Two-Way Stretch

2022-07-28T10:06:49Z

91.234.214.89: as per poster block

{{short description|1960 film by Robert Day}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Two-Way Stretch
| image = File:TwoWayStretchPoster.jpg
| caption = Original poster
| director = [[Robert Day (director)|Robert Day]]
| producer = [[Michael Smedley-Aston|E. M. Smedley-Aston]]
| writer = [[John Warren (actor)|John Warren]] Len Heath [[Vivian Cox]] [[Alan Hackney]] ''(add'l dialogue)''
| starring = [[Peter Sellers]] [[Wilfrid Hyde-White]] [[Maurice Denham]] [[Lionel Jeffries]] [[Beryl Reid]] [[David Lodge (actor)|David Lodge]] [[Irene Handl]] [[Liz Fraser]] [[Bernard Cribbins]]
| music = [[Ken Jones (music)|Ken Jones]]
| cinematography = [[Geoffrey Faithfull]]
| editing = Bert Rule
| distributor = [[British Lion Films]] {{small|(UK)}}
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1960|2|11|UK}} <ref name="Art & Hue">{{cite web|url=https://artandhue.com/shop/two-way-stretch-group/|title=Two-Way Stretch Group |work=Art & Hue |date=2021 |access-date=28 April 2021}}</ref>
| runtime = 83 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
}}
'''''Two-Way Stretch''''', is a 1960 British [[comedy film]], about a group of prisoners who plan to break out of [[Prison|jail]], commit a [[robbery]], and then break back into jail again, thus giving them the perfect [[Wiktionary:Alibi|alibi]] – that they were behind bars when the robbery occurred.<ref name=bfi>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b946533|title=Two Way Stretch (1960)|publisher=}}</ref> However, their plans are disrupted by the arrival of a strict new Chief Prison Officer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/film/k6ppp/two-way-stretch/|title=Two Way Stretch – review – cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online|website=Radio Times}}</ref>

The film was directed by [[Robert Day (director)|Robert Day]] from a screenplay by [[Vivian Cox]], [[John Warren (actor)|John Warren]] and Len Heath, with additional dialogue by [[Alan Hackney]].<ref name=bfi /><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CH_GCwAAQBAJ&q=two+way+stretch+vivian+cox&pg=PA121|title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2009: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture|first=Harris M. Lentz|last=III|date=17 May 2010|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786456451|via=Google Books}}</ref> The film boasts a cast of characters played by, among others, [[Peter Sellers]], [[Wilfrid Hyde-White]], [[Lionel Jeffries]] and [[Bernard Cribbins]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/94277/Two-Way-Stretch/|title=Two-Way Stretch (1961) - Overview - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref>

==Plot==
Three prisoners nearing the end of their jail sentences, "Dodger" Lane, "Jelly" Knight and "Lennie the Dip", are visited by a [[vicar]] seeking to find employment for them. He is actually "Soapy" Stevens, a conman, who proposes a large-scale [[diamond]] robbery. They will also all have alibis, because they will break out of prison, commit the robbery and then break back in. With the assistance of Dodger's girlfriend Ethel and Lennie's mother the trio smuggle themselves out in a prison van. The operation is almost foiled by the disciplinarian "Sour" Crout, the new chief prison officer. Everything goes to plan and the trio hide the diamonds in the Governor's office until they are released and can take them away. All goes well until the sack of diamonds is lost on a train. Stevens is recognised and arrested, but the others get away.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
* [[Peter Sellers]] as "Dodger" Lane
* [[Lionel Jeffries]] as Chief Prison Officer "Sour" Crout
* [[Wilfrid Hyde-White]] as "Soapy" Stevens
* [[Bernard Cribbins]] as Lennie ("The Dip") Price
* [[David Lodge (actor)|David Lodge]] as "Jelly" Knight
* [[Irene Handl]] as Mrs Price
* [[Liz Fraser]] as Ethel
* [[Maurice Denham]] as Horatio Bennett, the Prison Governor
* [[Beryl Reid]] as Miss Pringle
* [[George Woodbridge (actor)|George Woodbridge]] as Chief Prison Officer Jenkins
* [[Edwin Brown (actor)|Edwin Brown]] as Warder Charlie
* [[Cyril Chamberlain]] as Gate Warder – Day
* [[Wallas Eaton]] as Gate Warder – Night
* [[William Abney (actor)|William Abney]] as Visiting Room Warder
* [[Thorley Walters]] as Colonel Parkright
* [[John Wood (English actor)|John Wood]] as Captain
* [[Robert James (actor)|Robert James]] as Police Superintendent
* [[Walter Hudd]] as Reverend Patterson
* [[Mario Fabrizi]] as Jones
* [[Warren Mitchell]] as Tailor
* [[John Glyn-Jones]] as Lawyer
* [[Arthur Mullard]] as Fred
* [[Ian Wilson (actor)|Ian Wilson]] as Milkman
* Edward Dentith as Detective
* [[John Harvey (actor)|John Harvey]] as Governor Rockhampton Prison
{{div col end}}

==Production==
[[File:South Cavalry Barracks Aldershot 2021.jpg|thumb|right|The gates of the former South Cavalry Barracks in [[Aldershot]] stood in for the prison gates in the film]]
The prison scenes were filmed at the South Cavalry Barracks at [[Aldershot]], and the security van robbery at Pirbright Arch in the village of [[Brookwood, Surrey|Brookwood]] in [[Surrey]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reelstreets.com/index.php?option=com_films_online&task=view&id=1062|title=Reel Streets|website=www.reelstreets.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bdca.org.uk/forumtwo/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=392|title=bdca.org.uk • View topic – 1960 film "Two Way Stretch"|website=www.bdca.org.uk}}</ref>

==Release==
The film opened at the Warner Cinema in London on 11 February 1960 before going on general release from the 14th.<ref name="Art & Hue" />

==Reception==
''Two-Way Stretch'' was the fourth most popular film at the British box office in 1960.

In ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Bosley Crowther]] gave it a positive review, writing, "the script by John Warren and Len Heath follows a straight line and is clever and full of good Cockney wit. Robert Day's direction is lively, in the vein of civilized farce, and the performances are delicious, right down the line," concluding, "Mr. Sellers is still on the rise."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9903E1DA1739EE32A25757C2A9679C946091D6CF|title=Movie Reviews|newspaper=The New York Times|date=11 November 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0054417}}
* {{Allmovie title|51460}}

{{Robert Day}}

[[Category:1960 films]]
[[Category:1960s crime comedy films]]
[[Category:British crime comedy films]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:British prison films]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Robert Day]]
[[Category:1960 comedy films]]
[[Category:British Lion Films films]]

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Two-Way Stretch