Piccadilly Third Stop

Piccadilly Third Stop is a 1960 British thriller film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Terence Morgan, Yoko Tani and John Crawford.^[1] It was written by Leigh Vance. A wealthy playboy hires a gang of criminals to help him steal £100,000.

Piccadilly Third Stop
Original British quad poster by Nicola Simbari
Directed by	Wolf Rilla
Written by	Leigh Vance
Produced by	Norman Williams Sydney Box
Starring	Terence Morgan Yoko Tani John Crawford Mai Zetterling
Cinematography	Ernest Steward
Edited by	Bernard Gribble
Music by	Philip Green
Production companies	Ethiro-Alliance Sydney Box Associates
Distributed by	J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors
Release date	6 September 1960 (1960-09-06) (London)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Plot

Crook Dominic Colpoys-Owen has his eye on the loot inside an embassy in London after an ambassador's daughter, Seraphina, unwittingly reveals that her father, away on business, has left big money behind in the safe. Colpoys-Owen works his smooth-talking charm on the innocent girl, who becomes so infatuated that she agrees to help his gang with its plan. This involves a robbery from the Knightsbridge embassy via the London Underground.

Cast

• Terence Morgan as Dominic Colpoys-Owen
• Yoko Tani as Seraphina Yokami
• John Crawford as Joe Pready
• Mai Zetterling as Christine Pready
• William Hartnell as colonel
• Dennis Price as Edward
• Ann Lynn as Mouse
• Charles Kay as Toddy
• Doug Robinson as Albert
• Gillian Maude as Bride's mother
• Trevor Reid as Bride's father
• Ronald Leigh-Hunt as Police Sergeant
• Tony Hawes as Harry Prentice
• Clement Freud as Chemin de Fer dealer
• Judy Huxtable as Angela Vaughan

Production

The film was shot at Pinewood Studios and on location around London, including numerous locations around Belgravia. Holborn tube station filled in as the fictional "Belgravia station" on the Piccadilly line.^{[citation needed]} The film's sets were designed by the art director Ernest Archer.

When Terence Morgan's character is standing in the tube station eyeing the station staff, he is positioned next to some film posters on the station's walls. At least one of the posters next to him is from an actual film that Terence Morgan had starred in earlier that year, The Shakedown (1959).

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "With leading characters as repulsive as the slimy Dominic and the boorish Preedy, and a background of theft, blackmail, watchsmuggling, gambling parties, bounced cheques and adultery, not even Yoko Tani's appealing tears and a bushel of contemporary props can make much of this film attractive. Wolf Rilla's direction has a certain speed and polish, however, and the tube station chase at the end doesn't lack excitement. William Hartnell as a cracksman colonel, oddly reminiscent of Olivier's Archie Rice, and Miss Tani do well in two of the few sympathetic parts."^[2]

Picture Show gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "competently made, acted and directed but thoroughly unpleasant drama. ... It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth."^[3]

Allmovie called the film a "fast-paced, standard crime story".^[4]

The Radio Times wrote: "The late 1950s were an exciting time for British cinema with 'social realist' pictures such as Room at the Top (1959) and Look Back in Anger (1959) receiving international acclaim. This plodding low-budget thriller is more typical of Britain's tired output in other genres, however, with Terence Morgan playing a London lowlife who dates ambassador's daughter Yoko Tani in order to gain access to the embassy safe. Dennis Price, William Hartnell and Mai Zetterling are among those who obviously needed the work."^[5]