I watched the end part of the 1953 British murder mystery The Large Rope this morning on Talking Pictures – it is a film that I had never seen before. It stars Donald Houston as Tom Penney, a man who is returning to his small English village after a three years in jail. He was convicted of assaulting a local married woman- Amy Jordan.

Upon his return, Tom confronts her with the accusation that she lied about him being the man who attacked her and Amy doesn’t deny it. Details are sketchy, but it seems that Tom and his best friend Jeff got drunk one night and went out to the Jordan farm. Tom isn’t sure exactly what happened on that fateful evening but knows that he didn’t hurt anyone. He also knows that Jeff never came forward and admitted that he was there as well; it eventually comes to light that Jeff (along with quite a lot of other men in town) was carrying on with Amy. 

    Tom is further upset to find that Jeff has used his three year absence in jail to pursue and become engaged to Tom’s former girlfriend Susan. Then, on the day of the wedding, Amy Jordan is found murdered.

Suspicion immediately falls on Tom because he has reason to hate her, was seen by someone when he was arguing with her, and was later witnessed getting in a scuffle with Amy’s husband Mick at the local pub.

He is taken in for questioning by the police, but then an angry mob of villagers shows up, determined to see Tom pay for Amy’s murder and he escapes in the ensuing confusion. He then comes face to face with the real murderer in an abandoned mill.  

ABOVE Susan Shaw

This film is a low budget British mystery from the 1950’s.

The performances are well above average, especially Mr. Houston, and I found this an enjoyable 70 minutes.

STARS Donald Houston, Susan Shaw, Robert Brown, Peter Byrne, Richard Warner, Vanda Godsell.

 ABOVE Susan Shaw and Donald Houston

Donadld Houston had only 3 years before this, been flown out to Fiji along with Jean Simmons to film ‘The Blue Lagoon’ in Technicolor. This one had the outdoor scenes filmed more locally in Turville a lovely remote village beloved of film makers – who could forget ‘ Went The Day Well?’ which was largely filmed here.

 ABOVE Robert Brown who would a few years later become the side-kick to Roger Moor in the ‘Ivanhoe’ television series. Robert played Gurth and much later again with Roger Moor featured in many of the Bond films.

Roger Moore and Robert Brown became lifelong friends after Ivanhoe and I suspect Roger helped Robert get some later roles

In this film he is the real ‘baddie’

ABOVE Donald Houston – THE FINAL CONFRONTATION