Tread Softly Stranger (1959)

Sorry, this movie sucks

i must have seen a different film!!

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Probably the only good thing you can say about this British crime movie is that it makes excellent use of its North of England locations, (it was filmed mostly in Rotherham), and has some good, atmospheric photography by the great Douglas Slocombe. Otherwise, it's pretty terrible as femme fatale Diana Dors, (far from her finest hour), urges down-on-their-luck brothers George Baker and Terence Morgan to robbery and murder. It is atrociously scripted (by producer George Minter and Denis O'Dell from a play by Jack Popplewell), directed (by Gordon Parry) and acted (by the entire cast)and has largely been forgotten. It should have stayed that way.

The stunningly beautiful Diana Dors gets involved with two brothers in "Tread Softly Stranger," a 1958 British 'B' movie. It's on a set of six films called "British Cinema," and it's by far the best of the lot.Dors is Calico, a real slut, albeit a gorgeous one, who is hanging out with a nerdy office worker, Dave Mansell (Terence Mansell), an accountant in a nearby factory. Then his brother Johnny (George Baker), a handsome con man running away from a bad debt, comes to town. Calico quickly switches allegiance, but keeps her options open. When Johnny finds out that Dave is 300 pounds short in the accounts because of embezzling to buy Calico gifts, he decides to hock the watch Dave gave Calico, add his own money to it, and gamble on a sure thing. With an impending audit coming up, there isn't much time to replace the money.Unfortunately, Calico has another idea. While Johnny is at the race track and winning, Calico convinces Dave that Johnny isn't coming back and insists that he just rob the factory of all its money - that way, the shortfall won't show up. She promises Dave that if he does it, she will go away with him. Turns into a real mess.This is a very suspenseful story, very dark and loaded with atmosphere. One gets the feeling of a small, crummy factory town. The acting is good; Dors is a knockout. Definitely work seeing.

The script is unremarkable and the direction leaden. But it's worth watching for the setting in a genuine industrial town – not just for the factories spewing smoke (which are no doubt now "heritage centres", art galleries and yuppie flats if they haven't been levelled), but for the shabby rooming house where the brothers and Diana live. The Victorian decor and furniture is still there 50 years later. You can't tell from this film that George Baker is a good actor, and Diana isn't asked to do much more than pose around (but she looks gorgeous and I love her clothes, apart from those embarrassing shorts she makes her first appearance (just) in). But I can't help feeling this is an American script transferred to Britain. I'm sure "up north" didn't have hostess clubs in the 50s, or so many Irish people: the nightwatchman, his son Paddy and the landlady are all Irish. In fact no one has a northern accent, and Paddy's girlfriend has a ridiculously posh English accent that is probably dubbed on. The plot is the same old "We've got a suit-case full of money but it's no use to us, we'd better burn it/put it down the toilet/let it blow away in the wind."

This is not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. But it IS fun, lots of fun. The characters are real people with all the frailties and peculiarities that make them interesting. Even though I half expected the outcome it didn't really matter because the way there was so much fun to watch. Nobody was perfect, all good or all bad, just real. Of the two brothers one began as shady and questionable character and the other as an upright citizen but as the film progressed they switched places. The transition was believable and based on facts clearly brought out in the script. Diana Dors was the fulcrum about whom the entire exercise revolved and she did an excellent job playing a woman who is confident of her appeal, willing to use it, but is anything but one-dimensional.So what's not to like? I can't help but think that in the hands of a better director this could have been much, much better. Those same elements that made it fun could have made it great had they been handled more expertly. Dors' sensuality was shamelessly exploited and don't get me wrong, I just as shamelessly enjoyed every bit of it. But there were some superfluous shots that did nothing to advance the plot and appear to have been inserted just to give us another look at this gorgeous woman. And then there was the theme song, played to distraction. I for one, don't get the connection. What do the words "Tread Softly Stranger" have to do with the relationship between two brothers and a woman?But in the long run, even though I can't rate it any higher, I heartily enjoyed this film and will gladly do so again. For those who haven't yet seen it do so immediately.