The Large Rope
1953 | 72m | English
Popularity: 0.3 (history)
| Director: | Wolf Rilla |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Ted Willis, Julian Wintle |
| Staring: |
| After being framed for a murder he didn't commit, Tom Penney (Donald Houston) serves his time and returns to his rural English home to establish a quiet life. When another victim is found, however, Tom is blamed for the crime and flees rather than returnng to prison. Hoping to find the real killer -- or killers -- Tom investigates while keeping a low profile to elude his pursuers, and a vital clue leads him on the path to possible redemption. | |
| Release Date: | Dec 01, 1953 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Wolf Rilla |
| Writer: | Ted Willis, Julian Wintle |
| Genres: | |
| Keywords | |
| Production Companies | Victor Hanbury Productions |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Jan 19, 2026 Entered: May 03, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Donald Houston | Tom Penney |
| Susan Shaw | Susan Hamble |
| Robert Brown | Mick Jordan |
| Vanda Godsell | Amy Jordan |
| Peter Byrne | Jeff Stribling |
| Richard Warner | Inspector Harmer |
| Christine Finn | May |
| Thomas Heathcote | James Gore |
| Margaret Anderson | |
| Katie Johnson | Grandmother |
| Leonard White | |
| Carl Bernard | Alfred Hamble |
| Margot Bryant | |
| Esma Cannon | Screaming Woman |
| Barbara Cavan | |
| Hilda Fenemore | Pub Landlady |
| Douglas Herald | Simon Penney |
| Edward Judd | |
| Natalie Kent | |
| Michael Mulcaster | |
| Richard Shaw | Father of Young Girls |
| Natalie Kent | (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Ted Willis | Writer |
| John Stoll | Art Direction |
| Chris Noble | Assistant Director |
| George Mills | Production Manager |
| Philip Martell | Music Director |
| Julian Wintle | Story |
| Wolf Rilla | Director |
| Geoffrey Faithfull | Director of Photography |
| Marjorie Owens | Continuity |
| Aldo Manganaro | Makeup Artist |
| Leo Rogers | Camera Operator |
| Pearl Tipaldi | Hairstylist |
| W. H. Lindop | Sound Recordist |
| Ronald Binge | Original Music Composer |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Victor Hanbury | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 2024 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 2024 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 32 | 1 |
| 2025 | 11 | 13 | 61 | 2 |
| 2025 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2026 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
Trending Position
Now I can imagine a long rope; or a thick rope - but can a rope actually be "large"? Anyway, enough of my pedantry. Donald Houston returns to his rural English village after being in prison for assaulting a women. When another local woman is murdered, he is the obvious suspect and must prove his inn ... ocence whilst avoiding the pursuing police and angry villagers. It is quite a fast moving story, and one of the few you will ever see that demonstrates any form of English social disobedience - the villagers almost descend into a lynch mob - of the constabulary. I thought it obvious who the real killer was from early on, but Wolf Rilla keeps it all moving well until a rather soppy, violin-inspired, conclusion.