There Is Another Sun – 1951 | 89 mins | Drama | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Sombre story of greed, romance and betrayal set in a fairground. Maxwell Reed and Laurence Harvey’s performances have little to commend them for as they vie with each other for bleakness as the wall-of-death rider and aspiring boxer respectively. Director Lewis Gilbert was still a helmer of b-movies, but soon to become famous for his stories of heroism in war, such as Sink the Bismarck!, Reach for the Sky and Carve Her Name with Pride. Gilbert conjures up an atmosphere of post-war austerity and nihilism but it’s the fairground and speedway locations that make this grim drama unusually effective. Its alternative title, The Wall of Death, dates from a 1953 rerelease.

Fairground Wall of Death rider Eddie ‘Racer’ Peskett  (Maxwell Reed) and boxing booth boxer Mag Maguire (Laurence Harvey) are attempting to get the young motorcycle rider back onto the speedway circuit at Walthamstow when they meet chorus girl Lillian (Susan Shaw) whilst out gambling. Peskett requires £50 to pay a deposit down on a motorbike, so assaults and robs booth owner Sarno. The robbery brings Detective Sergeant Bratcher (Meredith Edwards) to the fairground;intent on arresting ‘Racer’.