a jewellery robbery. The robbery goes wrong and an innocent man is shot.

Cast

Kathleen Byron as Josephine
Laurence Harvey as Freddie
Sydney Tafler as Marcon
Arthur Hill as Shaw
Dora Bryan as Maggie
Eliot Makeham as Jason
Harry Fowler as Sam
Cyril Chamberlain as Mason
Renee Kelly as Eleanor
Hylton Allen as the Dean

Production

The film was made at Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England, and on location.

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Sydney Tafler and Laurence Harvey do well as the unattractive pair of gangsters, and the characterisation and dialogue are as a whole more effective than the improbable story."^[3]

Kine Weekly wrote: "Well-made, if slightly far-fetched romantic melodrama ... Unusual and intriguing story, exciting climax, feminine angle, and quota."^[4]

In The Radio Times Guide to Films Allen Eyles gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "In one of his early leading roles, Laurence Harvey working with Alfie director Lewis Gilbert gives this downbeat British crime drama some modest interest. Harvey is convincingly unpleasant as the skirt-chasing spiv and petty criminal with a sleazy charm, who panics and kills a bystander during a jewel robbery. But the twist in the tale is more implausible than ironic."^[5]

References

^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
^ "Scarlet Thread". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
^ "Scarlet Thread". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 18 (204): 281. 1 January 1951. ProQuest 1305814418.
^ "Scarlet Thread". Kine Weekly. 439 (2417): 20. 22 October 1953. ProQuest 2738578714.
^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 808. ISBN 9780992936440.

External links

Scarlet Thread at IMDb

[Chibnall-1] Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.

[BFIsearch-2] "Scarlet Thread". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 5 April 2025.

[3] "Scarlet Thread". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 18 (204): 281. 1 January 1951. ProQuest 1305814418.

[4] "Scarlet Thread". Kine Weekly. 439 (2417): 20. 22 October 1953. ProQuest 2738578714.

[5] Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 808. ISBN 9780992936440.

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