Hot Ice (1952 film)

Not to be confused with The Three Stooges film Hot Ice (1955).

Hot Ice is a 1952 British second feature ('B')^[1] comedy crime film directed and written by Kenneth Hume and starring John Justin, Barbara Murray and Ivor Barnard.^[2] It was based on the 1934 novel Weekend at Thrackley by Alan Melville and its subsequent play version. An eccentric invites an assortment of guests to his country house, planning to rob them of their valuables.

Hot Ice
Directed by	Kenneth Hume
Written by	Kenneth Hume
Based on	Weekend at Thrackley Alan Melville
Produced by	Charles Reynolds
Starring	John Justin Barbara Murray Ivor Barnard
Cinematography	Ted Lloyd
Edited by	John Shirley
Music by	Ivor Slaney
Production company	Charles Reynolds Productions
Distributed by	Apex Film Distributors
Release date	December 1952 (1952-12)
Running time	65 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Plot

Edwin Carson, a shady jewel collector, invites hard-up Jim Henderson and his jewellery-heir pal Freddie Usher to spend the weekend at his country house, along with other guests who all own precious jewellery. Carson's motive is to extract the jewellery from his guests, but he is eventually thwarted.

Cast

• John Justin as Jim Henderson
• Barbara Murray as Mary
• Ivor Barnard as Edwin Carson
• John Penrose as Freddie Usher
• Michael Balfour as Jacobson
• Gabrielle Brune as Marcella
• Anthony Pendrell as Burroughs
• Bill Shine as Henry
• Fred Gray
• Dorothy Wheatley as Marilyn
• Sam Kydd as Adams
• Derek Sydney as Kenrick
• Archie Duncan as Wilson
• Keith Grieve as constable #1
• Billy Howard as constable #2
• Ida Patlanski as Mrs. Bertram
• Freddie Tripp as club waiter
• Kendal Chalmers as man in club

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The players do their best to infuse some life into the not very exciting or plausible plot of this thriller. It starts slowly and only gains momentum when the climax is reached. Barbara Murray puts some charm into a poorly written and over-talkative script."^[3]

Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture, adapted from a story by Alan Melville, is nearly all talk, but very few of the quips are sharp. The types, too, are very theatrical and accentuate the paucity of wit. The thrills, mainly mechanical, are also a trifle forced; but, even so, the odd mixture, handled by an equally screwy cast, becomes moderately enteriaining as it shuffles to its unexpected close. The unexacting should find it tolerably amusing if not hair-raising."^[4]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Implausible comedy-thriller, neatly written and directed."^[5]