| Bait | |
| Director: | Frank Richardson |
| Screenplay: | Mary Benedetta Francis Miller Frank Richardson |
| Based On: | Stage Play by Frank Richardson |
| Producer: | Frank Richardson |
| Starring: | Diana Napier John Bentley Willoughby Goddard |
| Cinematography: | Ernest Palmer Vic Thomas |
| Editing: | John House Peter Curran |
| Music: | Paxtons |
| Studio: | Adelphi Films |
| Runtime: | 73 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
Bait is a 1950 British crime film directed, produced and co-written by Frank Richardson from his own stage play. An Adelphi feature film, Bait stars Diana Napier, John Bentley, Willoughby Goddard and John Oxford.[1] [2] A gang steals some diamonds, sells them on the black market and then plan to steal them back again.
This British mystery concerns a gang of four jewel thieves, led by Diana Napier, who steal two highly valuable diamonds out of a set of earrings. Napier sells them to a dishonest businessman at his country estate, but the gang plans to return later and steal them back. However, Goddard's long-lost half-brother suddenly returns to the estate accompanied by his new fiancée. Bentley wants to claim his half of the inheritance, but soon discovers that his half-brother has squandered the family fortune and is now engaged in buying and selling stolen gems. He confronts Goddard, who panics, and hits Bentley over the head with a poker. As he is about to strike a death blow, a shot rings out and Goddard falls dead. The police arrest Bentley for the murder but soon have to release him for lack of evidence. Meanwhile, Goddard's fiancée tries to find the real killer by playing up to one of the members of the gang, who happens to be an old boyfriend of hers.[3]
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Amateurish melodrama; lack of continuity and erratic editing make this very shoddy British quota."[4]
Hal Erickson writing for AllMovie, noted that: "ladylike Diana Napier is unexpectedly coarse as the female gang boss in Bait." He concluded: "A knuckle tough British programmer, Bait is well acted by all concerned."[5]