Wheel of Fate – 1953 | 72 mins | Drama | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Francis Searle eked out a living as a producer/director of ‘B’ movies, and this entertainingly gritty melodrama based on a rather crudely plotted play “Nightmare” by Alex Atkinson tells the story of a youth who falls for a dance hall hostess and tries to raise money the easy way.

Johnny Burrows (Patric Doonan and Ted Reid (Bryan Forbes) are contrasting stepbrothers who run a London garage together on behalf of their ailing bed-ridden father. Ted is gambler and dance-hall regular who is spending beyond his means and his coshed a rival for the attentions of dance hall singer Lucky Price (Sandra Dorne). However, when Lucky meets Johnny she falls for him, jilting Ted. When a hood demands Ted repay his gambling debts, he ignores his dying step-father’s calls for his medication and takes his money. Johnny’s wartime comrade, Det Sgt ‘Simmy’ Simpson, discovers evidence implicating Ted and attempts to arrest him.