Escort for Hire

1960 British film by Godfrey Grayson

Escort for Hire

Directed by| Godfrey Grayson
Written by| Mark Grantham
Produced by|

* Edward J. Danziger
* Harry Lee Danziger

Starring|

* June Thorburn
* Pete Murray
* Noel Trevarthen

Cinematography| James Wilson (as Jimmy Wilson)
Edited by| Desmond Saunders
Music by| Tony Crombie (uncredited)

Production
company

Danziger Productions

Distributed by| Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (UK)

Release date

* December 1960 (1960-12)

Running time

| 66 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English

Escort for Hire is a low budget 'B'[1] 1960 British thriller film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring June Thorburn, Pete Murray, Noel Trevarthen, Jan Holden and Peter Butterworth.[2][3][4] It was written by Mark Grantham and produced by the Danzigers.

## Plot

[edit]

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.[5]

## Cast

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

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."[6]

Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film described the film as: "mildly entertaining, but the plot is full of coincidences and perfunctory causality."[1]

TV Guide wrote, "this routine British crime melodrama is slightly enhanced by Technicolor."[7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 160\. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
2. ^ "Escort for Hire". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
3. ^ "Escort for Hire (1960) - Godfrey Grayson - Cast and Crew - AllMovie". AllMovie.
4. ^ "Escort for Hire (1960)". BFI. Archived from the original on 2009-01-14.
5. ^ "DANZIGER FILMS". 78rpm.co.uk.
6. ^ "Escort for Hire". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 29 (336): 51. 1 January 1962 - via ProQuest.
7. ^ "Escort For Hire". TVGuide.com.

## External links

[edit]

* Escort for Hire at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Godfrey Grayson

* Dick Barton Strikes Back (1949)
* Doctor Morelle (1949)
* The Adventures of PC 49 (1949)
* Meet Simon Cherry (1949)
* What the Butler Saw (1950)
* The Lady Craved Excitement (1950)
* Room to Let (1950)
* Dick Barton at Bay (1950)
* To Have and to Hold (1951)
* The Fake (1953)
* Black Ice (1957)
* Innocent Meeting (1958)
* Date at Midnight (1959)
* A Woman's Temptation (1959)
* High Jump (1959)
* An Honourable Murder (1960)
* The Spider's Web (1960)
* Escort for Hire (1960)
* So Evil, So Young (1961)
* The Lamp in Assassin Mews (1962)
* The Battleaxe (1962)
* She Always Gets Their Man (1962)
* Design for Loving (1962)
* The Durant Affair (1962)

* v
* t
* e

Films produced by The Danzigers

* Jigsaw (1949)
* So Young, So Bad (1950)
* St. Benny the Dip (1951)
* Babes in Bagdad (1952)
* Devil Girl from Mars (1954)
* Star of My Night (1954)
* Alias John Preston (1955)
* Satellite in the Sky (1956)
* Three Crooked Men (1957)
* The Betrayal (1957)
* The Depraved (1957)
* Operation Murder (1957)
* Son of a Stranger (1957)
* Three Sundays to Live (1957)
* High Jump (1958)
* Innocent Meeting (1958)
* Links of Justice (1958)
* Moment of Indiscretion (1958)
* No Safety Ahead (1958)
* On the Run (1958)
* A Woman of Mystery (1958)
* The Great Van Robbery (1958)
* A Woman Possessed (1958)
* The Child and the Killer (1959)
* Crash Drive (1959)
* Date at Midnight (1959)
* Man Accused (1959)
* Top Floor Girl (1959)
* Web of Suspicion (1959)
* Date at Midnight (1959)
* A Woman's Temptation (1959)
* Compelled (1960)
* Escort for Hire (1960)
* Feet of Clay (1960)
* Highway to Battle (1960)
* An Honourable Murder (1960)
* Identity Unknown (1960)
* Night Train for Inverness (1960)
* Operation Stogie (1960)
* Sentenced for Life (1960)
* The Spider's Web (1960)
* A Taste of Money (1960)
* The Tell-Tale Heart (1960)
* Transatlantic (1960)
* Two Wives at One Wedding (1960)
* The Gentle Terror (1961)
* Strip Tease Murder (1961)
* The Nudist Story a.k.a. For Members Only (1961)
* The Court Martial of Major Keller (1961)
* Fate Takes a Hand (1961)
* Middle Course (1961)
* Part-Time Wife (1961)
* Return of a Stranger (1961)
* So Evil, So Young (1961)
* Tarnished Heroes (1961)
* The Spanish Sword (1961)
* The Silent Invasion (1962)
* What Every Woman Wants (1962)
* She Always Gets Their Man (1962)

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