Escort for Hire
{{Short description|1960 British film by Godfrey Grayson}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Escort for Hire
| image = "Escort_for_Hire"_(1960).jpeg
| caption =
| director = Godfrey Grayson
| producer = {{ubl|Edward J. Danziger|Harry Lee Danziger}}
| writer = Mark Grantham
| narrator =
| starring = {{ubl|June Thorburn|Pete Murray|Noel Trevarthen}}
| music = Tony Crombie (uncredited)
| cinematography = James Wilson (as Jimmy Wilson)
| editing = Desmond Saunders
| studio = Danziger Productions
| distributor = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (UK)
| released = {{Film date|1960|12|}}
| runtime = 66 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Escort for Hire is a low budget 'B'{{Cite book |last=Chibnall |first=Steve |title=The British 'B' Film |last2=McFarlane |first2=Brian |publisher=BFI/Bloomsbury |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-8445-7319-6 |location=London |page=160}} 1960 British thriller film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring June Thorburn, Pete Murray, Noel Trevarthen, Jan Holden and Peter Butterworth.{{Cite web |title=Escort for Hire |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150036707 |access-date=18 May 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}{{cite web |title=Escort for Hire (1960) – Godfrey Grayson – Cast and Crew|url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/escort-for-hire-v90586/cast-crew |work=AllMovie}}{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/32477|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114182828/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/32477|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-01-14|title=Escort for Hire (1960)|work=BFI}} It was written by Mark Grantham and produced by the Danzigers.
Plot
Unemployed actor Steve gets a job with Miss Kennedy's agency as an escort-bodyguard, but ends up being framed for murder after a wealthy client, Miss Elizabeth Quinn, is killed.{{cite web|url=http://www.78rpm.co.uk/danziger.htm#escort|title=Danziger Films |work=78rpm.co.uk}}
Cast
- June Thorburn as Terry
- Pete Murray as Buzz
- Noel Trevarthen as Steve
- Jan Holden as Elizabeth
- Peter Butterworth as Inspector Bruce
- Guy Middleton as Arthur Vickers
- Mary Laura Wood as Barbara
- Derek Blomfield as Jack
- Jill Melford as Nadia
- Patricia Plunkett as Eldon Baker
- Catherine Ellison as receptionist
- Bruce Beeby as Detective Sergeant Moore
- C. Denier Warren as porter
- Viola Keats as Marion
- Totti Truman Taylor as temperance lady
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The film, dating some way back in the Danziger assembly line, is hardly more than a grab-bag of assorted clichés – from the gag about the short-sighted socialite (played with predatory relish by Jill Melford) to the "surprise" identity of the killer. But it's generally briskly handled and has a Technicolor veneer which, while it may not bear close inspection, still manages to suggest expertise behind the scenes. Pete Murray's crudely comic performance as Buzz is mercilessly irritating, but the rest of the cast go through the motions likeably enough."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1962 |title=Escort for Hire |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305820798/31071A210E1C4826PQ/1 |journal=The Monthly Film Bulletin |volume=29 |issue=336 |pages=51 |id={{ProQuest|1305820798}}}}
Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film described the film as: "mildly entertaining, but the plot is full of coincidences and perfunctory causality."
TV Guide wrote, "this routine British crime melodrama is slightly enhanced by Technicolor."{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/escort-for-hire/review/114052/|title=Escort For Hire|work=TVGuide.com}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0053799}}
{{Godfrey Grayson}}
{{The Danzigers}}
Category:1960s crime thriller films
Category:British crime thriller films
Category:Films directed by Godfrey Grayson
Category:Films shot at New Elstree Studios
Category:1960s English-language films
Category:English-language crime thriller films
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