The Long Arm (film)
Encyclopedia
The Long Arm is a 1956
British
crime film
starring Jack Hawkins
, directed by Charles Frend
and produced by Michael Balcon
. In the US it's known as The Third Key.
) and his new Detective Sargeant, Ward (John Stratten) start to investigate the crime.
Halliday deduces that the false nightwatchmen has done 14 safe-breaking jobs across the country - all against the same type of safe, all with keys. Visiting the safe maker, Halliday gets the names of all the staff, but they are all cleared. Shortly after another safe is cracked and a bystander is run over as the burglar gets into a getaway car. The victim manages to pass limited information to the police before dying. The hit-and-run vehicle is found in a scrap yard. The car had been stolen from a Mrs Elliot but inside they find a newspaper that leads them to a garage in north Wales and a certain Mr Gilson - a deceased former employee of the safe maker.
Halliday finds there are 28 further safes in London. He also finds out that Gilson is being tipped off which safes have a lot of cash in them by an insurance agent. The police arrange with the owner of a safe in the Festival Hall
to let the insurance agent know about gala nights that generate a lot of cash. After tailing the isurance agent, the police find that he is meeting Mrs Elliot, and then get her positively identified as Mrs Gilson - the wife of the apparently dead safe maker.
Halliday and Ward then lie in wait for the safe burglar at the Festival Hall, and catch him in the act. As they wait for a police car outside, Mrs Gilson arrives in a sports car. Halliday jumps on the bonnet and breaks the windscreen as Ward chases down Gilson on foot. Both are caught and arrested.
it won the Silver Bear for an Outstanding Single Achievement award.
1956 in film
The year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
British
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
starring Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
, directed by Charles Frend
Charles Frend
Charles Frend was an English film director.Charles Frend started his career at British International Pictures in 1931 and after editing Hitchcock's Waltzes from Vienna moved to Gaumont British Pictures in 1933 where he worked as an editor on Alfred Hitchcock's movies Secret Agent , Sabotage and...
and produced by Michael Balcon
Michael Balcon
Sir Michael Elias Balcon was an English film producer, known for his work with Ealing Studios.-Background:...
. In the US it's known as The Third Key.
Plot
When police respond to a burglar alarm they find nothing amiss after meeting the nightwatchman and searching the premises. The next day the safe is found to have been emptied, using a key, and the nightwatchman a fraud. Supt Tom Halliday (Jack HawkinsJack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
) and his new Detective Sargeant, Ward (John Stratten) start to investigate the crime.
Halliday deduces that the false nightwatchmen has done 14 safe-breaking jobs across the country - all against the same type of safe, all with keys. Visiting the safe maker, Halliday gets the names of all the staff, but they are all cleared. Shortly after another safe is cracked and a bystander is run over as the burglar gets into a getaway car. The victim manages to pass limited information to the police before dying. The hit-and-run vehicle is found in a scrap yard. The car had been stolen from a Mrs Elliot but inside they find a newspaper that leads them to a garage in north Wales and a certain Mr Gilson - a deceased former employee of the safe maker.
Halliday finds there are 28 further safes in London. He also finds out that Gilson is being tipped off which safes have a lot of cash in them by an insurance agent. The police arrange with the owner of a safe in the Festival Hall
Festival Hall
Festival Hall may refer to:*Brisbane Festival Hall, an indoor arena, located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia*Festival Hall, Melbourne, a concert and sporting venue, located at 300 Dudley Street, West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
to let the insurance agent know about gala nights that generate a lot of cash. After tailing the isurance agent, the police find that he is meeting Mrs Elliot, and then get her positively identified as Mrs Gilson - the wife of the apparently dead safe maker.
Halliday and Ward then lie in wait for the safe burglar at the Festival Hall, and catch him in the act. As they wait for a police car outside, Mrs Gilson arrives in a sports car. Halliday jumps on the bonnet and breaks the windscreen as Ward chases down Gilson on foot. Both are caught and arrested.
Cast
- Jack HawkinsJack HawkinsColonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
as SuptSuperintendent (police)Superintendent , often shortened to "super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is superintendent of police...
Tom Halliday - John Stratton as SergeantSergeantSergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Ward - Dorothy AlisonDorothy AlisonDorothy Alison was an Australian stage, film and television actress.She was born in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, and was educated at Sydney Girls High School. She moved to London, England in 1949 to further her career...
as Mary Halliday - Michael Brooke as Tony Halliday
- Sam KyddSam KyddSam Kydd was an Ulster-born English actor. An army officer's son, he was born in Belfast, but moved to London, England when he was a child. He was educated at Dunstable Grammar School in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England....
as Police Operator - Glyn HoustonGlyn HoustonGlyn Houston , is an actor best known for his television work. He is the brother of the late film actor Donald Houston.-Early life:...
as Police Sergeant - Richard LeechRichard LeechRichard Leech , born Richard Leeper McClelland, was an accomplished actor.Richard Leeper McClelland was born in Dublin, Ireland, son of Isabella Frances and Herbert Saunderson McClelland, a lawyer. He was educated at Haileybury and Trinity College, Dublin...
as Gilson, the burglar - Newton Blick as Detective Commander Harris
- Geoffrey KeenGeoffrey KeenGeoffrey Keen was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many famous films.-Early life:Keen was born in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England, the son of stage actor Malcolm Keen. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School. He then joined the Little Repertory Theatre in Bristol for whom...
as Chief SuperintendentChief SuperintendentChief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces organised on the British model.- United Kingdom :In the British police, a chief superintendent is senior to a superintendent and junior to an assistant chief constable .The highest rank below Chief Officer level, chief...
Malcolm - Sydney TaflerSydney TaflerSydney Tafler , was a British film and television actor, first appearing in London's West End in 1936, after two years at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, with Sir Seymour Hicks in The Man in Dress Clothes....
as Mr. Stone - Ursula HowellsUrsula HowellsUrsula Howells was an English actress whose elegant presence kept her much in demand for roles in film and television....
as Mrs. Elliott (Mrs. Gilson) - Peter BurtonPeter BurtonPeter Burton was an English film and television actor born in Bromley, England. His biggest claim to fame is being the first actor to portray Major Boothroyd, better known as Q, in the first James Bond film, Dr. No...
as Mr. Creasey, insurance agent - George RoseGeorge Rose (actor)\...
as Slob, the informer - Arthur RigbyArthur Rigby (actor)-Selected filmography:* You Made Me Love You * The Deputy Drummer * The Prisoner of Corbal * Hold My Hand * The Blue Lamp * Small Town Story * The Blue Parrot * Dangerous Cargo...
as Detective Inspector at Chester - Ralph TrumanRalph TrumanRalph Truman was an English actor, usually cast as either a villain or an authority figure. He possessed a distinguished speaking voice...
as Colonel Blenkinsop - Ian BannenIan BannenIan Bannen was a Scottish character actor and occasional leading man.-Early life and career:Bannen was born in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, the son of Clare and John James Bannen, a lawyer. Bannen served in the British Army after attending St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and Ratcliffe College,...
as Stanley James, hit-and-run victim
Reception
At the 6th Berlin International Film Festival6th Berlin International Film Festival
-Jury:* Marcel Carné* Bill Luckwell* Giuseppe Vittorio Sampieri* Koichi Kawakita* Leo J. Horster* Ilse Urbach* Ludwig Berger-Films in competition:* ...erwachsen sein dagegen sehr by Wolf Hart* Autumn Leaves by Robert Aldrich...
it won the Silver Bear for an Outstanding Single Achievement award.