There is No Escape
Directed byAlfred J. Goulding
Produced byHenry Halsted
StarringStanley Thurston (as "Charles Stuart")
CinematographyStanley Clinton
Music byJohn Bath
Production
companies
Hammer Films
Marylebone Production
Distributed byExclusive Films (UK)
Screen Guild Productions (US)
Release date
  • 1948 (1948)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£20,000[1]

There is No Escape, also known as The Dark Road and The Thurston Story, is a 1948 British drama film from Hammer Films.

It was Michael Ripper's first appearance in a Hammer Film.[2]

The film was based on the career of criminal Stanley Thurston, who appeared in the cast as a character based on himself. Thurston was famous for his numerous escapes from prison, 5 times in 15 years.[3] He was released from prison in October 1946.[4][5]

The film had trouble with the British censors who thought the film glamorised a real life criminal. Thurston had to be billed as "Charles Stuart."[6][7]

James Carreras said, "The picture already has official police approval. I have done everything to show that crime is a mug's game. Thurston is the only non-professional actor in the film. All he asked was £10 a week to cover expenses. At the end of the film he turns to the audience and tells them that a criminal life just isn't worth the candle, especially when guns are brought into crime. He made such a good job of the picture that I had him listed for a racing story on his merits as an actor. That plan will now have to be shelved."[1]

The film was shot at Marylebone Studios.[8]

Cast

References

  1. ^ a b "Action To Ban Film Showing Gaol-Breaker". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. No. 22, 060. New South Wales, Australia. 17 June 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 4 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ Jones, David (5 July 2000). "Hammer horror film star dies aged 87". Evening Mail. Birmingham. p. 30. ProQuest 323321614.
  3. ^ "Gaol-Breaker Makes Film". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 2569. Western Australia. 18 May 1947. p. 12 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE SUNDAY TIMES). Retrieved 4 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "CRIMINAL AS SCREEN STAR". The Sunday Mail. No. 892. Queensland, Australia. 25 May 1947. p. 7. Retrieved 4 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Robber's Two Months In West End". The Mail (Adelaide). Vol. 28, no. 1, 447. South Australia. 17 February 1940. p. 3. Retrieved 4 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ Meikle, Dennis (2008). A History of Horrors: The Rise and Fall of the House of Hammer. Scarecrow Press. p. 5. ISBN 9780810863811.
  7. ^ "Stanley Thurston | Legendary Dartmoor". 14 October 2016.
  8. ^ Chibnall, Stephen; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. Macmillan International Higher Education. p. 73. ISBN 9781844575749.

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