Passport to Treason

1956 British film by Robert S. Baker

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Passport to Treason

Directed by|

* Robert S. Baker
* Lance Comfort (original director)

Screenplay by|

* Kenneth Hayles
* Norman Hudis

Based on| novel by Paddy Manning O'Brine
Produced by| Robert S. Baker
Starring|

* Rod Cameron
* Lois Maxwell
* Clifford Evans

Cinematography| Monty Berman
Edited by| Henry Richardson
Music by| Stanley Black

Production
company

Mid-Century Film Productions

Distributed by| Eros Films (UK)

Release date

* June 1956 (1956-06) (UK)

Running time

| 80 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English

Passport to Treason is a 1956 British second feature[1] mystery thriller directed by Robert S. Baker and starring Rod Cameron, Lois Maxwell, and Clifford Evans.[2] It was written by Kenneth R. Hayles and Norman Hudis, based on the Manning O'Brine novel of the same name.[3][4]

## Plot

[edit]

After the death of a friend, private investigator Mike O'Kelly investigates an organisation that claims to be working for world peace, but turns out to be a front for a crime syndicate.

## Cast

[edit]

* Rod Cameron as Mike O'Kelly
* Lois Maxwell as Diane Boyd
* Clifford Evans as Orlando Syms
* Peter Illing as Giorgio Sacchi
* Marianne Stone as Miss 'Jonesy' Jones
* Douglas Wilmer as Dr. Randolph
* John Colicos as Pietro
* Ballard Berkeley as Inspector Thredgold
* Andrew Faulds as Barrett
* Barbara Burke as Katrina
* Derek Sydney as Amedeo Sacchi
* Trevor Reid as McCombe
* Neil Wilson as Sergeant Benson
* Peter Swanwick as cafe proprietor
* Hal Osmond as club barman
* Salvin Stewart as travel agency manager
* Anthony Baird as nursing home orderly
* Tom Bowan as bargee

## Critical reception

[edit]

Monthly Film Bulletin said "Opening with the private detective wandering through a London fog, this thriller goes on to introduce the corpse (stabbed) clutching the book with a vital clue, the private nursing home equipped with a good stock of "truth drug," the equivocally placed heroine, and the gun battle in a dockside warehouse. Such classic situations, here presented earnestly but humourlessly, make up a fairly routine melodrama."[5]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Stock melodramatic situations straighforwardly presented make this a watchable support."[6]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Resolute thriller reminiscent of the late 1930s."[7]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "Western star Rod Cameron should never have packed his passport to play the private eye in this dire British B-feature with its sub-Hitchcockian plot about neo-fascists in London concealing their activities within an organisation for world peace. A better actor than granite-jawed Cameron might have breathed some life into the line-up of hackneyed situations."[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 89\. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
2. ^ "Hi Gang!". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
3. ^ "Passport to Treason (1955) - Robert S. Baker | Cast and Crew | AllMovie" - via www.allmovie.com.
4. ^ Goble, Alan (September 8, 2011). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110951943 - via Google Books.
5. ^ "Passport to Treason". Monthly Film Bulletin. 23 (264): 118. 1956 - via ProQuest.
6. ^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 784\. ISBN 0586088946.
7. ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 360\. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
8. ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 707\. ISBN 9780992936440.

## External links

[edit]

* Passport to Treason at IMDb
* Passport to Treason at ReelStreets

This article about a mystery film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template