Escapade (1955 film)

Escapade
Original British quad poster
Directed by	Philip Leacock
Screenplay by	Donald Ogden Stewart
Based on	Escapade by Roger MacDougall
Produced by	Daniel M. Angel Hannah Weinstein
Starring	John Mills Yvonne Mitchell Alastair Sim
Cinematography	Eric Cross
Edited by	John Trumper
Music by	Bruce Montgomery
Production company	Pinnacle Productions
Distributed by	Eros Films Distributors Corporation of America (US)
Release date	4 August 1955 (1955-08-04)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Escapade is a 1955 British comedy drama film directed by Philip Leacock and starring John Mills, Yvonne Mitchell and Alastair Sim.^[1] It was based on a long-running West End play of the same name by Roger MacDougall.^[2]

The film was produced at the Nettlefold Studios in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey.^[3] The film's sets were designed by the art director Bernard Robinson. The location shots of the school were filmed at Epsom College.

Plot summary

A husband and father becomes so preoccupied with a political cause that he neglects his familial responsibilities, leading to his children running away from home.

Cast

• John Mills as John Hampden
• Yvonne Mitchell as Mrs. Stella Hampden
• Alastair Sim as Dr. Skillingworth
• Jeremy Spenser as L. W. Daventry
• Andrew Ray as Max Hampden
• Marie Lohr as Stella Hampden, Senior
• Colin Gordon as Deeson, Reporter
• Nick Edmett as Paton
• Peter Asher as Johnny Hampden
• Christopher Ridley as Potter
• Sean Barrett as Warren
• Colin Freear as Richard 'Young Skilly' Skillingworth
• Kit Terrington as Smith
• Mark Dignam as Sykes
• James Drake as Kirkland
• Sonia Williams as Miss Betts
• John Rae as Curly

Critical reception

In The New York Times, Bosley Crowther panned the film, writing, "It is a curiously notional and impractical expostulation against war, obviously well-intended but as humorless as a labored gag".^[4] Leonard Maltin, on the other hand, gave it three out of four stars, calling it an "Ambitious, insightful, solidly acted drama about the cynicism and hypocrisy of adults and the idealism of youth."^[5] TV Guide gave the film two out of four stars, calling it, "...an okay comedy with a message, but the play was better."^[6]

References

1. "Escapade (1955)". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
2. Goble, Alan (1 January 1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110951943 – via Google Books.
3. "Nettlefold Studios (Walton-on-Thames)". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
4. "Movie Reviews". The New York Times. 4 November 2021.
5. "Escapade (1955) - Overview - TCM.com".
6. "Escapade".

Bibliography

• Shaw, Tony. British Cinema and the Cold War: The State, Propaganda and Consensus. I.B. Tauris & Co, 2001.

External links

• Escapade at IMDb
• Escapade at the TCM Movie Database