The Switch (1963 film) explained

The Switch
Director:Peter Maxwell
Producer:Philip Ridgeway
Lance Comfort
Screenplay:Philip Ridgeway
Colin Fraser
Story:Philip Ridgeway
Starring:Anthony Steel
Zena Marshall
Conrad Phillips
Music:Eric Spear
Cinematography:Stephen Dade
Editing:Tom Simpson
Studio:Philip Ridgeway Productions
Distributor:Rank Film Distributors
Runtime:69 minutes
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Budget:£24,000[1]
Gross:£22,009 (as at 31 Dec 1965)

The Switch is a 1963 British crime drama film directed by Peter Maxwell, and starring Anthony Steel, Zena Marshall and Conrad Phillips.[2] The film concerns a criminal gang that smuggles watches into the UK by hiding them in the petrol tank of a woman's car. It was Susan Shaw's last film.

Plot

Customs officer Bill Craddock is investigating a watch smuggling ring but reaches a dead end. Caroline Markham returns from holiday to find her flat occupied by her flatmate's cousin, John Curry. Caroline is kidnapped by the watch smuggling gang who think she has stolen their watches. Craddock rescues Caroline with the help of a miniature radio transmitter.

Cast

Production

This was Anthony Steel's first film in Britain in a number of years, following his move to Rome.[3]

Critical reception

In a contemporary review, The Monthly Film Bulletin said "Though the plot is largely routine, with the usual quota of coincidences and improbabilities, the film nevertheless has a quality of freshness in the bright and artless way it is treated. It bowls along quite merrily, and despite the hackneyed story, successfully avids dullness"[4]

According to TV Guide, "Audiences are likely to check their watches frequently during this lifeless crime thriller."[5]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Laura Mayne (2017) Whatever happened to the British ‘B’ movie?Micro-budget film-making and the death of the one-hour supporting feature inthe early 1960s, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 37:3, 559-576 p 567, DOI:10.1080/01439685.2016.1220765
  2. Web site: The Switch . 3 November 2023 . British Film Institute Collections Search.
  3. Filmink. Stephen. Vagg. The Emasculation of Anthony Steel: A Cold Streak Saga. September 23, 2020.
  4. 1 January 1964 . The Switch . . 31 . 360 . 60 . ProQuest.
  5. Web site: The Switch . https://web.archive.org/web/20161011052508/https://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-switch/review/119634/ . 11 October 2016 . 3 November 2023 . TV Guide.