Forbidden Territory
{{short description|1934 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Forbidden Territory
| image = Forbidden Territory.jpg
| caption =
| director = Phil Rosen
| producer = Richard Wainwright
|based_on = The Forbidden Territory by Dennis Wheatley
| writer =Alma Reville
Dorothy Farnum
| starring = Gregory Ratoff
Ronald Squire
Binnie Barnes
Tamara Desni
| music = Louis Levy
| cinematography = Richard Angst
Charles Van Enger
| editing = Hugh Stewart
| studio = Wainwright Productions
| distributor = Gaumont British Distributors
| released = {{Film date|1934|12|10|df=yes}}
| runtime = 82 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Forbidden Territory is a 1934 British thriller film directed by Phil Rosen and starring Gregory Ratoff, Ronald Squire and Binnie Barnes.{{sfn|R.W.D.|1940|p=54}} It was based on the 1933 novel The Forbidden Territory by Dennis Wheatley.{{sfn|Shaw|2001|p=15}}
The film, about an Englishman and his son who travel to the Soviet Union to rescue a family member being held in prison.{{sfn|Quinlan|1984|p=57}}
Plot
{{no plot|date=June 2021}}
Cast
- Gregory Ratoff as Alexei Leshki
- Ronald Squire as Sir Charles Farringdon
- Binnie Barnes as Valerie Petrovna
- Tamara Desni as Marie-Louise
- Barry MacKay as Michael Farringdon
- Anthony Bushell as Rex Farringdon
- Anton Dolin as Jack Straw
- Marguerite Allan as Fenya
- Boris Ranevsky as Runov
Release
Forbidden Territory was released on December 10, 1934, in the United Kingdom.{{cite web|url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150039395|title=Forbidden Territory|access-date=April 23, 2023|publisher=British Film Institute}}
It was requested in British Parliament that Forbidden Territory be banned as it was anti-Russian the Friends of Soviet Russia requested that it be banned.{{sfn|Shaw|2001|p=15}} This was followed by the Maryport Community Party also requesting it to be withdrawn from cinema as it was "libel on the Soviet working man."{{sfn|Shaw|2001|p=15}} The film was approved by the board on the basis that there was "no political element in it at all."{{sfn|Shaw|2001|p=15}}
The film was re-released in April 1940.{{sfn|Shaw|2001|p=16}}
Reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin reviewed the film on its 1940 reissue, declaring it had a "highly improbable plot" but contained enough suspense and excitement to justify its reissue.{{sfn|R.W.D.|1940|p=54}}
Legacy
Tony Shaw in his book British Cinema and the Cold War stated that Forbidden Territory provided the groundwork for the cycle of Cold War espionage melodramas that would be released in the 1950s. Specifically, the "typical" Englishman fighting injustices in a foreign geographical and political environment.{{sfn|Shaw|2001|p=15}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite magazine|magazine=Monthly Film Bulletin|title=Forbidden Territory|page=54|volume=7|issue=76|date=April 30, 1940|author=R.W.D.}}
- {{cite book|title=British Cinema and the Cold War: The State, Propaganda and Consensus|last=Shaw|first=Tony|publisher=I. B. Taurus|year=2001|ISBN=1-86064-371-X}}
- {{cite book|title=British Sound Films : The Studio Years 1928-1959|last=Quinlan|first=David|publisher=B. T. Batsford Ltd.|year=1984|ISBN=0 7134 1874 5}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0025131}}
{{Alma Reville|state=collapsed}}
Category:British thriller films
Category:Films directed by Phil Rosen
Category:Films set in the Soviet Union
Category:Films based on British novels
Category:Films based on works by Dennis Wheatley
Category:British black-and-white films
Category:1930s English-language films
Category:English-language thriller films
Category:Films scored by Louis Levy
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