The Painted Smile – 1962 | 60 mins | Thriller | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Forgettable second-feature crime melodrama directed by Lance Comfort, who keeps proceedings short and none too sweet. Liz Frazer is far too lightweight in a rare leading role but Kenneth Griffith makes a convincing vicious gangster.

Confidence tricksters, Jo (Liz Fraser) and Mark (Peter Reynolds), are on the run from vicious leader Soho gangster Kleinie (Kenneth Griffith) before fleeing London. They plan one final ‘outraged husband’ con, so hostess Jo heads out to the nightclubs and picks up a drunken college student,Tom (Tony Wickert), and invites him back to her flat – except that in her absence Kleinie has visited and murdered her partner. Kleinie then phones demanding Jo deals with the body.

Thinking on her feet, Jo persuades the young student to dispose of the dead body by threatening to accuse him of committing the crime,but as he drives away, the police pursue him and Tom flees his car leaving the corpse inside. Tom is wanted by the police, and relies on the assistance of his fiancée (Nanette Newman) and a couple of friends to track down Jo and help clear his name.