The Weapon (film)
Encyclopedia
The Weapon is a 1957 British thriller films directed by Val Guest
. It was made by Republic Pictures
. Its themes were originally explored in the 1951 British film, The Yellow Balloon
.
plays Elsa Jenner, widowed mother to her young son Erik. Whilst playing with friends in an abandoned and deteriorated old building, Erik finds a small handgun stuck to a brick. As all the boys try and pull it free, it accidentally fires a shot from Erik's hands, hitting another boy. Believing he has killed his friend, Erik immediately runs away.
Locating Erik becomes the mission of Captain Mark Andrews (Steve Cochran
), who soon discovers the gun Erik found has a past that may have caused a dangerous criminal to pursue the young boy. As he inches closer to finding Erik, Andrews comes across Vivienne (Nicole Maurey
), a dance hall hostess with a connection to the gun's original owner. But she has all but lost her faith in all things good, declaring to Andrews "I am dead".
As Andrews continues his investigation into the whereabouts of the gun, Erik's mother Elsa finally locates her son, with the assistance of helpful though relative stranger Joshua Henry. Erik had apparently stolen a bottle of milk from Henry, though Erik has no memory of this. It soon becomes clear that Henry is the one with ill intentions, prompting Elsa to demand Erik run away for help. Henry runs after the boy, leaving Elsa in the passenger side of a speeding car.
After crashing into a ditch, members of the public come to Elsa's aid. Among them is Captain Andrews, with whom she pleads not to worry about her, and save her son instead. Andrews immediately enters the old building where Henry was seen running, where shots are fired. But after both parties exhaust their weapons, a long fall to death awaits.
Val Guest
Val Guest was a British film director, best known for his science-fiction films for Hammer Film Productions in the 1950s, but who also enjoyed a long, varied and active career in the film industry from the early 1930s up until the early 1980s.-Early life and career:He was born Valmond Maurice...
. It was made by Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
. Its themes were originally explored in the 1951 British film, The Yellow Balloon
The Yellow Balloon (film)
The Yellow Balloon is a 1953 British drama film starring Kenneth More, Bernard Lee, Andrew Ray, Kathleen Ryan and Sid James.-Plot:Playing around the ruins of a devastated bombed-out neighbourhood of London, 12 year old Frankie accidentally leads a boy into his death when he falls from a second...
.
Plot
Lizabeth ScottLizabeth Scott
Lizabeth Scott is an American actress and singer widely known for her film noir roles.-Early life:She was born Emma Matzo in the Pine Brook section of Scranton, Pennsylvania, one of six children, to Ruthenian parents who had emigrated from Uzhgorod, in what is now Ukraine...
plays Elsa Jenner, widowed mother to her young son Erik. Whilst playing with friends in an abandoned and deteriorated old building, Erik finds a small handgun stuck to a brick. As all the boys try and pull it free, it accidentally fires a shot from Erik's hands, hitting another boy. Believing he has killed his friend, Erik immediately runs away.
Locating Erik becomes the mission of Captain Mark Andrews (Steve Cochran
Steve Cochran
Steve Cochran was an American film, television, and stage actor, the son of a California lumberman. He graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1939...
), who soon discovers the gun Erik found has a past that may have caused a dangerous criminal to pursue the young boy. As he inches closer to finding Erik, Andrews comes across Vivienne (Nicole Maurey
Nicole Maurey
Nicole Maurey is a French actress, who has appeared in 65 film and television productions between 1945 and 1997. Born in Bois-Colombes, a northwestern suburb of Paris, she was originally a dancer before being cast in her first film role in 1944...
), a dance hall hostess with a connection to the gun's original owner. But she has all but lost her faith in all things good, declaring to Andrews "I am dead".
As Andrews continues his investigation into the whereabouts of the gun, Erik's mother Elsa finally locates her son, with the assistance of helpful though relative stranger Joshua Henry. Erik had apparently stolen a bottle of milk from Henry, though Erik has no memory of this. It soon becomes clear that Henry is the one with ill intentions, prompting Elsa to demand Erik run away for help. Henry runs after the boy, leaving Elsa in the passenger side of a speeding car.
After crashing into a ditch, members of the public come to Elsa's aid. Among them is Captain Andrews, with whom she pleads not to worry about her, and save her son instead. Andrews immediately enters the old building where Henry was seen running, where shots are fired. But after both parties exhaust their weapons, a long fall to death awaits.