Passport to Shame (1958)
Country: GB
Technical: bw 86m
Director: Alvin Rakoff
Cast: Eddie Constantine, Herbert Lom, Brenda de Banzie, Odile Versois, Diana Dors
Synopsis:
A prostitution ring in London imports girls from the continent, using a loan business to apply leverage on its victims. A cab driver paid to marry one of these girls for immigration purposes determines to rescue her from her captors.
Review:
With an introduction from the Head of Scotland Yard to underline the parlous state of affairs in the capital, Rakoff's film proceeds to apply an aesthetic borrowed from The Man with the Golden Arm, i.e. tight sweaters and hip swinging backed by heavy brass, razzy trumpets and sinuous saxes. It has a nice line in cab driver solidarity and not a copper in sight! The film may soften its edges somewhat, with both gallant cabbie friends being rewarded with an attractive blonde by the closing credits, but it is perhaps the first British crime drama to deal frankly with the subject matter without sinking into exploitation.
Country: GB
Technical: bw 86m
Director: Alvin Rakoff
Cast: Eddie Constantine, Herbert Lom, Brenda de Banzie, Odile Versois, Diana Dors
Synopsis:
A prostitution ring in London imports girls from the continent, using a loan business to apply leverage on its victims. A cab driver paid to marry one of these girls for immigration purposes determines to rescue her from her captors.
Review:
With an introduction from the Head of Scotland Yard to underline the parlous state of affairs in the capital, Rakoff's film proceeds to apply an aesthetic borrowed from The Man with the Golden Arm, i.e. tight sweaters and hip swinging backed by heavy brass, razzy trumpets and sinuous saxes. It has a nice line in cab driver solidarity and not a copper in sight! The film may soften its edges somewhat, with both gallant cabbie friends being rewarded with an attractive blonde by the closing credits, but it is perhaps the first British crime drama to deal frankly with the subject matter without sinking into exploitation.
Country: GB
Technical: bw 86m
Director: Alvin Rakoff
Cast: Eddie Constantine, Herbert Lom, Brenda de Banzie, Odile Versois, Diana Dors
Synopsis:
A prostitution ring in London imports girls from the continent, using a loan business to apply leverage on its victims. A cab driver paid to marry one of these girls for immigration purposes determines to rescue her from her captors.
Review:
With an introduction from the Head of Scotland Yard to underline the parlous state of affairs in the capital, Rakoff's film proceeds to apply an aesthetic borrowed from The Man with the Golden Arm, i.e. tight sweaters and hip swinging backed by heavy brass, razzy trumpets and sinuous saxes. It has a nice line in cab driver solidarity and not a copper in sight! The film may soften its edges somewhat, with both gallant cabbie friends being rewarded with an attractive blonde by the closing credits, but it is perhaps the first British crime drama to deal frankly with the subject matter without sinking into exploitation.