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You Can't Escape
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<h2 id="plot">Plot</h2> <p>Rising novelist, Peter Darwin, has a row with former mistress Claire, and accidentally kills her. He somehow manages to persuades his reluctant fiancé Kay to help him bury Claire's body in a wood. But when the body is found, and a blackmailing journalist appears on the scene, Darwin resorts to desperate measures to cover his tracks, including framing an innocent person. </p> <h2 id="cast">Cast</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Noelle_Middleton/otsR99kI">Noelle Middleton</a> as Kay March</li> <li><a href="/facts/Guy_Rolfe/n57wwCRI">Guy Rolfe</a> as David Anstruther</li> <li><a href="/facts/Robert_Urquhart_(actor)/YeAguwxK">Robert Urquhart</a> as Peter Darwin</li> <li><a href="/facts/Peter_Reynolds_(actor)/9FCMT0kT">Peter Reynolds</a> as Rodney Nixon</li> <li>Elizabeth Kentish as Claire Segar</li> <li>Barbara Cavan as Aunt Sue</li> <li><a href="/facts/Martin_Boddey/LAsyItoG">Martin Boddey</a> as Inspector Crane</li> <li><a href="/facts/Thorley_Walters/9f6wC8jw">Thorley Walters</a> as Chadwick</li> <li><a href="/facts/Jacqueline_Mackenzie/UEaRXukL">Jacqueline Mackenzie</a> as Mrs. Baggerley</li> <li><a href="/facts/Thorley_Walters/9f6wC8jw">Thorley Walters</a> as Chadwick</li> <li><a href="/facts/Wensley_Pithey/cz8PxpIA">Wensley Pithey</a> as Constable Wagstaff</li> <li>Edward Forsyth as Colonel Tripp</li> <li>Barbara Leake as Mrs. Trussler</li> <li><a href="/facts/Sam_Kydd/HYcscIAd">Sam Kydd</a> as poacher (Ted)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Hal_Osmond/7k9rBxIp">Hal Osmond</a> as poacher's friend</li> <li>Victor Platt as darts player</li> <li>Arthur Gross as bystander</li> <li><a href="/facts/Noel_Coleman/y13cqg1e">Noel Coleman</a> as official</li> <li><a href="/facts/Robert_Cawdron/FhNqTBjm">Robert Cawdron</a> as pugilist</li> <li><a href="/facts/Maureen_Connell/hKAMp8u9">Maureen Connell</a> as 1st peasant blouse</li> <li><a href="/facts/Sally_Bazely/wcIaApc3">Sally Bazely</a> as 2nd peasant blouse</li> <li>Alec Finter as foreman of the jury</li></ul> <h2 id="release">Release</h2> <p>It was released as an 'A' certificate.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> Though filmed in 1.33:1, it was also framed in 1.66:1 for any theatre that had the equipment to exhibit widescreen films. </p> <h2 id="critical-reception">Critical reception</h2> <p><i><a href="/facts/The_Monthly_Film_Bulletin/F0gkpGVn">The Monthly Film Bulletin</a></i> wrote: "A stereotyped murder melodrama, which ambles unexcitingly towards a conclusion that the spectator has anticipated long before the film reaches that far. Playing and direction are somewhat lifeless."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p><i><a href="/facts/TV_Guide/T29FpwBp">TV Guide</a></i> concluded there was "Nothing much to get excited about."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>In <i>British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959</i> <a href="/facts/David_Quinlan_(film_critic)/3TeVdbCk">David Quinlan</a> rated the film as "poor", writing: "Very lacklustre thriller."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p><i>My Reviewer</i> found the film "full of action from the off and whilst it all feels a little dated now, it has a certain old school charm – like the very best of <a href="/facts/ITC_Entertainment/fI9r34zq">ITC</a> shows from back in the day."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p><i>Blueprint Review</i> wrote, "Despite its rather stagey tone <i>You Can’t Escape</i> remains a fun example of British <a href="/facts/B-movies/ySH381UL">B-movies</a> from that era."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0221722/"><i>You Can't Escape</i></a> at <a href="/facts/IMDb_(identifier)/uWrqVYVy">IMDb</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 165. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6. <a href="978-1-8445-7319-6" target="_blank">978-1-8445-7319-6</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"You Can't Escape". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 2 July 2024. <a href="https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150057096" target="_blank">https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150057096</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"You Can't Escape (1956)". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090114171326/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/58852" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090114171326/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/58852</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Vagg, Stephen (11 November 2024). "Peter Reynolds: Forgotten Cad". Filmink. Retrieved 11 November 2024. <a href="https://www.filmink.com.au/peter-reynolds-forgotten-cad/" target="_blank">https://www.filmink.com.au/peter-reynolds-forgotten-cad/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"You Can't Escape". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 15 March 2025. <a href="https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/you-cant-escape-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynzu2otg" target="_blank">https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/you-cant-escape-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynzu2otg</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"You Can't Escape". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 23 (264): 35. 1 January 1956. ProQuest 1305819563. <a href="/wiki/The_Monthly_Film_Bulletin" target="_blank">/wiki/The_Monthly_Film_Bulletin</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"You Can't Escape". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. <a href="https://www.tvguide.com/movies/you-cant-escape/review/110072/" target="_blank">https://www.tvguide.com/movies/you-cant-escape/review/110072/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 403. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5. <a href="0-7134-1874-5" target="_blank">0-7134-1874-5</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"myReviewer.com - Review for You Can't Escape". <a href="https://www.myreviewer.com/DVD/166580/You-Cant-Escape/166635/Review-by-Stuart-McLean" target="_blank">https://www.myreviewer.com/DVD/166580/You-Cant-Escape/166635/Review-by-Stuart-McLean</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Richards, Justin (24 July 2015). "You Can't Escape". Blueprint Review. Retrieved 15 March 2025. <a href="http://blueprintreview.co.uk/2015/07/you-cant-escape/" target="_blank">http://blueprintreview.co.uk/2015/07/you-cant-escape/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>