The Hornet's Nest (1955 film)

The Hornet's Nest
The Hornet's Nest
	DVD cover
Directed by	Charles Saunders
Written by	Allan MacKinnon
Produced by	Guido Coen
Starring	Paul Carpenter; June Thorburn; Marla Landi
Cinematography	Harry Waxman
Edited by	Margery Saunders
Music by	Edwin Astley
Production; company	Kenilworth Film Productions
Release date	May 1955;
Running time	61 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

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

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

Paul Carpenter as Bob Bartlett
June Thorburn as Pat
Marla Landi as Terry Savarese
Alexander Gauge as Mr. Arnold
Charles Farrell as Posh Peterson
Larry Burns as Alfie
Christine Silver as Becky Crumb
Nora Nicholson as Rachael Crumb
Christopher Steele as vicar
Jan Holden as Miss Wentworth
Ronnie Stevens as Bill, the photographer
Max Brimmell as Staines
Colin Douglas as Martin
Wilfred Fletcher as Woolgar
Trevor Reid as Detective Sergeant Filson
Gaylord Cavallaro as Humphrey Holder
Anita Bolster as Miss Anderson
Stuart Nichol as publican (uncredited)

Critical reception

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

^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
^ "The Hornet's Nest". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ "The Hornet's Nest". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 22 (252): 107. 1 January 1955 – via ProQuest.
^ "The Hornet's Nest". Kine Weekly. 458 (2499): 18. 19 May 1955 – via ProQuest.
^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 323. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.

External links

The Hornet's Nest at IMDb
The Hornet's Nest at AllMovie
The Hornet's Nest at the British Film Institute^{[better source needed]}

This article related to a British film of the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[Chibnall-1] Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.

[BFIsearch-2] "The Hornet's Nest". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 17 May 2024.

[BFCat2016-3] 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.

[BritThrillers2020-4] 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 – via ProQuest.

[6] "The Hornet's Nest". Kine Weekly. 458 (2499): 18. 19 May 1955 – 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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