Watch Tomorrow at Ten For Free

hyped garbage

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Producer: Tom Blakeley. A Blakeley's Films Production. A Mancunian Film Corporation Production, released in the U.S.A. by Governor Films: May 1964. No New York opening. U.K. release through Planet: 23 June 1963. Never theatrically released in Australia. 7,210 feet. 80 minutes. (Available on an excellent Odeon DVD).SYNOPSIS: A kidnap plot goes terribly awry.NOTES: John Gregson was sitting on top of the world in 1953, thanks to "Genevieve: which catapulted him, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall to international stardom. Oddly none of the trio's sudden movie success lasted much beyond the 1950s. Kay Kendall died in 1959, and film producers forsook both Gregson and More, when it seemed the picture- going public had tired of them. More's last big success was in "The Greengage Summer" (1961). Though he did make a few sporadic big screen appearances throughout the 1960s, and 1970s, he concentrated on the stage and TV. His last film role was as King Arthur in "Unidentified Flying Oddball" (1979).Gregson's 60s career was equally as sparse, although, like More, he did score one big critical success, "Live Now Pay Later" (1962). Unlike More's "Greengage Summer", however, Gregson's critical triumph proved so unpopular with the public, the movie's Australian distributor didn't even bother to release it! Gregson was reduced to accepting the lead in "Tomorrow at Ten". Good film, good director, but quite a comedown from the dizzy heights of "Genevieve". Gregson's Australian fans were denied the pleasure of seeing their idol in "Tomorrow at Ten" too, until it turned up on TV. There were to be no more top starring roles for Gregson on the big screen. A couple of cameo parts in "The Longest Day" (1962) and "The Night of the Generals" (1966) and a minor role as a doctor in "Fright" (1971) completed his cinema career.Interestingly, all three of the "Genevieve" trio commenced their progress towards stardom well before that fantastic success. More started acting in movies way back in 1935, when he debuted in "Look Up and Laugh", and appeared in eighteen more films before "Genevieve". Gregson made his debut in "Saraband for Dead Lovers" in 1948, and landed eleven more roles before his vintage car brought him fame and fortune. And Kay Kendall, would you believe, made her initial screen appearance in 1944 in "Fiddlers Three". Fourteen films followed until she suddenly became the "discovery sensation" of 1953.COMMENT: Atmospherically directed low-budget effort, with a cast and production values way beyond most of its quota quickie competitors. The screenplay is literate and concise, sometimes even rather witty, whilst the characters are interestingly defined and the plot riddled with suspenseful elements which the director puts across with maximum impact. Basil Emmott's effective camera-work also rates as a major factor in the film's success.OTHER VIEWS: John Gregson. Born at Liverpool in 1919. Married to Thea Gregory. Entered films in 1948. Pictures include Scott of the Antarctic, Saraband for Dead Lovers, Whiskey Galore, Train of Events, Treasure Island, Lavender Hill Mob, etc. 1951: Angels One Five. 1952: The Holly and the Ivy, The Brave Don't Cry, etc. Since 1953 he has appeared in The Venetian Bird, The Titfield Thunderbolt, Genevieve, To Dorothy a Son, Above Us the Waves, Value for Money, Battle of the River Plate, Jacqueline. 1956-57: True as a Turtle. 1959-60: The Captain's Table, Sea of Sand, S.O.S. Pacific, Faces in the Dark. 1960-61: Hand in Hand, Treasure of Monte Cristo, Frightened City. - Studio publicity.

Just an errata and clarification for some of the above:This little gem of a film is now under the ownership of Renown Films and is shown periodically on Talking Pictures TV (TPTV). The film was produced in 1962 as is confirmed by the titles (MCMLXII). It was released in 1963,but not well received, despite the presence of John Gregson who was a well known TV and film actor who often played the role of a police detective. However it was re-released in 1965, after Robert Shaw had appeared as the assassin Donald Grant in the second James Bond film From Russia with Love (1963). William Hartnel, who would subsequently play the first Dr. Who (1963 - 1966) also appears in a cameo as Freddie Maddox (frequently misspelled as Freddy), the father of George Marlowe (Maddox) and, with his wife Masie (Dorothy) Maddox are proprietors of The Golliwog Club.Marlowe is not whistling the theme to Z-cars as he constructs the 'golliwog bomb', but rather is whistling the old English nursery rhyme 'Pop Goes The Weasel' and even sings a couple of lines. He is whistling an unintelligible song as he enters Abots Mead and walks up the stairs - as he approaches the second floor landing whistling can be heard in the background but it is evident from the shot that he is not whistling. The last segment as walks across the landing to the nursery does,however, resemble the theme tune of Z-cars.The house from which Jonathan Chester is taken by the kidnapper is cited as being 14 Winnington Road, Hampstead, London N2. Whilst it is built in the neo-Georgian style of many of the larger houses towards the Highgate end of Winnington Road, it is certainly not the house which now stands there. It was in keeping with the area which wealthy financiers such as Anthony Chester (Alec Clunes) lived in the 50s and 60s.The house at which Jonathan Chester (Piers Bishop) was kept hostage is portrayed as 'Abbots Mead' in Wimbledon, described by the estate agent, Mr. Tamplin (Frank Hawkins) as a detached house on three floors. Whilst the Wolseley police car is certainly seen driving at speed down the A3 expressway (now the Kingston Bypass) the actual location has not been verified.

In the glorious days of the 'support' features that accompanied the main film at the local cinema,a minor gem would occasionally appear throughout the morass of routine,mediocre dramas and thrillers."Tomorrow at Ten" is one of those diamonds that came out of the rough, overcoming it's low budget and modest production values with taut direction by Lance Comfort,a decent script,an interesting,well detailed plot and a fine cast.The cool and ruthless Marlow (Robert Shaw) kidnaps the young son of a well to do widower (Alec Clunes) and leaves the boy at an isolated house with a golliwog that happens to have a time bomb inserted,and is programmed to blow up at 10am the following morning.It is left to a Police Detective (John Gregson) to see if he can break Marlow and find the boy in time.The budget and production values are inevitably modest, and the addition of a golliwog into the storyline is decidedly non-PC in this day and age,but this is easily overcome by stylish handling and plotting,with a script that quite successfully reaches unexpected depths of exposition and character,with clashes between those coppers on the ground like Gregson and those like Alan Wheatley who are seemingly more interested in social climbing.Gregson's overall performance as the by-the-book Detective is actually quite muted,and the best performance comes from Robert Shaw as the villainous kidnapper Marlowe.The film was originally made in 1962,just a year before Shaw's star making turn as Donald 'Red' Grant in the James Bond film "From Russia With Love",where he played an even more ruthless villain.Shaw was never a conventional actor,whether playing the support or lead,and he manages to add shadings and nuances to a highly disreputable character here,even making him pitiable.There's solid support from such reliable actors as Wheatley,Clunes,Kenneth Cope and Ernest Clark,with decent cameos from William Hartnell and Renee Houston as Shaw's parents,set in a gloriously seedy and anachronistic nightclub,exactly the sort you would expect to see in British second features from this era."Tomorrow at Ten" now has something of a cultish reputation thanks to it's quirky,inventive style and a story that grips to the very end;such staples of the local cinema programme have sadly long since gone, but as this film proves,every now and then,they could provide as much if not more entertainment than the main feature.

A chap called Marlowe (Robert Shaw, Jaws fans) kidnaps a child of Hampstead parents by posing as the school-run chauffeur. After depositing the child in a deserted mansion, that resembles the one in Fallen Idol, he calmly turns up at the parent's house demanding 50 big ones. He's planning on catching the afternoon TWA to Rio see from where he'll book a long distance call to tell dad where his kid is hid. Now here's the clever bit. If he doesn't get his dough an explosive device hidden in a Golliwog will detonate tomorrow at ten – and he's given the Golliwog to the child for safekeeping.I bought this DVD from Best of British series issued by Odeon. It's the sort of thing which used to pad out afternoon schedules in the distant days of 3 channel Britain. It's directed by Lance Comfort, who made films for RKO in the 40s and even directed James Mason once upon a time. Comfort, however, never really made a big film and subsequently became lost in the culturally reviled wasteland of second features – many for Butchers Film Service. In recent years there's been an attempt to re-evaluate Comfort's work. There's even been a monograph by Brian McFarlane and one of his films was compared to Resnais on this very website no less (Pit of Darkness).This one is not quite typical of the second feature era. For a start it's a little bit later (1964) than that. Also there are a few moments that actually remove the film from the largely sealed world of the British B movie. There's even a cute reference to Z cars as Shaw whistles the theme tune while preparing the Golliwog bomb. Incidentally, I feel that an absence of any sort of popular culture from British B's of the 1957-63 era (new towns, West Indians, jeans, the teenage industry, etc) makes them strangely representative of their era. The fashion today for film makers to drench film soundtracks with the pop music of the film's era is not only a lazy way of establishing period flavour but to me rings false. Pop music may be all pervasive now for the ipod generation, if only superficially, but how many middle aged middle class people in the 50s/ 60s had any interest in pop culture beyond a vague awareness of Elvis and the Beatles maybe?No matter, this film features John Gregson in the lead, as Inspector Parnell investigating the kidnapping, and two stars of the future in the aforementioned Shaw and Kenneth Cope (Cope pops up at the – Er – Golliwog Club – the way the girls are dancing here has to be seen to be believed – and interrogates Renee Houston – who later pops up as his battleaxe mum in Carry On At Your Convenience, trivia fans). Ironically it's Gregson as the established star who is a bit miscast here. He's called to play a maverick cop who goes against his superior, Bewley (Alan Wheatley). Unfortunately, Gregson is far too meek and mild of voice and manner to carry any conviction. The film is very much of its decade though when it pits working class cop Parnell against patrician, hunt ball brown noser Bewley, who simply wants to let Marlowe skip to Brazil with his loot. Unfortunately what could have been a rip roaring barney between the two – one man embodying the 1950s and the other the 1960s – has all potential drama rung out of it by the laborious manner in which Parnell explains that perhaps this wouldn't be such a great idea ("What the hell are you talking about?")Better is the psychological stand off between Parnell and Marlowe as the Inspector tries to break Marlowe down with a seemingly innocuous line of questioning. We see a little glimpse of what a great character actor Shaw was to become; the authenticity of his behaviour and accent lifting the film momentarily out of the fusty B world into something more contemporary.