You Can't Escape
{{Short description|1956 British film by Wilfred Eades}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = You Can't Escape
| image = "You_Can't_Escape"_(1956_film).jpg
| caption = U.S. poster
| director = Wilfred Eades
| producer = Robert Hall
| writer = Robert Hall
Doreen Montgomery
| based_on = She Died Young by Alan Kennington{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yyqc0Qa6b60C&q=you+can%27t+escape+1956+literary+sources+in+film&pg=PA1025|title=The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film|first=Alan|last=Goble|date=1 January 1999|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=9783110951943|via=Google Books}}
| starring = Noelle Middleton
Guy Rolfe
Robert Urquhart
Peter Reynolds
| music = Charles Williams
| cinematography = Norman Warwick
| editing = E.B. Jarvis
| studio = Forth Films
| distributor = Associated British-Pathé
| released = {{Film date|1956|2|20|df=y}}
| runtime = 77 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
}}
You Can't Escape is a 1956 British second feature ('B'){{Cite book |last1=Chibnall |first1=Steve |title=The British 'B' Film |last2=McFarlane |first2=Brian |publisher=BFI/Bloomsbury |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-8445-7319-6 |location=London |pages=165}} drama film directed by Wilfred Eades and starring Noelle Middleton, Guy Rolfe and Robert Urquhart.{{Cite web |title=You Can't Escape |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150057096 |access-date=2 July 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/58852|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114171326/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/58852|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-01-14|title=You Can't Escape (1956)|publisher=}} It was written by Robert Hall and Doreen Montgomery based on the 1938 novel She Died Young by Alan Kennington.{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/peter-reynolds-forgotten-cad/|date=11 November 2024|access-date=11 November 2024|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=Peter Reynolds: Forgotten Cad}}
Plot
Rising novelist, Peter Darwin, has a row with former mistress Claire, and accidentally kills her. He somehow manages to persuades his reluctant fiancé Kay to help him bury Claire's body in a wood. But when the body is found, and a blackmailing journalist appears on the scene, Darwin resorts to desperate measures to cover his tracks, including framing an innocent person.
Cast
- Noelle Middleton as Kay March
- Guy Rolfe as David Anstruther
- Robert Urquhart as Peter Darwin
- Peter Reynolds as Rodney Nixon
- Elizabeth Kentish as Claire Segar
- Barbara Cavan as Aunt Sue
- Martin Boddey as Inspector Crane
- Thorley Walters as Chadwick
- Jacqueline Mackenzie as Mrs. Baggerley
- Thorley Walters as Chadwick
- Wensley Pithey as Constable Wagstaff
- Edward Forsyth as Colonel Tripp
- Barbara Leake as Mrs. Trussler
- Sam Kydd as Ted, Poacher
- Hal Osmond as Poacher's Friend
- Victor Platt as Darts Player
- Arthur Gross as Bystander
- Noel Coleman as Official
- Robert Cawdron as Pugilist
- Maureen Connell as 1st Peasant Blouse
- Sally Bazely as 2nd Peasant Blouse
- Alec Finter as Foreman of The Jury
Release
It was released as an 'A' certificate.{{Cite web |title=You Can't Escape |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/you-cant-escape-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynzu2otg |access-date=15 March 2025 |website=British Board of Film Classification}} Though filmed in 1.33:1, it was also framed in 1.66:1 for any theatre that had the equipment to exhibit widescreen films.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A stereotyped murder melodrama, which ambles unexcitingly towards a conclusion that the spectator has anticipated long before the film reaches that far. Playing and direction are somewhat lifeless."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1956 |title=You Can't Escape |volume=23 |issue=264 |pages=35 |id={{ProQuest|1305819563}} |magazine=The Monthly Film Bulletin}}
TV Guide concluded there was "Nothing much to get excited about."{{cite web |title=You Can't Escape |url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/you-cant-escape/review/110072/ |archive-url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/you-cant-escape/review/110072/ |archive-date=22 Dec 2016 |access-date= |website=TV Guide |publisher=}}
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "poor", writing: "Very lacklustre thriller."{{Cite book |last=Quinlan |first=David |title=British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 |publisher=B.T. Batsford Ltd. |year=1984 |isbn=0-7134-1874-5 |location=London |pages=403}}
My Reviewer found the film "full of action from the off and whilst it all feels a little dated now, it has a certain old school charm – like the very best of ITC shows from back in the day."{{cite web|url=https://www.myreviewer.com/DVD/166580/You-Cant-Escape/166635/Review-by-Stuart-McLean|title=myReviewer.com - Review for You Can't Escape|publisher=}}
Blueprint Review wrote, "Despite its rather stagey tone You Can’t Escape remains a fun example of British B-movies from that era."{{Cite web |last=Richards |first=Justin |date=24 July 2015 |title=You Can't Escape |url=http://blueprintreview.co.uk/2015/07/you-cant-escape/ |access-date=15 March 2025 |website=Blueprint Review}}