A young woman called Jane Foster (Jane Hylton) moves to the Kent coast where she takes over the running of a lonely inn called 'The Quiet Woman'. She used to live in Northumberland where she endured an unhappy life married to a criminal, which nearly got her charged as an accessory when her husband, Jimmy Cranshaw (Harry Towb), was hiding in her house when the police caught him and sent him to prison. Jane discovers that the previous landlord of her pub used to allow a smug, self-confident, but overall good natured artist cum smuggler called Duncan McCleod (Derek Bond) use the place to store his liquor smuggled in from the continent. Initially, Jane takes a disliking to him and demands he remove the contraband liquor from her property, but the pair gradually start to fall in love. However, events take a turn that threatens Jane's newly found happiness after her ex-husband, who has escaped from prison, turns up and demands that she hide him away in her attic. He then proceeds to blackmail her into persuading McLeod to help him make his escape across the channel on his boat. Meanwhile, a former girlfriend of McLeod's and model called Helen (Dianne Foster) arrives in a vain attempt to patch things up with him on the pretext of having her portrait painted. She becomes jealous of Jane for stealing her man, and she discovers the truth about her past and threatens to tell the world unless she agrees to stay away from McLeod. The pressure is mounting because a former naval colleague of McLeod's, Bromley (John Horsley), is staying at the inn and he is now a customs official forcing McLeod to temporarily suspend his smuggling sideline. Nevertheless, he finds out about Cranshaw and gets his right hand man, Lefty (Michael Balfour), to sneak him out of the inn and take him to his cottage and he agrees to take him over to France in order to take the pressure off Jane. But, Bromley is aware that a 'welcoming party' is awaiting them at the other side of the channel so he and Lefty follow them in pursuit in another vessel. Unknown to them, Cranshaw is armed...
A charming and engaging romantic crime drama, which serves as a pleasant time capsule of British quota quickie film production; an era of film making that has long since become extinct. Derek Bond and Jane Hylton effortlessly dominate the film as the two lovers and it really is a joy to watch the way in which their relationship develops. Initially, Jane knows that she is falling in love with him, but cannot bring herself to accept the fact and tries very hard not to like him. She slaps him down about his smug attitude and cites her dislike for his smuggling activities saying he does it for "bravado" rather than the need to survive as so many people were forced to turn to it to do. She also pretends not to find his wisecracking humour funny, but after he has left the room she allows herself to laugh at his jokes. Good support is provided by Harry Towb who is convincingly sinister as Jane's escaped convict ex-husband. Veteran British character actor John Horsley is perfectly cast as the very British ex-naval officer turned customs official and Dora Bryan, who is perhaps the most familiar name in the cast to a modern audience, also deserves praise as Jane's barmaid and loyal friend Elsie. The proceedings are much enhanced by Monty Berman's attractive black-and-white camerawork, which makes excellent use of the locations around the Romney marshes and Winchelsea that add to the film's romantic atmosphere. Directed by John Gilling, who after years of cutting his teeth on second features such as this, would find acclaim as the director of classic horror films like The Plague Of The Zombies and The Shadow Of The Cat at the Hammer studios.
A charming and engaging romantic crime drama, which serves as a pleasant time capsule of British quota quickie film production; an era of film making that has long since become extinct. Derek Bond and Jane Hylton effortlessly dominate the film as the two lovers and it really is a joy to watch the way in which their relationship develops. Initially, Jane knows that she is falling in love with him, but cannot bring herself to accept the fact and tries very hard not to like him. She slaps him down about his smug attitude and cites her dislike for his smuggling activities saying he does it for "bravado" rather than the need to survive as so many people were forced to turn to it to do. She also pretends not to find his wisecracking humour funny, but after he has left the room she allows herself to laugh at his jokes. Good support is provided by Harry Towb who is convincingly sinister as Jane's escaped convict ex-husband. Veteran British character actor John Horsley is perfectly cast as the very British ex-naval officer turned customs official and Dora Bryan, who is perhaps the most familiar name in the cast to a modern audience, also deserves praise as Jane's barmaid and loyal friend Elsie. The proceedings are much enhanced by Monty Berman's attractive black-and-white camerawork, which makes excellent use of the locations around the Romney marshes and Winchelsea that add to the film's romantic atmosphere. Directed by John Gilling, who after years of cutting his teeth on second features such as this, would find acclaim as the director of classic horror films like The Plague Of The Zombies and The Shadow Of The Cat at the Hammer studios.