The Lure is a 1933 British crime film directed by Arthur Maude and starring Anne Grey, Cyril Raymond and Alec Fraser.[2] It was written by J. Sabben-Clare based on his play. It was made at Wembley Studios as a quota quickie.[3]
| The Lure | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Frame from the film[1] | |
| Directed by | Arthur Maude |
| Written by | J. Sabben-Clare (play) |
| Produced by | Arthur Maude |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Eric Cross |
Production company | Arthur Maude Productions |
| Distributed by | Paramount British Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 65 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Preservation status
editThe British Film Institute National Archive holds a collection of ephemera and stills but no film or video materials.[2]
Plot
editAt a house party, one of the guests secretly plans to retrieve a valuable blue diamond stolen from his brother by the host many years ago. Meanwhile, a pair of light-hearted guests plot to steal the gem purely as a prank, unaware that the butler has his own criminal designs on it as well. The pranksters pull off their robbery, but the fun turns to panic the next morning when the host is found dead. Things look bleak for the thieves as suspicion falls on the wrong man. However, the wrongly accused guest manages to outsmart the butler, tricking him into a confession and ensuring a happy ending.[4]
Cast
edit- Anne Grey as Julia Waring
- Cyril Raymond as Paul Dane
- Alec Fraser as John Baxter
- William Hartnell as Billy
- Philip Clarke as Peter Waring
- P.G. Clark as Merritt
- Doris Long as Dorothy
- Jean Ormond
Reception
editKine Weekly wrote: "The weaving of the plot is rather clumsily carried out, and the time wasted in stressing the comedy allows the andience to identify the murderer with ridiculous ease. It is the inability of the director and players to circumvent the obvious that reduces the picture to the level of very ordinary quota screen entertainment."[5]
The Daily Film Renter wrote: "Stagy, stilted, and uninspired melodrama ... Most of footage taken up by pseudo-witty conversations and redundant back-chat. Film lacks any pretensions to movement, being a potted play, with boring sequences, which drag out interminably. Indifferent photography, crude cutting, and amateurish acting by at least four members of cast. Climax foreseen early on. For easily pleased patrons only."[4]
Picturegoer wrote: "Conventional mystery drama, told in a commonplace and colourless manner, with little grip or conviction. Acting is unremarkable, except for an amusing drunk act by Billy Hartnell."[6]
References
edit- ↑ "The Lure". The Daily Film Renter (2014): 2. 8 August 1933. ProQuest 3127085595.
- 1 2 "The Lure". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
- ↑ Chibnall, Steve (2007). Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British 'B' Film. British Film Institute. p. 273. ISBN 978-1844571550.
- 1 2 "The Lure". The Daily Film Renter (2018): 4. 12 August 1933. ProQuest 3127085429.
- ↑ "The Lure". Kine Weekly. 198 (1374): 16. 17 August 1933. ProQuest 2338258590.
- ↑ "The Lure". Picturegoer. 3 (142): 32. 10 February 1934. ProQuest 1771148605.