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Hammer the Toff
John Creasley’s fictional detective Richard “The Toff” Rollison graces the silver screen in Maclean Rogers’ 1952 mystery drama.
Director: Maclean Rogers
Overview
John Bentley and Patricia Dainton star in Maclean Rogers’ 1952 adaptation of John Creasley’s mystery novel, Hammer the Toff. Bentley stars as the titular sleuth, also known as Richard Rollison, who meets a young woman (Dainton) on a train to Brighthaven. The young woman is hiding a secret formula of her uncle’s that sinister figures want to discover – so it’s up to Toff to protect her against any danger and menace before things get out of hand. Hammer the Toff is a tight and tense mystery with shades of noir, helmed with precision and thrills by Rogers.
Hammer the Toff was shot back-to-back with another Creasley adaptation, Salute the Toff, in summer 1951. Both films used most of the same cast and crew, following the sleuth on two separate, dangerous mysteries full of intrigue and suspense.
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