One Jump Ahead (film)

One Jump Ahead is a 1955 British crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Paul Carpenter, Diane Hart, Jill Adams and Freddie Mills.[1] The film was based on a novel by American crime novelist Robert H. Chapman.[2] The screenplay concerns a journalist who helps police track down the killer of a female blackmailer.[3] The title refers to the reporter's attempts to keep "one jump ahead" of the police in solving the crime.[4]

One Jump Ahead
Directed byCharles Saunders
Produced byGuido Coen
Written byDoreen Montgomery
Based onOne Jump Ahead (novel)
by Robert H. Chapman
Starring
Music byEdwin Astley (uncredited)
CinematographyBrendan J. Stafford
Edited byMargery Saunders
Production
company
Kenilworth Film Productions
Distributed byGeneral Film Distributors (UK)
Release date
March 1955 (UK)
Running time
66 mins
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Reporter Paul Banner, a Canadian "noozeman", works at the Daily Comet in England. When a young boy witnesses a murder, the killer mistakenly tracks down the boy's friend and kills who he thinks is the only witness to the crime. Banner becomes interested in getting to the bottom of the murders but complications arise when Judy (Jill Adams), his ex-love, becomes involved.

Banner sets out to find the killer, and has the help of Maxine (Diane Hart), a reporter with whom he works at the paper; the two have also been involved in a relationship. Together, they ferret out who the mystery killer is, keeping "one jump ahead" of the police.

Cast

Production

Director Charles Saunders also made Behind the Headlines (1956), the second of three crime thrillers based on the works of American novelist Robert Chapman.[5] In 1958, he also directed Murder Reported. All three films had many similarities; the stories all revolved around a news reporter investigating a murder, each lead role played by Paul Carpenter, with different supporting casts.[6] Saunders specialized in the B movie at the Kenilworth Films Production house which turned out 11 mainly crime thrillers between 1948 and 1956.[7]

Critical reception

TV Guide gave One Jump Ahead two out of five stars and wrote, "... occasionally witty dialog enhances this B-bracket programmer."[8] In a recent review, SkyChannel TV noted, "Not at all bad for a British co-feature of its time, with some good crackles of humour in the dialogue and a lively tempo. Ex-boxing champion Freddie Mills appears in one of several roles he played in British films of the 50s."[9]

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References

Notes
  1. "Film details: 'One Jump Ahead' (1955)." BFI, 2016. Retrieved: 25 August 2016.
  2. "Charles Saunders - Cast and Crew: 'One Jump Ahead' (1955)." AllMovie. Retrieved: 25 August 2016.
  3. Brennan, Sandra. "Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related: 'One Jump Ahead' (1955)." AllMovie. Retrieved: 25 August 2016.
  4. Chibnall and McFarland 2009, p. 248.
  5. Goble 1999, p. 78.
  6. "Behind the Headlines (1956)." IMDb. Retrieved: 25 August 2016.
  7. Chibnall and McFarland 2009, p. 248.
  8. "Review: 'One Jump Ahead'.' TVGuide.com. Retrieved: 25 August 2016.
  9. "Review: 'One Jump Ahead'." Sky.com, 2016. Retrieved: 25 August 2016.

Bibliography
  • Chibnall, Steve and Brian McFarlane. The British 'B' Film. London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009. ISBN 978-1-8445-7320-2.
  • Goble, Alan. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. London: Walter de Gruyter, 1999. ISBN 978-1-8573-9229-6.
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