Black 13


Black 13 is a 1953 British crime drama film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Peter Reynolds, Rona Anderson, Patrick Barr and John Le Mesurier. It was written by Pietro Germi and Hughes, and is a remake of the 1948 Italian film Gioventù perduta by Germi. It was made by Vandyke Productions.

Premise

The son of a university professor goes on a crime spree, which turns deadly serious when he kills a nightwatchman. The title refers to a roulette wheel.

Cast

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This British re-make of the Italian film Gioventu Perduta hardly seems to have been worth while. As a B-grade thriller the film maintains a certain pace and excitement, but beyond this it is most unsatisfactory. ... Of the performers, Patrick Barr and Rona Anderson are intermittently convincing. Peter Reynolds' wild-eyed neurotic verges at times on the melodrama madman, and never attracts the sympathy which might have given the film some point."
Kine Weekly wrote: "Taut crime melodrama, with intriguing pathological overtones. ... Appropriate night club asides, enlivened by music and song, provide essential colour, while the climax is at once salutary and sentimentally satisfying. Reliable British thick ear."
Picturegoer wrote: "The trick of blending a thriller into a convincing background of human relations nearly comes off in this taut British film. If the plot had matched the excellent acting, this could have been a winner."
Variety wrote: "Twentieth-Fox seemingly imported this inferior British film for exhibs who lack widescreen ... A cast of unknowns isn't helped either by story or direction in the overlong tale."