The marten of London
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The Marten of London Never Give Up (Alternate Title) |
| Original title | Never Let Go |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1960 |
| length | 87 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Guillermin |
| script | Alun Falconer |
| production | Peter De Sarigny |
| music | John Barry |
| camera | Christopher Challis |
| cut | Ralph Sheldon |
| occupation | |
| |
The Marten of London (alternative title: Never give up , original title: Never Let Go ) is a British crime film from 1960 with Richard Todd , Peter Sellers and Elizabeth Sellars in the lead roles and directed by John Guillermin . The film was produced for Julian Wintle / Leslie Parkyn Productions .
action
London in 1960. When cosmetics salesman John Cummings leaves his company unsuspecting at the end of the day, his brand new car has just been stolen. The new boss of the cosmetics company is extremely dissatisfied with his recent sales figures and would rather replace him with a younger, more ambitious competitor within the company today than tomorrow. Cummings, who is under enormous financial and psychological pressure due to the tense situation in the company, desperately questions the old newspaper seller Alfie Barnes, who involuntarily witnessed the theft from his stand across the street, but now pretends not to have seen anything for fear of the consequences to have. However, Cummings does not believe his statement and instead informs the police of the crime. His wife Anne awaits him at home, and she reacts to her husband's news with resignation. She has long sobered up by her husband's numerous unrealistic material dreams of advancement and sees this new, lost hope for a better future already bursting as a soap bubble.
When Cummings tries to convince the police of the urgency of getting his car back, he bounces off the everyday stress of the officers. In the job, things are getting worse and worse without a car, it is often too late and the customer visits are noticeably less satisfactory. His new employer immediately puts the pistol on his chest. Driven by existential fears, Cummings decides to take care of the case himself. He goes to the old newspaper agent again and can get him to tip him out of pity. A young lad named Tommy Towers procures new cars on behalf of the unscrupulous garage owner Lionel Meadows, has them repainted and given false license plates, and then sells them to new customers as fresh stolen goods in his company. When Cummings shows up in a bar at Towers and tries to confront him awkwardly, the latter lets him go ice cold, not without first making fun of him with his gang. As a punishment, the young Towers then ransacked the old newspaper seller's apartment. The next morning, Towers immediately informed his boss, Meadows, that the police interrogated Barnes. Meadows is so upset that he grabs Towers as a punishment for his clumsy behavior. Jackie, who would actually prefer to be Tommy's friend, but who lives under the same roof as the businessman Meadows, has seen everything and is appalled by the reckless behavior of her lover.
Knowing that old Barnes was watching the incident and could talk, Meadows sets out to silence it. Cummings, who is watching the bar because of Tommy, sees Meadows first talking to someone at the newsstand and then disappearing into Barnes' apartment. When he sees the police pull up some time later and the body of Barnes, who allegedly died of gas poisoning, is being carried out of the house, he turns his observation to Inspector Thomas. He then visits Meadows with Cummings in his garage; During the interrogation, however, the latter pretends to be an innocent, slippery businessman, so that the inspector and Cummings have to leave without any concrete evidence of anything not having been done.
That evening, Cummings decides to pay a visit to the Meadows garage because he suspects his car has been stolen there. He breaks into Meadows at night, but is caught red-handed and brutally beaten by Meadows' bodyguard. Jackie, who saw everything, is shocked. Cummings, who is having his wounds treated at home with his wife Anne, sees more and more of his pelts floating away. Almost inherited from an ambitious colleague at work, he quits his job as a cosmetics salesman. But he soon realizes that without a car he has no prospect of a new job. Again he tries to get more involved with the police, but they let him down again.
Jackie, fearing more and more Meadow's anger, flees to Tommy in his apartment. When Meadows goes to pick up Jackie from Tommy's the next day, Cummings sees him walking into the apartment. While Jackie is running downstairs, she is taken into custody by Cummings, who takes her to his wife Anne in a taxi, while Meadows teaches Tommy a brutal lesson out of anger at the unwanted young rival. Meadows' bodyguard Cliff, who watched Cummings and Jackie escape, reports it to his boss. Cummings drives to Cummings' apartment in his anger. The situation there escalates almost fatally, but the noise and screaming and the fact that Anne is about to alert the police, put Meadows off at the last second.
Inspector Thomas now visits Meadows to make it clear to him clearly what the hour has struck. Meadows, however, is defiant and adamant. Cummings, who insists on investigating the garage, is detained by the inspector on threats of arrest. The inspector is interested in not just one but 100 stolen cars, and he wants to hold Meadows accountable for all past crimes and put him behind bars for many years.
Cummings, who is faced with the choice between her, the children, or the car, which is now completely worthless for her, by his desperate wife at home, is confronted with the fact that he has to make a life decision. In order not to lose his self-respect, however, he visits the Meadows garage at night, where he suspects his car. Meadows, who is already up to his neck and who sees himself more and more abandoned by his helpers, wants to settle accounts with Cummings, who put the police on him. He's waiting for Cummings in his garage. There it comes to the final duel. Cummings manages to overcome Meadows in a life and death battle. At the last moment, the police, notified by Jackie and Tommy, arrive on the scene; she can eventually arrest Meadows on the evidence and confessions she has gathered. At home, Cummings finds an empty apartment; but soon Anne returns to her husband.
synchronization
The West German dialogue version was created by the dubbing company Rank. In the GDR cinemas, DEFA Studios' own dubbed version was shown under the title "Never give up" - dialogue: Harald Thiemann, director: Johanna Simeth
| role | actor | Dubbing voice BRD | Dubbing voice DDR |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Cummings | Richard Todd | Eckart Dux | Gert Gütschow |
| Lionel Meadows | Peter Sellers | Klaus Miedel | Ivan Malré |
| Anne Cummings | Elizabeth Sellars | Edith Schneider | Barbara Adolph |
| Tommy Towers | Adam Faith | Herbert Stass | Klaus Bamberg |
| Jackie | Carol White | Brigitte Grothum | Evelyn Cron |
| Alfie Barnes | Mervyn Johns | Eduard Wandrey | Karl Kendzia |
| Inspector Thomas | Noel Willman | Siegfried Schürenberg | Hannjo Hasse |
| cliff | David Lodge | Rainer Brandt | Heinz W. Pätzold |
| Alec Berger | Peter Jones | Erich Fiedler | |
| MacKinnon | John Bailey | Kurt Waitzmann | |
| Regan | Nigel Stock | Martin Hirthe | |
| Police sergeant | John Dunbar | Gerd Duwner | |
| Cyril Spink | Charles Houston | Wolfgang Draeger |
Reviews
“A harried cosmetics salesman looks for and finds his own car, stolen by young rowdies, on which his further professional existence depends. Unsightly everyday film, appealing only in the cast of the main roles. "
Production notes
The set designer was George Provis , the costumes were created by Vi Murray . The film was shot on Chichester Road in London, among other places .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Marder of London in synchronous database
- ↑ The Marten of London. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .