“Never were cloth caps worn more rakishly”: Alberto Cavalcanti’s neglected British ‘low-life’ drama For Them That Trespass

“Undersized and mis-shapen, [he] was a stocky young man with bandy legs and shoulders too broad for his height and a thick powerful neck. His nose had been broken at some time and lay thick and flattened against his face.” This is how the character of Herb Logan is described in Ernest Raymond’s 1944 novel For Them That Trespass.

Had actor Richard Todd read the novel, he may have thought twice about accepting the role of Logan, but, thankfully, by the time J. Lee Thompson had worked his magic on the screenplay, the part had been reimagined to suit the up-and-coming young star.

This was Todd’s first film role, and he recalled in his memoirs that he relied heavily on Brazilian director Alberto Cavalcanti to help him with his technique. He stayed behind to view the rushes at the end of each day, and ‘Cav’, as he was affectionately known, would gently point out his mistakes and advise him how to avoid them.

Coming straight from repertory theatre, Todd welcomed the support, especially when his torn Achilles tendon threatened to scupper the shoot. A surgeon decreed that he needed an immediate operation, but Cavalcanti and producer Victor Skutezky persuaded the medic to allow filming to continue so they could capture the crucial scene at the Old Bailey. This had to be completed before any others could be shot, as the huge courtroom set had to be struck to allow the next to be built.

Luckily, the lower half of Todd’s body wasn’t seen in this particular sequence, and for the rest of the shoot his plaster cast was disguised by judicious lighting and carefully arranged furniture. At 5’ 8” Todd was at a disadvantage playing scenes with taller actors, so Cav had the carpenters build him a set of ramps so that as he walked into a two-shot he would gradually loom taller and taller. On every film he made subsequently, he demanded the use of similar ramps.

Skutezky, interviewed by a visiting journalist, admitted that the cramped conditions at Welwyn Studios were creating problems for a film as ambitious as For Them That Trespass, which required 46 sets. “The studio… is too small for the picture. But we squeeze a London street 285 yards long into our studio, 85 yards long.” They had originally planned to shoot the streets scenes on location, but a set was eventually built on the lot at Welwyn in convertible sections, cinematographer Derek Williams employing foreground miniatures and perspective sets to accommodate long-shots. Set decorator Peter Proud decked it with original 1930s film posters discovered in storage at Elstree.

The film tells the noirish tale of a man who seeks revenge after being falsely imprisoned. Aspiring writer Christopher Drew decides to immerse himself in the seedy side of town to get inspiration and has a dalliance with a girl called Frankie. Logan is also involved with her and, when she’s found dead, is accused of her murder. Unwilling to damage his reputation, Drew withholds evidence that could exonerate Logan, who is jailed for 15 years. After his release, Logan hears a radio play by Drew that describes the crime and tracks him down, eventually managing to clear his own name.

A script for the film had originally been submitted to the BBFC on 22 April 1946 by John Corfield Productions, but was rejected by the examiners. Dismissing it as a “sordid story”, examiners vetoed the portrayal of Frankie as a “street walker”, although this was integral to the plot. One examiner explained: “We do not allow a story of the life of a prostitute, or any scenes of her plying her profession.” Thompson’s later script, dated 10 March 1948, found ways round these objections, and Frankie was written as a good-time girl rather than a professional. 

Like Cavalcanti’s first post-Ealing feature, They Made Me a Fugitive (1947), the film is mainly set in a working-class milieu. The director’s early avant-garde films, Rien que les heures (1926) and En rade (1927), had demonstrated his fondness for low-life subjects, and while this film gave him little opportunity to film authentic locations, the studio settings provided a fittingly claustrophobic atmosphere.

The film was released in April 1949 to largely disappointing reviews. Critics were unconvinced by its depiction of London nightlife, one declaring: “Never were there blousier trollops, never were cloth caps worn more rakishly and the pandemonium is falsely hearty.” Cavalcanti does perhaps lean a little heavily into the Dickensian, but the lively pub scenes and shabby boarding houses are very evocative. 

Some critics were positive. Reynolds News enjoyed the “moments of tension, a good deal of vitality and some robust, fruity acting by most of the cast”. Praise went to Stephen Murray’s portrayal of Drew, and Todd was hailed as a promising new talent, despite being saddled with a rather questionable accent.

For Them That Trespass is a tale of men and male desire; the women who suffer because of it are merely collateral damage. Rosalyn Boulter brings spirit and great appeal to the character of Frankie while Vida Hope gives a poignant and quietly compelling portrayal of her rival, Olive Mockson. Hope was an actress Cavalcanti clearly valued, having cast her in Champagne Charlie (1944), Nicholas Nickleby (1947) and They Made Me a Fugitive. In this film, one brief scene stands out in particular, of her in a dingy attic kitchen, face reflected in a tiny mirror as she listens to her bloke, Jim, discuss Frankie’s murder.

In his unpublished memoirs, Cavalcanti claims that For Them That Trespass was the second highest grossing film that year, yet figures quoted by James Chapman reveal that it actually lost Associated British £111,000. The film’s failure and negative critiques must have stung, and this was to be Cavalcanti’s last major British feature. His mother, who was his companion and guiding influence throughout his life, had recently died, and he had also lost the nurturing support of Michael Balcon that he’d had during his seven years at Ealing Studios.

He had plans to film the Charles Morgan novel Sparkenbroke, a philosophical romance with Freudian references. But, after four months of pre-production work, the producer pulled the plug on the project, declaring the script “above the understanding of the public”. In his imposing Blackheath home, with only his cat and parrot for company, Cavalcanti needed a change of scene and accepted an invitation to lecture in his home country of Brazil, eventually staying several years to help rebuild its film industry. On 15 January 1950 The Sunday Chronicle announced “Film director Cavalcanti, disillusioned and frustrated by British filmmaking slipped secretly out of England two weeks ago, bound for Brazil”, and lamented: “His departure is a heavy blow to Britain’s film industry.”

The original nitrate negatives of For Them That Trespass came to the BFI National Archive from Associated British Film Corporation in 1959, and in 1977 a print was made to show as part of an extensive Cavalcanti season to celebrate his 80th birthday. It can be viewed through the BFI’s research viewing service.