Every schoolboy's crush after seeing Goldfinger, Shirley Eaton is the flirty and busty office assistant who likes cocktails and dancing in this early entry in her career. Shirley likes to flaunt her beauty, slim body and big boobs and tease all the guys. To her it's harmless fun. When you watch films from those years, how much everyone smoked cigarettes and drank makes you realize how society has dramatically changed. Tom Drake is the colorless American partner of a small used car dealership in London working with Richard Shaw and Maurice Kaufman, who is dating Shirley. The latter two align with Dr Who's William Hartnell to crack a safe at a local business and learn that crime doesn't pay. Shaw coshes Kaufman (a little too hard and kills him) after Kaufman and Eaton return from a date to keep him quiet even though the police have been around to ask a lot of questions. Shaw covets sexy tease Shirley and of course fails to win her over as he is not Prince Charming in the looks or personality department. He gets caught with a pile of the stolen cash on the bed by his go-to squeeze, voluptuous Judy (Deirdre Mayne), who appears to be one of those bra-busting, London bad girls who populate London-based crime thrillers. So now Shaw is on Judy's hook. At the office, Drake fires Shaw for groping Shirley who now wants Drake for a boyfriend. Shaw retrieves the hidden cash from a pile of coal outside the dealership and is about to take off when Shirley follows him outside. He throws her in his car and kidnaps her to keep her quiet and drives to his waterfront hideout. Judy happens to be streetwalking not far away, sees them go into his dilapidated apartment and calls the police out of jealously, thinking the two are an item. In pursuit, Drake shows up for a brawl with Shaw before Shaw can strangle Shirley and get away with the money. A happy ending is in the cards for Drake with his hot new British girlfriend. The best parts of the film are the exchanges between Hartnell and Detective Inspector Matthews at the police station. Two professionals just doing their jobs and being very civil. It's enjoyable seeing London locations and the cars of those years.
Review of Date with Disaster
