Salute the Toff
- January 1952 (1952-01)
Salute the Toff is a 1952 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley and Carol Marsh. The film was based on the 1941 novel of the same name by John Creasey, the sixth in the series featuring upper-class sleuth Richard Rollinson, also known as "The Toff". This film and another Toff adaptation, Hammer the Toff, were shot back-to-back at Nettlefold Studios in the summer of 1951. They were released to cinemas in January and May 1952 respectively.
Neither film was thought to have survived and both were classed as "missing, believed lost", although there was a degree of hope that they might be lurking as yet uncatalogued in British TV archives. Both films are included on the British Film Institute's "75 Most Wanted" list of missing British feature films. This changed in 2013 when Salute The Toff was finally released on DVD from Renown Pictures Limited.[1]
Plot
The Honourable Richard Rollinson (Bentley) is a well-known private detective who has friends and contacts in all echelons of society from the wealthy West End set to the lowest East End hovels. He likes to take on cases on behalf of underdogs, and is feared by the criminal underworld for his fearsome reputation of always getting his man.
Young secretary Fay Gretton (Marsh) comes to Rollinson, worried that her employer has not shown up for work for several days and cannot be contacted. Rollinson breaks into the man's flat and finds a body – not that of Fay's missing boss, but the son of a millionaire businessman. The missing man is the prime suspect, and it is up to Rollinson to get to the bottom of the case, aided by his East End contacts. After a series of dramatic events, including Fay being abducted and tied up, the truth is finally revealed, the missing man is found, and Rollinson proves that he is innocent of any wrongdoing.
Cast
- John Bentley as Richard Rollinson
- Carol Marsh as Fay Gretton
- Valentine Dyall as Inspector Grice
- Shelagh Fraser as Myra Lorne
- June Elvin as Lady Anthea
- Arthur Hill as Ted Harrison
- Michael Golden as Benny Kless
- Roddy Hughes as Jolly
- Wally Patch as Bert Ebbutt
- Vi Stevens as Emily Ebbutt
- Tony Britton as Draycott
- John Forbes-Robertson as Gerald Harvey
- Peter Bull as Lorne
- Peter Gawthorne as Mortimer Harvey
- Pauline Johnson as Phyllis Harvey
- Peter Dyneley as Lady Anthea's Husband
- Peter Swanwick as Night Porter
- Andreas Malandrinos as Frederico
Reception
Salute the Toff appears to have received a favourable reception from reviewers. Kine Weekly described it as "a sturdy, comprehensive yarn", while the Daily Film Renter called it "a deep and varied plot of robbery and murder, calculated to keep audience attention alert, a popular winner in the mystery and murder category". Today's Cinema enjoyed the film, but pointed out that sophisticated fare was not on the menu by classing it as a "bustling crime and detection action of the brand beloved by the masses".[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Salute the Toff / BFI Most Wanted". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
External links
- BFI 75 Most Wanted entry, with extensive notes
- Salute the Toff at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
- The Third Eye (1929)
- The Mayor's Nest (1932)
- The Crime at Blossoms (1933)
- Summer Lightning (1933)
- Up for the Derby (1933)
- Trouble (1933)
- It's a Cop (1934)
- Virginia's Husband (1934)
- The Scoop (1934)
- The Feathered Serpent (1934)
- A Little Bit of Bluff (1935)
- The Right Age to Marry (1935)
- Old Faithful (1935)
- Marry the Girl (1935)
- A Wife or Two (1936)
- The Shadow of Mike Emerald (1936)
- A Touch of the Moon (1936)
- Not So Dusty (1936)
- To Catch a Thief (1936)
- The Heirloom Mystery (1936)
- The Happy Family (1936)
- Nothing Like Publicity (1936)
- Busman's Holiday (1936)
- Farewell to Cinderella (1937)
- Strange Adventures of Mr. Smith (1937)
- Fifty-Shilling Boxer (1937)
- All That Glitters (1937)
- Father Steps Out (1937)
- Why Pick on Me? (1937)
- Racing Romance (1937)
- Easy Riches (1938)
- If I Were Boss (1938)
- His Lordship Regrets (1938)
- Darts Are Trumps (1938)
- Weddings Are Wonderful (1938)
- Paid in Error (1938)
- Miracles Do Happen (1939)
- His Lordship Goes to Press (1939)
- Garrison Follies (1940)
- Old Mother Riley Joins Up (1940)
- Shadowed Eyes (1940)
- Facing the Music (1941)
- Front Line Kids (1942)
- Gert and Daisy's Weekend (1942)
- Gert and Daisy Clean Up (1942)
- Variety Jubilee (1943)
- I'll Walk Beside You (1943)
- Somewhere in Civvies (1943)
- Give Me the Stars (1945)
- Don Chicago (1945)
- The Trojan Brothers (1946)
- Woman to Woman (1947)
- Calling Paul Temple (1948)
- The Story of Shirley Yorke (1948)
- Dark Secret (1949)
- Paul Temple's Triumph (1950)
- Something in the City (1950)
- Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure (1951)
- Madame Louise (1951)
- Paul Temple Returns (1952)
- Salute the Toff (1952)
- Hammer the Toff (1952)
- Down Among the Z Men (1952)
- Alf's Baby (1953)
- Force's Sweetheart (1953)
- Behind the Headlines (1953)
- Flannelfoot (1953)
- Johnny on the Spot (1954)
- Calling All Cars (1954)
- Assignment Redhead (1956)
- Not So Dusty (1956)
- You Pay Your Money (1957)
- Not Wanted on Voyage (1957)
- Mark of the Phoenix (1958)
- A Clean Sweep (1958)
- Just Joe (1960)