The Noose – 1948 | 76 mins | Thriller, Drama | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Compelling slice of crime-noir designed to imitate its American counterparts. Based on

Richard Llewellyn’s stage play The Silk Noose, it’s a surprisingly entertaining little thriller that allows Nigel Patrick the opportunity to impress as the fast-talking, charismatic partner-in-crime. On a sad note, American sex symbol Carole Landis committed suicide shortly before the film was released. She was 29.

Set in the time of post-war austerity in Soho, Chicago fashion journalist Linda Medbury (Carole Landis) goes up against the counterfeiters and spivs in the murky underworld of London’s black market. Italian nightclub owner Sugiani (Joseph Calleia) and his loyal assistant Bar Gorman (Nigel Patrick) are known for their ruthlessness and they do not hesitate to murder anyone who opposes them. Fortunately, intrepid Linda turns to crime reporting and begins looking closely at the drowning of Milly Sharpe in the River Thames, and suspects it may be a case of murder linked to the local gangsters. Meanwhile, Linda’s boyfriend, Capt. Jumbo Hoyle (Derek Farr), assembles a gang of local vigilantes at the boxing gym to start combating Sugiani’s operation. Keeping a keen eye on the turf war and murders is Police Insp. Kendall (Stanley Holloway).