Passport to Shame

1959 "A PICTURE BEST UNDERSTOOD BY ADULTS!"
6.5| 1h26m| NR| en
Details

British melodrama about a cabbie befriending a girl caught up in the white slave trade.

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Reviews

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
Pluskylang Great Film overall
InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
howardmorley Diana Dors was at her Marilyn Monroe like physical voluptuous peak in this 1958 film drama about prostitution in London.Playing a "tart with a heart" she is only on the game to earn enough money for plastic surgery to save her younger sister's face from a previous acid attack by her vicious pimp (played by Herbert Lom) when her sister had previously refused to go "on the game".A shining white knight appears on the scene, not on a horse but in the form of a London taxicab driver (and his loyal cab mates)- a Canadian war veteran played by Eddie Constantine.Herbert Lom deceitfully involves both the new naive blonde girl (played by French actress Odile Versois) into his group of girls for hire and the taxi cab owner into his debt.In the light of sex & violence graphically shown in 2014 by the media, this film will seem rather tame but I'm sure it had an X certificate at British cinemas in 1958 for its adult themes.There is also a drug scene, another taboo subject at the time.For Dors fans, a companion to this film would be "Yield to the Night", aka "Blonde Sinner" the latter film loosely based on the celebrated case of Ruth Ellis the last woman to be hanged in 1955 in Britain.I voted "Passport to Shame" 6/10 as I felt "Blonde Sinner" had slightly the stronger story line and better production values.
Fred_Rap Among the sundry delights to be found in this British white slavery sexpose is the gonzo turn by Herbert Lom. As London's mac daddy supreme Nick Biaggi, Lom is a sight to behold, a horn-doggie dandy in homburg, lapel carnation and spats (au courant fashion be damned). He's low-key at first, oozing oily charm and generosity, the better to bamboozle naive French waif Odile Versois, who's been lured into a life of shame by Lom's field procurer/mamasan/mistress Brenda De Banzie. But behind closed doors it's a whole 'nother Herb. Channeling his inner Michael Gough, he's all over Odile like a cheap suit, manhandling her love handles and assaulting her face with wet, slobbering kisses. It's truly an unhinged spectacle; even Lom's toupee looks like it has an erection.Also in the house: affable tough guy Eddie Constantine as the world's least likely Canadian, the always welcome Robert Brown (Tumak's dad in One Million Years B.C., 'M' in the Bond films of the '80s) as a two-fisted cabbie who rouses his fellow hacks to do battle with the 'ho-mongers, Diana Dors, poured into bum-busting skirts and Frederick's of Soho lingerie, as a hooker with a score to settle, and, as the groom at a wedding party, a remarkably young Michael Caine.All this plus a wacky weed-induced dream scene that must be seen to be disbelieved.Lowdown high times guaranteed.
writers_reign A pre-credit introduction by Fabian of the 'Yard' attempts to sell this as an expose of vice with special reference to human trafficking - very relevant today - but it quickly segues into just another girl-in-jeopardy thriller in which vice is only peripheral. The first fifth shows how easy it is for an innocent and naive girl to be recruited and groomed though one would have to question how any girl falsely accused of stealing a few francs from the till would be so scared to return to France and face a few francs fine. Having framed the pigeon (Odile Versois) Herbert Lom and Brenda de Banzie need a work permit for her and that's where taxi driver Eddie Constantine comes in. Also 'befriended' by Lom he is persuaded to go through a marriage of convenience with Versois who is then whisked away. Then, in a completely unexplained and inexplicable turnabout Constantine begins to worry about Versois and attempts to track her down. From then on it's just another guy looking for a girl and building to a climax straight out of Hue and Cry except for kids read cabbies. Enjoyable tosh with sightings of Lana Morris, Joan Collins and Michael Caine.
arrival Gritty and hard-hitting story starring Diana Dors, dealing with the profession of prostitution.An unusual Film - Taxi Drivers versus the Pimps! One of Diana Dors' biggest Movies and most dramatic performances of her career during the fifties - co-starring Herbert Lom as the cowardly Pimp who comes to a sticky end.Dors plays a reluctant prostitute, but life takes a turn for the better after she witnesses her kid sister destroyed by the profession - along with the involvement of a new 'recruit' whose fate mirrors that of her tragic sister. Vicky (Dors) gets her revenge on Nick (Lom) when the whole operation is blown apart by a group of meddling Taxi Drivers.This Film may seem a little confusing at the beginning, but stick with it - you'll be glad that you did! It's an exciting and dramatic story - fast-paced with a great climax at the end, and includes some dramatic moments along the way. Brenda de Banzie gives a chilling portrayal of the woman with the 'twin' personality. Eddie Constantine plays the hero in this with solid determination. After seeing this Movie, it will leave the Viewer with the question; is there really such wonderful and heroic guys as Johnny McVey? The world could certainly do with a few of them!Look out for a young Joan Sims and an early brief appearance of Ann Reid (Coronation Street) plus Michael Caine!Great Film and long overdue for Video and DVD release.