SALUTE THE TOFF (1952)

Salute the Toff is a 1952 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley and Carol Marsh. The film was based on the 1941 novel of the same name by John Creasey, the sixth in the series featuring upper-class sleuth Richard Rollinson, also known as "The Toff". This film and another Toff adaptation, Hammer the Toff, were shot back-to-back at Nettlefold Studios in the summer of 1951. They were released to cinemas in January and May 1952 respectively.

Neither film was thought to have survived and both were classed as "missing, believed lost", although there was a degree of hope that they might be lurking as yet uncatalogued in British TV archives. Both films are included on the British Film Institute's "75 Most Wanted" list of missing British feature films. This changed in 2013 when Salute The Toff was finally released on DVD from Renown Pictures Limited.[1]

Plot
The Honourable Richard Rollinson (Bentley) is a well-known private detective who has friends and contacts in all echelons of society from the wealthy West End set to the lowest East End hovels. He likes to take on cases on behalf of underdogs, and is feared by the criminal underworld for his fearsome reputation of always getting his man.

Young secretary Fay Gretton (Marsh) comes to Rollinson, worried that her employer has not shown up for work for several days and cannot be contacted. Rollinson breaks into the man's flat and finds a body – not that of Fay's missing boss, but the son of a millionaire businessman. The missing man is the prime suspect, and it is up to Rollinson to get to the bottom of the case, aided by his East End contacts. After a series of dramatic events, including Fay being abducted and tied up, the truth is finally revealed, the missing man is found, and Rollinson proves that he is innocent of any wrongdoing.

Cast
John Bentley as Richard Rollinson
Carol Marsh as Fay Gretton
Valentine Dyall as Inspector Grice
Shelagh Fraser as Myra Lorne
June Elvin as Lady Anthea
Arthur Hill as Ted Harrison
Michael Golden as Benny Kless
Roddy Hughes as Jolly
Wally Patch as Bert Ebbutt
Vi Stevens as Emily Ebbutt
Tony Britton as Draycott
John Forbes-Robertson as Gerald Harvey
Peter Bull as Lorne
Peter Gawthorne as Mortimer Harvey
Pauline Johnson as Phyllis Harvey
Peter Dyneley as Lady Anthea's Husband
Peter Swanwick as Night Porter
Andreas Malandrinos as Frederico