Tiger by the Tail

It was once a sure sign that a career was in decline when a Hollywood actor was reduced to accepting a part in a British movie. That was the fate that befell Larry Parks, who'd so memorably played Al Jolson a few years before. As a former communist, he was hounded by the House Un-American Activities Committee. It would be nice to think that the Brits found him a vehicle worthy of his talents, but this soporific thriller adapted from John Mair's novel Never Come Back is nothing of the sort. He plays an American journalist kidnapped by a gang of hoodlums when he gets wind of their plans.