Nowhere to Go

Often compared with his best friend, Rock Hudson, suave American actor George Nader never achieved even a fraction of Hudson’s success, but some would say he found his greatest role overseas, playing con man Paul Gregory in British director Seth Holt’s excellent criminal adventure noir, Nowhere to Go. Packed with classic noir elements (flashback, fraud, expressionist lighting, man-on-the-run ensnarement), the film is an unusual variation on the fugitive theme, Nader’s combination of charm and aloofness making for an unpredictable trek from hideout to hideout as he tries desperately to leave the country. Having escaped prison with the help of his associate Sloane (Bernard Lee), Gregory tries unsuccessfully to retrieve the stolen money he’d left in a safety deposit box after his last con. When Sloane turns up dead, Gregory becomes not just an escaped prisoner but a murder suspect too, so he’s compelled to run around London seeking shelter in various homes — sometimes invited, sometimes not — as he attempts to cobble together assistance from his resistant contacts in the criminal underground. In her film debut, Maggie Smith plays Bridget Howard, a meek woman whom Gregory befriends and charms into helping him escape to her family’s cottage in Wales. Most scenes are set at night, which furnishes Holt and cinematographer Beeson with ample opportunity for thick noir shadows and moonlit chases, commencing with the beautiful opening sequence of a prison escape in mist and silence. Even at this late stage in the noir cycle, slats of light from Venetian blinds abound, even on ceilings, and a wide array of camera angles add dynamism to Gregory’s flight from capture.