Hell is a City – 1960

An Associated British-Hammer production released through Warner-Pathe Distributors Limited
Copyright MCMLIX by Hammer Film Productions Ltd – All rights reserved

The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious and any similarity to the name, character, or history of any person is entirely accidental and unintentional

RCA Sound Recording
Produced at Associated British Elstree Studios, England
Black & White 85 mins Hammerscope

Storyline

Don Starling, a vicious criminal who has escaped from jail, organises a robbery on a wealthy local Manchester bookmaker, forcing the girl carrying the cash into his getaway car. But things go horribly wrong when the girl is killed and Inspector Martineau sets out to track down his old enemy, who is now wanted for murder.

Watch the trailer on YouTube

Crew


Function	Name	Age at Release	Birth	Death	Age	Hammer Productions
	Click a link for more info					Credited	Uncredited	Total
Art Director	Robert Jones					6		6
Assistant Casting	David Booth					2		2
Assistant Director	Philip Shipway	46	21 Feb 1914	20 Apr 1968	54	1		1
Based on the novel by	Maurice Procter	54	4 Feb 1906	1973	66	1		1
Camera Operator	Moray Grant	42	13 Nov 1917	17 Sep 1977	59	29		29
Casting Director	Robert Lennard	49	16 May 1910	Aug 1999	89	1		1
Continuity	Doreen Dearnaley	31	20 Nov 1928	3 Feb 1992	63	13		13
Director	Val Guest	48	11 Dec 1911	10 May 2006	94	29		29
Director of Photog.	Arthur Grant BSc	45	1915	1972	56	30		30
Editor	John Dunsford	33	11 Oct 1926	1995	68	5		5
Hairdresser	Pauline Trent					2		2
Make-up Artist	Colin Garde	44	16 Jul 1915	Dec 1990	75	1	3	4
Music Composer	Stanley Black	46	14 Jun 1913	26 Nov 2002	89	5		5
Producer	Michael Carreras	32	21 Dec 1927	19 Apr 1994	66	82	3	85
Production Manager	Don Weeks	55	15 Nov 1904	Mar 1988	83	30		30
Recording Director	A.W. Lumkin	47	1 Feb 1913	25 Oct 1985	72	30		30
Screenplay	Val Guest	48	11 Dec 1911	10 May 2006	94	29		29
Sound Recordist	Len Shilton	50	30 Apr 1910	Jun 1985	75	4	1	5
Sound Recordist	Les Hammond	51	6 Jun 1908			8		8
Supervising Editor	James Needs	40	17 Oct 1919	4 Feb 2003	83	110	1	111
Wardrobe Mistress	Jackie Jackson					1		1

Cast


Character	Actor	Age at Release	Birth		Death	Age	Hammer Productions
	Click a link for more info						Credited	Uncredited	Total
Bert Darwin	Peter Madden	55	9 Aug 1904		24 Feb 1976	71	6		6
Bragg	Dickie Owen	33	26 Mar 1927		7 Apr 2015	88	3	1	4
Cecily	Lois Daine	18	5 Dec 1941	05.12.1941		81	3		3
Chloe Hawkins	Billie Whitelaw	27	6 Jun 1932		21 Dec 2014	82	1		1
Commercial Traveller	Warren Mitchell	34	14 Jan 1926		14 Nov 2015	89	4	1	5
Devery	Geoffrey Frederick	27	29 Jan 1933	29.01.1933		90	1		1
Don Starling	John Crawford	39	13 Sep 1920		21 Sep 2010	90	1		1
Hawkins	Donald Pleasence	40	5 Oct 1919		2 Feb 1995	75	1		1
Inspector Martineau	Stanley Baker	32	28 Feb 1928		28 Jun 1976	48	5		5
Jakes	Joby Blanshard	40	7 Nov 1919		26 Nov 1992	73	2		2
Julie Martineau	Maxine Audley	37	29 Apr 1923		23 Jul 1992	69	2		2
Lovett	Charles Morgan	50	21 Jul 1909		May 1994	84	2		2
Lucky Lusk	Vanda Godsell	37	17 Nov 1922		2 Apr 1990	67	3		3
Roach	Charles Houston	29	1931		2006	75	5		5
Sam	Alister Williamson	41	17 Jun 1918		19 May 1999	80	3	1	4
Savage	George A. Cooper	35	7 Mar 1925		16 Nov 2018	93	3		3
Silver Steele	Sarah Branch	22	7 Jan 1938		10 Nov 2007	69	2		2
Steele	Joseph Tomelty	50	5 Mar 1910		7 Jun 1995	85	1		1
Superintendent	Russell Napier	49	28 Nov 1910		19 Aug 1964	53	5	1	6
Uncredited
Barman	Reg Thomason	41	29 Nov 1918		30 Aug 2003	84		5	5
Chloe's Boyfriend	Anthony Hartwell							1	1
Detective in Station	Richard Coleman	30	20 Jan 1930		16 Dec 2008	78		1	1
Fingerprint Officer	John Harvey	48	27 Sep 1911		19 Jul 1982	70	12	1	13
Headquarters PC	Philip Bond	25	1 Nov 1934		17 Jan 2017	82		1	1
Man in Interrogation	Richard Neller	65	1 Oct 1894		14 Jul 1970	75		8	8
Older Hospital Sister	Doris Speed	61	3 Feb 1899		16 Nov 1994	95		1	1
Police Driver	John Comer	36	1 Mar 1924		11 Feb 1984	59		1	1
Policeman	John Tatham	48	29 Jul 1911		Dec 1996	85	1	8	9
With	Marianne Stone	37	23 Aug 1922		21 Dec 2009	87	9	2	11

Production


FILMING BEGAN	21 September 1959
UK RELEASE	1 May 1960
STUDIO	Associated British Elstree Studios, Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England
LOCATION	The Star and Garter, Fairfield Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, England	Lacy Arms interior
	Refuge Assurance Building, Oxford Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, England	Roof top chase
	The Fatted Calf, Cromford Court, Manchester, Greater Manchester, England	Lacy Arms exterior

Footnotes

This gritty police drama caused a bit of a stir back in 1959, thanks to a very brief nude scene featuring Billie Whitelaw.

The film enjoys a sufficiently high reputation to have merited a re-release in the cinema in 1998.

Welshman Sir Stanley Baker was a much respected actor, whose films include Olivier’s “Richard III” (1955), “Hell Drivers” (1957) and “The Guns of Navarone” (1961); he also appeared in two other Hammer productions – “Whispering Smith Hits London” (1952) and “Yesterday’s Enemy” (1959).
However, his greatest moment in the cinema probably came in 1963, when he starred in and co-produced the epic film “Zulu”. He died in 1976.

ITV’s Coronation Street’s Annie Walker (Doris Speed) makes an uncredited appearance here.

Details were complied viewing the actual film.
Source of viewing copy – The Hammer Graveyard Collection