Crossroads to Crime

Crossroads to Crime
Original title
Directed by	Gerry Anderson
Produced by	Gerry Anderson
Written by	Alun Falconer
Starring	Anthony Oliver Ferdy Mayne George Murcell Miriam Karlin Arthur Rigby David Graham
Music by	Barry Gray
Cinematography	John Read
Edited by	David Elliott
Production company	AP Films
Distributed by	Anglo-Amalgamated
Release date	November 1960
Running time	57 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£16,250

Crossroads to Crime is a 1960 British crime film, the first and only to be directed by television producer Gerry Anderson, and also the only feature-length film to be made by his production company, AP Films. Known for Thunderbirds and his other "Supermarionation" TV series of the 1950s and 1960s, which were mostly science fiction and featured marionette puppet characters, Anderson accepted an offer from distributors Anglo-Amalgamated to shoot a one-hour, low-budget B movie when no TV network could be found to distribute Supercar. The first of Anderson's productions to use live actors, Crossroads to Crime is about the investigations of a police constable (Anthony Oliver) who, working alone, confronts and brings down a gang of vehicle hijackers.

Filmed mainly on location in England between May and June 1960, the film's cast includes a number actors who would appear in later Anderson productions. The score was composed by Barry Gray, who – along with other members of the production staff, such as director of photography John Read and editor David Elliott – would also continue his association with Anderson. A box office disappointment, Crossroads to Crime has attracted mostly negative critical opinion since its release in November 1960. Although praised by one source as a fair "cops and robbers"-style thriller, criticism has been directed at the quality of the writing, editing and set design, as well as its low budget. The film has been broadcast at least once on British TV since the end of its brief theatrical run and was released on DVD in 2013.

While on foot patrol, Police Constable Don Ross (Anthony Oliver) chances upon a gang of lorry hijackers operating from the back of a transport café. After seeing Diamond (George Murcell) and Johnny (David Graham) drive off in a car with the manageress, Connie Williams (Miriam Karlin), apparently being held hostage in the back seat, Ross jumps onto and clings to the vehicle's side; however, he is quickly thrown into the road, suffering a head injury. Pretending to have come across the disorientated officer purely by chance, Diamond and Johnny drop Ross off at his home. Later, Williams is brought before the hijackers' wealthy ringleader, Miles (Ferdy Mayne), who warns her not to betray the gang to the authorities.