Kill Her Gently – 1957 | 75 mins | Crime | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Routine b-movie crime thriller involving a middle-class former mental patient who shields two escaped convicts in his suburban home in the hope they’ll murder his wife. Well-paced and atmospheric, but unfortunately nothing original about the plot.

Two convicts from a working party escape from prison, American William Connors (Marc Lawrence) and Swede Lars Svenson (George Mikell), are picked up on the road by Jeff Martin (Griffith Jones) – who assists the duo in avoiding a police checkpoint. When they enquire why he helped, Martin promises to aid in their escape if they will murder his wife, Kay (Maureen Connell). They hesitantly agree.

It transpires that Martin is a former patient from a mental institution who believes that his wife is responsible and therefore must die. The two escaped cons and Jeff arrive at his home and pretend they are holding the family hostage; including maid Raina (Marianne Brauns). To keep his side of the bargain, Martin must deliver £1000 and passage to Lisbon for the convicts, but raising the money proves more difficult than anticipated.