Review for Dancing with Crime

‘Dancing With Crime’ is a fascinating addition to the British film noir canon. Full of post-war blues, it’s a weird mix of cheery Britishness and hard-boiled crime. It’s also notable for featuring Richard Attenborough in one of his earliest lead performances. Made just a year before ‘Brighton Rock’ it’s a fascinating look at the early Attenborough.

After WWII draws to a close, ex-soldiers are demobbed to make a faltering start back into civilian life. Ted Peters (Attenborough) and Dave Robinson (Bill Owen – unrecognisable here as ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ star Compo) were both pals in the army but back home, their lives have taken very different turns.


Ted is an honest, jobbing Taxi driver desperately trying to earn enough to wed his girl, dancer Joy Goodall (Sheila Sim) whereas Dave has taken to a more profitable, but substantially less legal line in the black market. In other words, Ted’s a straight up guy whilst his old pal is a spiv.

So when Dave gets shot in the back outside a nightclub and crawls into Ted’s taxi, Ted finds himself drawn kicking and screaming into a dark world. After all, it’s not every day your friend dies in your cab. Being a straight-up chap, Ted immediately informs the police – and becomes suspect number one.


As the plot thickens, with Ted out to prove his innocence and help the police dig deeper to find out who is behind all the shenanigans, there’s plenty of time for his dancing girlfriend to also become embroiled in the unpleasantness.

What’s worse is that local mob boss Gregory believes thinks Ted knows who killed Dave and therefore must be silenced.


Cue punch-ups, chases and plenty of forties glamour (with Diana Dors looking steamy in an early role as a dancer). If you don’t blink you might even see a young Dirk Bogarde as an earnest policeman, an early uncredited role.


It all moves at an enjoyable pace and there’s truly never a dull moment, even if some of the acting is a bit stilted by today’s standards. Barry K. Barnes turns in a convincing bad guy as Paul Baker, a suave night club manager and Barry Jones also turns in a convincing as Mr Gregory, the gangster’s leading man.


The image quality is excellent for a slight film of this vintage. It’s had a 2K restoration courtesy of Cohen media and the BFI, and it really looks top notch. There are no extras features.


Collectors of British period films will lap it up but there’s no reason why, for everyone else, that this shouldn’t provide you with a diverting way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.