The Secret Place

The Secret Place (1957)

A beautiful redhead becomes involved with a group of small-time hoodlums who plan and perform a daring diamond robbery.

Date of release
1957-02-06
TMDB
6.6 / 10 (5)
Runtime
1h 38m
Genres
Crime
Director
Clive Donner

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: Pinewood Studios

The Secret Place is a 1957 British crime film directed by Clive Donner and starring Belinda Lee and Ronald Lewis. It was written by Linette Perry.

Production

Clive Donner had been an editor on Genevieve (1953), I am a Camera (1955) and other films. This was his first film as director. It was one of several thrillers made by the Rank Organisation around this time.

Filming took place at Pinewood Studios, starting in June 1956 and on location at Bethnal Green.

Anthony Steel was meant to play the male lead but he broke his contract with Rank and was replaced by Ronald Lewis, who had just signed a contract with the studio. The film also gave David McCallum his breakthrough role.

Clive Donner said it was "quite clear" the Rank Organisation wanted him to cast Belinda Lee. He went to see her play Rosalind in As You Like It on stage but felt she was not "convincingly working class" which the role required. He wanted to cast Barbara Archer and screen tested her, but John Davis did not want to cast her as "he was determined to have Belinda". So Donner cast Lee and said she worked very hard.

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