Wide boy is a British term for a man who lives by his wits, wheeling and dealing.
The always oily Sydney Tafler plays a low rent crook who survives by selling black-market nylons. His girl, Susan Shaw, is always giving him a hard time about his lack of cash. She is forever peppering him with lines like, "Why can't you ever take me somewhere nice"! Tafler finally breaks down and takes Shaw to an upscale bar. He only has enough money for a single drink each. He sees a couple, Colin Tapley and Melissa Stirbling having a heated discussion at the bar. Tafler wanders over and lifts the woman's wallet while her attention is otherwise diverted. Tafler grabs up Shaw and out they go. Back at his flat, Tafler goes through the wallet to see what he has scored. It contains a nice wad of bills and a letter. The letter, a love note, is written to Stribling from her married lover, Tapley. Tapley is a famous surgeon who just happens to be up for a Knighthood. The old light bulb goes off as Tafler sees the solution to his cash flow problems. A spot of blackmail seems in order. He contacts the pair and offers to return the letter for a couple of hundred pounds. With Tapley's forthcoming Knighthood at stake, a scandal is the last thing he wants. Tapley agrees to the exchange. Tafler knows a good scam when he sees it and pulls a fast one during the exchange. He slips Tapley an envelope with a fake note and keeps the real letter. He is in the dough! Not being the swiftest lad, he quickly runs through the coin. A new suit, pays up the rent and a nice bit of jewelry for Shaw make short work of the cash. It is time to contact Tapley for another "loan". This time the exchange goes bad and Tapley is killed. Now Tafler is on the run and out of his element. His friends vanish and the police close in. An escape attempt through a rail yard ends with Tafler under the wheels of a train.
This is a good looking low renter with great camera-work and a tight story.
Tafler, who made a career out of playing these types, was also in UNEASY TERMS, ONCE A SINNER, ASSASSIN FOR HIRE, THE SCARLET THREAD, MYSTERY JUNCTION, THE VENETIAN BIRD, OPERATION DIPLOMAT, THE GLASS CAGE, DIAL 999, THE LONG ARM and THE BANK RAIDERS. Susan Shaw was in MY BROTHER'S KEEPER, IT ONLY RAINS ON SUNDAYS, WATERFRONT, POOL OF London, THE WOMAN IN QUESTION, THE GOOD DIE YOUNG and THE DIPLOMATIC CORPSE. The rest of the cast includes Leslie Howard's son, Ron, Gerald Case and Laidman Browne.
The director was Ken Hughes. Hughes work includes, BLACK 13, HEATWAVE, THE BRAIN MACHINE, CASE OF THE RED MONKEY, CONFESSION, JOE MACBETH, WICKED AS THEY COME, THE LONG HAUL and THE SMALL WORLD OF SAMMY LEE. The d of p was Josef Amber who worked on CASE OF THE RED MONKEY, BRAIN MACHINE and THE CASE OF CHARLES PEACE.
An enjoyable, quick paced time-waster that runs just over an hour.
The always oily Sydney Tafler plays a low rent crook who survives by selling black-market nylons. His girl, Susan Shaw, is always giving him a hard time about his lack of cash. She is forever peppering him with lines like, "Why can't you ever take me somewhere nice"! Tafler finally breaks down and takes Shaw to an upscale bar. He only has enough money for a single drink each. He sees a couple, Colin Tapley and Melissa Stirbling having a heated discussion at the bar. Tafler wanders over and lifts the woman's wallet while her attention is otherwise diverted. Tafler grabs up Shaw and out they go. Back at his flat, Tafler goes through the wallet to see what he has scored. It contains a nice wad of bills and a letter. The letter, a love note, is written to Stribling from her married lover, Tapley. Tapley is a famous surgeon who just happens to be up for a Knighthood. The old light bulb goes off as Tafler sees the solution to his cash flow problems. A spot of blackmail seems in order. He contacts the pair and offers to return the letter for a couple of hundred pounds. With Tapley's forthcoming Knighthood at stake, a scandal is the last thing he wants. Tapley agrees to the exchange. Tafler knows a good scam when he sees it and pulls a fast one during the exchange. He slips Tapley an envelope with a fake note and keeps the real letter. He is in the dough! Not being the swiftest lad, he quickly runs through the coin. A new suit, pays up the rent and a nice bit of jewelry for Shaw make short work of the cash. It is time to contact Tapley for another "loan". This time the exchange goes bad and Tapley is killed. Now Tafler is on the run and out of his element. His friends vanish and the police close in. An escape attempt through a rail yard ends with Tafler under the wheels of a train.
This is a good looking low renter with great camera-work and a tight story.
Tafler, who made a career out of playing these types, was also in UNEASY TERMS, ONCE A SINNER, ASSASSIN FOR HIRE, THE SCARLET THREAD, MYSTERY JUNCTION, THE VENETIAN BIRD, OPERATION DIPLOMAT, THE GLASS CAGE, DIAL 999, THE LONG ARM and THE BANK RAIDERS. Susan Shaw was in MY BROTHER'S KEEPER, IT ONLY RAINS ON SUNDAYS, WATERFRONT, POOL OF London, THE WOMAN IN QUESTION, THE GOOD DIE YOUNG and THE DIPLOMATIC CORPSE. The rest of the cast includes Leslie Howard's son, Ron, Gerald Case and Laidman Browne.
The director was Ken Hughes. Hughes work includes, BLACK 13, HEATWAVE, THE BRAIN MACHINE, CASE OF THE RED MONKEY, CONFESSION, JOE MACBETH, WICKED AS THEY COME, THE LONG HAUL and THE SMALL WORLD OF SAMMY LEE. The d of p was Josef Amber who worked on CASE OF THE RED MONKEY, BRAIN MACHINE and THE CASE OF CHARLES PEACE.
An enjoyable, quick paced time-waster that runs just over an hour.