Nowhere to Go

source: Nowhere to Go

Conjuring up sympathy for George Nadar's trouble-prone Canadian criminal in Seth Holt's tense British thriller "Nowhere to Go" is a difficult proposition. First, this despicable dastard lacks an ounce of honor. Second, events always take the worst turn for him, no matter how evasive he remains. Without a doubt, Paul Gregory (George Nadar of "Away All Boats") is a handsome bloke but a first-class hooligan. He swindles a kind, little, old lady out of her valuable coin collection. He deliberately allows himself to be nabbed by the authorities, but before this happens, he stashes the coins in a suitcase at a firm specializing in safe deposit boxes. Indeed, Gregory wants to get caught, convicted, and then imprisoned. An accomplice of his, Victor Sloane (Bernard Lee of "Goldfinger"), breaks into the prison and provides our anti-heroic protagonist with enough explosives to blast the bars of his cell window so he can escape. Holt orchestrates the opening gambit of this nifty thriller to perfection. The problem with "Nowhere to Go" is its doom-laden narrative along with the odious villainy of its leading man. Why would anybody root for a rat like Nader's Gregory. Clocking in at 103 minutes, "Nowhere to Go" lives up to its dead-end title. "Mosquito Squadron" lenser Paul Beeson does a terrific job photographing this gritty British thriller in black & white with some interesting pictorial touches. Kenneth Tynan and Holt adapted Donald Mackenzie's first novel.

Fans of the consistently flawless Maggie Smith will be surprised to see her in her film debut as a rather quiet but eccentric and troubled young girl, pretty much the type of role that Shirley MacLaine was playing in American films. she only has a handful of scenes, but boy, but she make a lot out of them, and as a result received a BAFTA nomination for outstanding newcomer of the year. having surpassed 60 years in the cinema (and already a veteran of the stage when was made), She is among a superb ensemble drawing out the taper plan by American heartthrob George Nader who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, and escaped, for stealing and selling a valuable coin collection. Bessie Love, the 1929 Oscar nominee for "Broadway Melody", is the eccentric Canadian socialite whom Nader charms and Rob's, and she is delightful in her series of scenes in the beginning of the film. Nader could charm the skin off a rattlesnake, yet find a way to poison it with its own venom. Bernard Lee, is his cohort, and is dastardly dangerous but quiet. This is a film that has many faces, switching gears throughout yet keeping the audience intrigued. The final shot is a shocker, sort of a blase view of emotionaless here we go again as the character in that shot walks off dejected once again. Made by Ealing, known for their caper comedies and released by MGM, this is a little art house film that takes you in directions to where you never know where you're going to end up getting off.

A smooth talking Canadian conman called Paul Gregory (George Nader) cultivates the friendship of wealthy widow Harriet P Jefferson (Bessie Love) in order to steal her priceless coin collection left to her by her husband. He sells them for £55,000 and hides the money away in a safe deposit box and, as he planned, he is soon arrested and gets sentenced to ten years in prison. Aided by his accomplice Sloane (Bernard Lee), Gregory breaks out of prison and plans to flee the country by boat using a false passport. But, Sloane, not content to accept the cut of the proceeds offered to him, attempts to double cross Gregory. He fails and Gregory accidentally kills him. From here on things start to go from bad to worse for the slick conman since Sloane had cleverly hidden away the key to the safe deposit box meaning that Gregory cannot get his hands on his money. None of his old underworld contacts in London are prepared to help him out since they consider him "too hot to handle" because he is now wanted on a murder charge. His last hope turns out to be Bridget Howard (Maggie Smith), a young woman deserted by her crooked fiance who fled to Tangiers after being fired from his job in the City for pilfering. She agrees to hide Gregory away in a dilapidated farm cottage on her father's estate in rural Wales. But, is she all that she seems and will she turn out to add to Gregory's seemingly never ending run of bad luck? This Ealing Studios crime drama features a pretty standard plot that could be found in numerous programmers at the time; and it moves along at a rather stately pace. Yet, it still possesses enough merits to make it worth watching. It is the debut feature of director Seth Holt, a considerable talent whose potential was sadly never to be fully realised, who succeeds in creating a tense, sweaty and claustrophobic atmosphere out of George Nader's plight in which we the audience can actually feel ourselves in his character's shoes. All of his former criminal buddies don't want to know because he's wanted for Bernard Lee's murder and, one of them, a former crook gone straight turned nightclub owner, Mack (Howard Marion Crawford) is even prepared to shop him to keep a favourable appearance with the law. There are numerous familiar faces to look out for in the supporting cast (many uncredited) including Harry H Corbett, Harry Locke, Lionel Jeffries and Noel Howlett. But, it is a very young Maggie Smith who emerges triumphant in the acting stakes here. She provides the emotional element as the young girl falling for the hunted George Nader who agrees to hide him from the police. In a moving climax set in the glorious Welsh countryside, Nader, through binoculars, can see her being taken away in a police car to be questioned by Geoffrey Keen's Inspector Scott of the Yard. He thinks that she too has turned traitor and has given him away; and he leaves a note behind with a spiteful message to that effect. But, it turns out that she has not; only things take a tragic turn and he never knew that she was the only person left in the world that he could trust. The proceedings are enhanced by Paul Beeson's stunning b/w camerawork, which takes in some splendid London inner-city and rural Wales locations that add to the noirish atmosphere of the plot and create a real feeling for place.

A British film noir from 1958. With no irony in sight I just happened to watch this film, directed by Seth Holt (his debut), after seeing Blood from the Mummy's Tomb which might've been his last (he died in '71) so I think the film gods were a-smiling. Anyway, a man is broken out of prison & hopes to collect his booty from a recent theft that he has stashed in a safe deposit locker. Efficient, professional & utterly stoic, this Canadian expat uses his Blighty connections to create an out for him when he finally collects his due w/papers & a boat waiting for him to leave the country but his plans go to pot when his handler betrays him for more money setting in motion a series of crosses & double crosses which hound him to the end. An 'on the edge of your seat' vim runs through this picture which never fails to upend expectations when we think one thing & another happens. Look for Maggie Smith (in her film debut) & 2 future Bond actors, Bernard Lee (M in all of the Bond films until 1981) & Geoffrey Keen (who also was one of Bond's higher-ups).

A tense and exciting thriller from Ealing Studios - it is hard to believe that they once made very funny, classic comedies, which are still enjoyed all over the World today. Nowhere To Go is an unusual British film where the star of the show is actually a smooth but uncompromising villain. He is a convicted housebreaker and embezzler who has escaped from prison and is played by George Nader. The reason why the studio chose an American actor was possibly to appeal to audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. It was nice to see Britain's very own Maggie Smith looking delightful in one of her earlier films. She plays a woman that tries to help George Nader escape from both the villains and the police. Steptoe and Son fans, after some "wondering-where-have-I heard-that-voice-before", will also recognise Harry H. Corbett playing the part of a shrewd and unfriendly London mob boss, who does not like other criminals operating on his "patch". Bessie Love, a fine actress from the Golden Age of Hollywood, also had a small part at the beginning of the film, playing a rich, aristocratic American widow living in Britain, who succumbs to the nefarious and disguised charms of the hero - sorry - villain, played by George Nader. The ending seemed to leave audience to their own imagination. I suppose "Crime Does Not Pay" always has to be the message.

"Nowhere to go" is one of the best british film noir I've ever seen : it is intelligent from the first frame to the last one, each shot is brilliantly serving all the numerous informations and twists about that robber who escapes from jail and imagines a wise robbery. "Nowhere to go" is the first movie directed by Seth Holt who also wrote it, what a pity he didn't wrote any more, because it's a must see with so many intelligent surprises. Seth Holt directed only seven movies (plus tv work) with good titles like "Taste of fear", "Station six Sahara" (with the beautiful sexy Carroll Baker) and of course "The Nanny" (with Bette Davis). Jump on "Nowhere to go", even the title is intelligent.

For George Nader and Ealing Studios this was virtually the end.Nader's career went downhill pretty fast and this was the penultimate production of Ealing studios.Whilst the film has merit it is sorely hampered by the casting of a bland American lead.Compare this film with the "The Criminal" where you believe that Stanley Baker is on the run from his fellow gang members.Also there are too many coincidences and contrivances.After all would Bernard lee have gone back to his flat knowing that Nader was probably out for revenge and the key.Also when Nader makes his escape from the police he finds a window to open and there hey presto is a car just waiting to be started.Then there is the lorry just standing around waiting to be started at the end.An entertaining thriller but no classic.

NOWHERE TO GO is a slow-moving, character-focused slice of British crime that failed to hit the mark with audiences back on release in 1958. It's easy to see why these days: as a character piece there's little incident or action, with the emphasis on long, drawn-out scenes of brooding which aren't very entertaining. I also found George Nader a less-than-sympathetic protagonist, although the supporting cast is more interesting. The story jumps about in time a bit, which can get disorientating, with Nader escaping from prison and interacting with the criminal fraternity. A young Maggie Smith is the glamorous love interest and Bernard Lee plays a great role, but the rest is merely so-so.

In my humble opinion, a story must have a sympathetic protagonist. This one expressly doesn't. Instead we have a con artist and thief who has very few redeeming qualities. At best we can say he has something of a conscience, but who cares? People who rob and swindle do not deserve sympathy unless there is some sort of circumstance or reason. But there isn't. He's just a thief from the start and we're supposed to root for him, I guess? If not, are we suppose to root against him? If so, what's the point? Then we have Maggie Smith's character. The only reason I watched this movie was to see Maggie Smith as I am interested in seeing the past work of veteran performers and I'm a fan of her work in 'Downton Abbey'. But her part here is severely underwritten. She takes up with this con artist for absolutely no reason that is apparent in the movie and it's just annoying. Her character doesn't deserve sympathy either. This is not a knock on Maggie Smith, of course. This was, after all, still very early in her career. Anyway, I didn't find this movie very good at all and any appeal it has for others is utterly lost on me. 'Nowhere to Go' is an apt title as this movie goes absolutely nowhere.