Forbidden Territory


Forbidden Territory is a 1934 British thriller film directed by Phil Rosen and starring Gregory Ratoff, Ronald Squire and Binnie Barnes. It was based on the 1933 novel The Forbidden Territory by Dennis Wheatley.
The film, about an Englishman and his son who travel to the Soviet Union to rescue a family member being held in prison.

Plot

Cast

Forbidden Territory was released on December 10, 1934, in the United Kingdom.
It was requested in British Parliament that Forbidden Territory be banned as it was anti-Russian the Friends of Soviet Russia requested that it be banned. This was followed by the Maryport Community Party also requesting it to be withdrawn from cinema as it was "libel on the Soviet working man." The film was approved by the board on the basis that there was "no political element in it at all."
The film was re-released in April 1940.

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin reviewed the film on its 1940 reissue, declaring it had a "highly improbable plot" but contained enough suspense and excitement to justify its reissue.

Legacy

Tony Shaw in his book British Cinema and the Cold War stated that Forbidden Territory provided the groundwork for the cycle of Cold War espionage melodramas that would be released in the 1950s. Specifically, the "typical" Englishman fighting injustices in a foreign geographical and political environment.