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Assassin for Hire
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Wikipedia article
'Assassin for Hire' is a 1951 British crime film directed by Michael McCarthy and starring Sydney Tafler, Ronald Howard and Katharine Blake.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090126185936/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/10034 BFI.org] Its plot follows a contract killer who becomes stricken with remorse when he is led to believe he has murdered his brother.
It was the first feature film made by Anglo-Amalgamated. It was made at Merton Park Studios from a screenplay by Rex Rienits. It was intended as a supporting feature, although it may have been shown as a headline feature in some cinemas.
Plot
Antonio Riccardi, a young British criminal of Italian heritage, works as a professional contract killer in order to pay for his gifted younger brother's violin lessons so that he can escape from a life of poverty and crime. A series of mistakes lead him to wrongly believe he has killed his brother, and he confesses his crimes to the police.Chibnall & McFarlane p.98
Cast
* Sydney Tafler Antonio Riccardi
* Ronald Howard Detective Inspector Carson
* Katharine Blake Maria Riccardi
* John Hewer Giuseppe Riccardi
* June Rodney Helen Garrett
* Gerald Case Detective Sergeant Stott
* Reginald Dyson Josef Meyerling
* Sam Kydd Bert
* Ian Wallace Charlie
* Martin Benson Catesby
* Ewen Solon Fred
Production
Rex Rienits originally wrote the story as a radio play, which aired in Australia in 1944 in a production starring Keith Eden. Another version was produced in 1952.
Rienits moved to London in April 1949 and in May 1950 reported he had sold the script to television. (It was one of two television scripts he sold, the other being 'The Million Pound Note' which would be filmed in 1954.)
The television film 'Assassin for Hire' was screened by the BBC in September 1950 with Sidney Talfer in the lead.Chibnall & McFarlane p.97-98
In November 1950 Rienits reported that film rights to his story had been purchased by Anglo Amalgamated. Filming started at Merton Studios on 13 November 1950 with Talfer repeating his television performance.
Rienits later turned the story into a novel. It was published along with the Rienits short story 'Wide Boy' which was later filmed with Sidney Telfer in 1952. The 'Herald' called the novel 'Assassin for Hire' "a tightly written, quite exciting report on a professional killer." The 'Avertiser' called it "An exciting, if not a very convincing, novel.
There was also talk the story would be turned into a play.
References
Bibliography
* Chibnall, Steve & McFarlane, Brian. 'The British 'B' Film'. Palgrave MacMillan, 2009.
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