CrimeDrama

The Fake

- A RACKET'S A RACKET ...and A MURDER IS A MURDER!

Someone is stealing priceless paintings from the great museums of the world and replacing them with nearly flawless forgeries. Leonardo da Vinci's "Madonna and Child" is being shipped to London's Tate Gallery for a special exhibition, and Paul Mitchell is assigned to protect it. Upon the painting's arrival, Paul realizes it has been switched. Eager to collect the museum's $50,000 reward, he teams up with Mary Mason, a Tate employee, to recover the original.

Release Date : 1953-09-25

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Pax Films

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Paul Mitchell

Original Name : Dennis O'Keefe

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mary Mason

Original Name : Coleen Gray

Gender : Female

Character Name : Sir Richard Aldingham

Original Name : Hugh Williams

Gender : Male

Character Name : Smith

Original Name : Guy Middleton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Henry Mason

Original Name : John Laurie

Gender : Male

Character Name : Randall

Original Name : Gerald Case

Gender : Male

Character Name : Weston

Original Name : Seymour Green

Gender : Male

Character Name : George

Original Name : Eliot Makeham

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cartwright

Original Name : Stanley Van Beers

Gender : Male

Character Name : Miss Fossett

Original Name : Ellen Pollock

Gender : Female

Character Name : Pettigrew

Original Name : Morris Sweden

Gender : Male

Character Name : Barmaid

Original Name : Dora Bryan

Gender : Female

Character Name : Police Inspector

Original Name : Arnold Bell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bearded Tramp

Original Name : Arnold Bell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Art Salesman

Original Name : Michael Ward

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lodging House Keeper

Original Name : Clifford Buckton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Boy Student

Original Name : Leslie Phillips

Gender : Male

Character Name : Girl Student

Original Name : Marianne Noelle

Gender : Male

Character Name : Waitress

Original Name : Billie Whitelaw

Gender : Female

Character Name : Thug

Original Name : John Wadham

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Beatrice Kane

Gender : Male

Character Name : uncredited

Original Name : Frank Atkinson

Gender : Male

Character Name : uncredited

Original Name : Tom Clegg

Gender : Male

Character Name : uncredited

Original Name : Guy Deghy

Gender : Male

Character Name : uncredited

Original Name : Harold Sanderson

Gender : Male

Character Name : uncredited

Original Name : Johnnie Schofield

Gender : Male

Character Name : uncredited

Original Name : Leonard Sharp

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-03-07

This is actually quite a fun little story with just about all of the jeopardy dealt with by the title! A ship docks at Tilbury and a crate is off-loaded, rather unceremoniously. A scuffle breaks out between the dockers and next thing, the world renowned "Madonna and Child" by Leonardo Da Vinci has gone walkabouts. It's very quickly recovered, but - is it the real thing? Well fortunately, we have a visiting American expert "Mitchell" (Dennis O'Keefe) on hand and soon he is on the hunt for a mysterious and well connected fraudster. Coleen Gray provides the sidekick element amiably enough, and there's a surprisingly decent supporting cast with John Laurie and Hugh Williams featuring, but the production is cheap as chips and photography as wobbly as most of the sets. There are some interesting interiors of London's Tate Gallery illustrating a rather grander collection than the rolled up prop Leonardos that make up the bulk of the story. Dora Bryan is, as ever, behind the bar calling time and you might spot Leslie Phillips and Billie Whitelaw who both went on to better things, too. It's too long, a bit on the verbal side and O'Keefe is just a little wooden, but it's still quite a watchable affair.