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The Painted Smile

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1962 British film by Lance Comfort

The Painted Smile
Original British quad poster
Directed byLance Comfort
Written byPip and Jane Baker
Based onan original idea by Brock Williams
Produced byTom Blakeley
StarringLiz Fraser
Kenneth Griffith
CinematographyBasil Emmott
Edited byJohn Trumper
Music byMartin Slavin
Production
companies		Blakeley's Films (M/C) Ltd.
Colorama Features
Mancunian Film Corporation
Distributed byPlanet Film Distributors (UK)
Release date
  • May 1962 (1962-05) (UK)
Running time56 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Painted Smile (US title: Murder Can Be Deadly) is a 1962 British second feature thriller film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Liz Fraser, Kenneth Griffith, Peter Reynolds and Tony Wickert. It was written by Pip and Jane Baker.

Plot

Tom, a student, comes under suspicion of murder when he discovers a dead body in the flat of con artist Jo. After he touches the murder weapon, Jo convinces him it is in his interest to dispose of the body. The victim was Jo's partner in crime who has been murdered by a Soho gang boss. However, the suspicions of the police are aroused and Tom becomes the obvious suspect.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Though neatly put across, the workaday script is both pretentious and none too convincing. The main interest lies in the straight performance of Liz Fraser in an unsympathetic role, and in the efficient location work at St. Pancras Station."

Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture gets quickly off the mark and, following the showmanlike night club opening, devolves into a lively battle of brains and brawn between Kleinie and the boys. Liz Fraser proves that she can act, as well as wiggle, as the far from scrupulous Jo, Tony Wickert is more than adequate as sucker Tom, Kenneth Griffith cuts a sinister figure as Kleinie, and Peter Reynolds and singer Craig Douglas score as guest artists. The chase climax is both salutary and suspenseful, and the settings are suitably varied."

The Radio Times wrote: "this dreadfully dull British B-movie makes its brief running time seem like an eternity."

Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film call the film an "above-average melodrama."

Cinedelica called the film "engaging and without a dull moment. Good stuff."

References

  1. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. "The Painted Smile". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  3. Vagg, Stephen (11 November 2024). "Peter Reynolds: Forgotten Cad". Filmink. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  4. "The Painted Smile". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 29 (336): 68. 1 January 1962 – via ProQuest.
  5. "The Painted Smile". Kine Weekly. 539 (2845): 19. 12 April 1962 – via ProQuest.
  6. David Parkinson. "The Painted Smile". RadioTimes.
  7. "Cinedelica: DVD review: The Painted Smile (1962) / Rag Doll (1958)". cinedelica.com.

External links

Films directed by Lance Comfort


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