William Lucas was an obscure British actor whose small amount of fame was as the father in an adaptation of BLACK BEAUTY, no longer the Bogart-looking tough guy from a string of early-1960's b-crimes as leading bad guys (THE BREAK), sketchy middlemen (PAYROLL) or criminals in-between (CALCULATED RISK, BREAKOUT)...
And THE MARKED ONE leans to that middle-ground... an ex convict who, with a divorced wife, young daughter and nowhere factory gig, is threatened by enigmatic prior-partners-in-crime to retrieve forgery plates that he might or might not have, providing more mystery to the character than his dire circumstance...
His daughter's threatened for an anticipated kidnapping; and when it finally happens Lucas's Don Mason's rushed through the usual neo noir cadence of asking questions: from woodwork goons including David Gregory as a goading womanizer and photographer Brian Nissan, whose model girlfriend is THE GIRLS HUNTERS ingenue Kim Tracy...
But it's our subtle hero's wife played by always-dependable British actress Zena Walker who not only steals the show but has the most to gain or lose including her daughter, her job, and the man she's born to retrieve: if only their relationship were tested more intensely, overall making THE MARKED ONES more an idea than movie.