Hell Is a City

Hell Is a City

Directed by	Val Guest
Produced by	Michael Carreras
Screenplay by	Val Guest
Based on	Hell Is a City by Maurice Procter
Starring	Stanley Baker John Crawford
Music by	Stanley Black
Cinematography	Arthur Grant
Edited by	John Dunsford James Needs
Distributed by	Warner-Pathé Distributors
Release dates	10 April 1960
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£115,000

Hell Is a City is a 1960 film based on the novel by Maurice Procter.^[1] It was made by British studio Hammer Film Productions filmed in Manchester it was also written and directed by Val Guest.^[2] It was partly inspired by the British New Wave films.^[3]

Plot summary

Committed but seen-it-all police inspector Martineau rightly guesses that after a violent jailbreak a local criminal will head home to Manchester to pick up the spoils from his last job. Martineau is soon investigating a murder during a street robbery which seems to lead back to the same villain. Concentrating on the case and using his local contacts to try to track the gang down, he is aware he is not keeping his own personal life together as well as he might.

Cast

Stanley Baker as Inspector Harry Martineau
John Crawford as Don Starling
Donald Pleasence as Gus Hawkins
Maxine Audley as Julia Martineau
Billie Whitelaw as Chloe Hawkins
Joseph Tomelty as Furnisher Steele
George A. Cooper as Doug Savage
Geoffrey Frederick as Detective Devery
Vanda Godsell as Lucky Luske
Charles Houston as Clogger Roach
Joby Blanshard as Tawny Jakes
Charles Morgan as Laurie Lovett
Peter Madden as Bert Darwin
Dickie Owen as Bragg
Lois Daine as Cecily Wainwright
Warren Mitchell as Commercial Traveller
Sarah Branch as Silver Steele
Alister Williamson as Sam
Russell Napier as Superintendent
Philip Bond as Headquarters PC (uncredited)
John Comer as Plainclothes Police Driver (uncredited)
John Harvey as Fingerprint Officer (uncredited)
Doris Speed as Older Nursing Sister in Hospital (uncredited)

References

↑ "Hell Is a City (1960) - Screenplay Info". TCM.com. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
↑ "Hell Is a City | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
↑ Historical Dictionary of British Cinema - Alan Burton, Steve Chibnall - Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-13.

External links

Hell Is a City at the TCM Movie Database
Hell Is a City at the Internet Movie Database
Hell Is a City at AllMovie
Hell Is a City at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
Hell Is a City at BritMovie
Levenshulm: Hell is a City File - website on the town with a page dedicated to the film and book on which it is based

Hammer Film Productions films

by series

Dracula films	Dracula (1958) The Brides of Dracula (1960) Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) Scars of Dracula (1970) Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)

Frankenstein films	The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)

Mummy films	The Mummy (1959) The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) The Mummy's Shroud (1967) Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971)

The Karnstein Trilogy	The Vampire Lovers (1970) Lust for a Vampire (1971) Twins of Evil (1971)

Dick Barton films	Dick Barton: Special Agent (1948) Dick Barton Strikes Back (1949) Dick Barton at Bay (1950)

Quatermass films	The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) Quatermass 2 (1957) Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

Robin Hood films	The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954) Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967)

On the Buses films	On the Buses (1971) Mutiny on the Buses (1972) Holiday on the Buses (1973)

The Woman in Black films	The Woman in Black (2012) The Woman in Black: Angel of Death (2014)

See also	Hammer filmography

by genre

Gothic horror films	The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) The Shadow of the Cat (1961) The Phantom of the Opera (1962) The Kiss of the Vampire (1963) The Gorgon (1964) Rasputin the Mad Monk (1966) The Plague of the Zombies (1966) The Reptile (1966) The Witches (1966) The Devil Rides Out (1968) Hands of the Ripper (1971) Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) Countess Dracula (1971) Vampire Circus (1972) Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter (1974) To the Devil a Daughter (1976)

Horror films	The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (1935) Demons of the Mind (1972) Beyond the Rave (2008) Let Me In (2010) Wake Wood (2011) The Quiet Ones (2014)

Thriller films	Man in Black (1949) The Black Widow (1951) The Snorkel (1958) Hell Is a City (1960) The Full Treatment (1960) Taste of Fear (1961) Cash on Demand (1961) The Maniac (1963) Paranoiac (1963) Nightmare (1964) Fanatic (1965) Hysteria (1965) The Nanny (1965) Crescendo (1970) Straight On till Morning (1972) Fear in the Night (1972)

Science fiction films	Four Sided Triangle (1953) Spaceways (1953) X the Unknown (1956) The Abominable Snowman (1957) The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) The Damned (1963) The Lost Continent (1968) Moon Zero Two (1969)

Mystery films	Death in High Heels (1947) Dr. Morelle: The Case of the Missing Heiress (1949) The Rossiter Case (1951) Whispering Smith Hits London (1952) Lady in the Fog (1952) Mantrap (1953) The Saint's Return (1953) Blood Orange (1953) The Glass Cage (1955) The Lady Vanishes (1979)

Crime drama films	Cloudburst (1951) The Last Page (1952) Wings of Danger (1952) Stolen Face (1952) The Gambler and the Lady (1953) The Flanagan Boy (1953) 36 Hours (1953) Face the Music (1954) The House Across the Lake (1954) Murder by Proxy (1954) Five Days (1954) A Stranger Came Home (1954) Third Party Risk (1954) Women Without Men (1956)

Drama films	Song of Freedom (1936) Never Look Back (1952) Mask of Dust (1954) Break in the Circle (1955) Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960) Captain Clegg (1962) Man at the Top (1973) The Resident (2011)

Action films	Ten Seconds to Hell (1959) The Stranglers of Bombay (1959) The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964) Shatter (1974)

Adventure films	The Jack of Diamonds (1949) Passport to China (1961) The Terror of the Tongs (1961) The Pirates of Blood River (1962) The Scarlet Blade (1963) The Brigand of Kandahar (1965) She (1965) One Million Years B.C. (1966) Prehistoric Women (1967) The Viking Queen (1967) The Vengeance of She (1968) When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) Creatures the World Forgot (1971)

Comedy films	The Public Life of Henry the Ninth (1935) Sporting Love (1936) The Lady Craved Excitement (1950) Someone at the Door (1950) What the Butler Saw (1950) Life with the Lyons (1954) The Lyons in Paris (1955) Up the Creek (1958) I Only Arsked! (1958) Further Up the Creek (1958) Don't Panic Chaps! (1959) The Ugly Duckling (1959) Watch it, Sailor! (1961) A Weekend with Lulu (1961) The Old Dark House (1963) The Anniversary (1968) That's Your Funeral (1972) Love Thy Neighbour (1973)

War films	The Steel Bayonet (1957) The Camp on Blood Island (1958) Yesterday's Enemy (1959) The Secret of Blood Island (1964)

See also	Hammer filmography

Films directed by Val Guest

Miss London Ltd. (1943)
Bees in Paradise (1944)
Give Us the Moon (1944)
I'll Be Your Sweetheart (1945)
Just William's Luck (1947)
William Comes to Town (1948)
Murder at the Windmill (1949)
Miss Pilgrim's Progress (1949)
Mister Drake's Duck (1951)
Penny Princess (1952)
The Runaway Bus (1954)
Life with the Lyons (1954)
Dance, Little Lady (1954)
The Body Said No! (1954)
The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954)
The Lyons in Paris (1955)
Break in the Circle (1955)
The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
They Can't Hang Me (1955)
It's a Wonderful World (1956)
Carry on Admiral (1957)
The Weapon (1957)
Quatermass 2 (1957)
The Abominable Snowman (1957)
The Camp on Blood Island (1958)
Up the Creek (1958)
Further Up the Creek (1958)
Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
Expresso Bongo (1959)
Life Is a Circus (1960)
Hell Is a City (1960)
The Full Treatment (1960)
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)
Jigsaw (1962)
80,000 Suspects (1963)
The Beauty Jungle (1964)
Where the Spies Are (1965)
Casino Royale (1967)
Assignment K (1968)
Toomorrow (1970)
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)
Au Pair Girls (1972)
Confessions of a Window Cleaner (1974)
Killer Force (1976)
The Boys in Blue (1982)