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The Hornet's Nest (1955 film)

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For the 2014 American documentary film about the Afghanistan War, see The Hornet's Nest. For other uses, see Hornets Nest.

The Hornet's Nest
DVD cover
Directed byCharles Saunders
Written byAllan MacKinnon
Produced byGuido Coen
StarringPaul Carpenter
June Thorburn
Marla Landi
CinematographyHarry Waxman
Edited byMargery Saunders
Music byEdwin Astley
Production
company
Release date
  • May 1955 (1955-05)
Running time
61 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Hornet's Nest is a 1955 British second feature ('B')[1] crime comedy film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Paul Carpenter, June Thorburn, and Marla Landi.[2] It was written by Allan MacKinnon.[3]

Plot

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Thief Posh Peterson hides his loot of £20,000 worth of jewels under the floor boards of an abandoned scow (named The Hornet's Nest) moored in London's Chelsea Embankment, but he is captured and thrown in jail after assaulting someone. Two young models, Pat and Terry, rent the vessel as a houseboat through Bob Bartlett, a friendly local salvage dealer acting as an intermediary for the rental agency.

Upon his release, Posh and his accomplices, headed by Mr Arnold, attempt to recover the loot, but it is no longer under the floor boards. After several plot twists, Bartlett eventually brings the crooks to justice. Having observed all these events from their vantage point, two neighbouring elderly sisters, Becky and Rachael Crumb, end up with the goods, which they gift to the two models to help them claim the £2,000 reward money.[4]

Cast

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Critical reception

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The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Comedy thriller of a modest and unsophisticated type, with a pleasant performance from Paul Carpenter and amusing Arsenic and Old Lace style playing by Christine Silver and Nora Nicholson as the Misses Crumb."[5]

Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture, typically English in design and execution, seldom hurries, but, nevertheless, mixes popular romance, artless humour and wholesome rough stuff effectively and culminates on a showmanlike note."[6]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Weak comedy-thriller on Arsenic and Old Lace lines."[7]

References

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  1. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ^ "The Hornet's Nest". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  3. ^ Gifford, Denis, ed. (2016). "1955". British Film Catalogue : Two Volume Set - The Fiction Film/The Non-Fiction Film. Vol. 1. Milton Park, Oxfordshire: Taylor & Francis. p. 627. ISBN 978-1-317-74062-9. Retrieved 16 December 2022 – via google.co.uk.
  4. ^ Clinton, Franz Antony (2020). "The Business of Crime". British Thrillers, 1950-1979. Jefferson NC: McFarland. pp. 202–203. ISBN 978-0-7864-1032-3. Retrieved 16 December 2022 – via google.co.uk.
  5. ^ "The Hornet's Nest". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 22 (252): 107. 1 January 1955. ProQuest 1305813600 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ "The Hornet's Nest". Kine Weekly. 45 (2499): 18. 19 May 1955. ProQuest 2732603369 – via ProQuest.
  7. ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 323. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
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