Glass Cage, The (1955, John Ireland, Honor Blackman)

In crime thriller B picture The Glass Cage, Pel Pelham is a circus act promoter who has a big idea for a show – a fast undertaken by the legendary Sapolio who is out to break his own world record – 75 days inside a glass ‘tomb’ without food. At a party to celebrate the announcement of the show a woman is found murdered in the flat upstairs.

Pel, who knew the woman, had been asked by bookmaker friend Tony Lewis to speak to her over some blackmailing letters she had written him. Pel finds himself chief suspect in the murder. Things get even murkier when Sopolio himself is found murdered (poisoned) despite being under lock and key.

A rare chance for Geoffrey Keen to play the bad guy here as Harry Stanton rather than the policeman or insurance type he usually played. There is a somewhat strange scene when Pel goes to see Stanton and the whole conversation takes place whilst Stanton is having a bath!

Despite it’s B picture credentials the cast is full of well known faces including the likes of Sid James, Sydney Tafler, Sam Kydd and Honor Blackman, who despite getting second billing doesn’t actually have much of a role as Pelham’s wife Jenny.

production details
UK | Robert L. Lippert | 59 minutes | 1955

Script: Richard Landau
Novel: The Outsiders by A.E. Martin
Music: Leonard Salzedo
Director of Photography: Walter Harvey
Art Director: J. Elder Wills
Producer: Anthony Hinds
Director: Montgomery Tully

cast
John Ireland as Pel Pelham
Honor Blackman as Jenny Pelham
Geoffrey Keen as Harry Stanton
Eric Pohlmann as Henri Sapolio
Sid James as Tony Lewis
Tonia Bern as Rena Maroni
Sydney Tafler as Rorke
Ferdy Mayne as Bertie
Valerie Vernon as Bella
Anthony Richmond as Peter Pelham
Nora Gordon as Marie Sapolio
Sam Kydd as George