No Trees in the Street

Plot

In the slums of London before World War II, Tommy is an aimless teenager who tries to escape his squalid surroundings by entering a life of crime. He falls in with local racketeer Herbert Lom, who holds the rest of the slum citizens in a grip of fear - including Tommy's own family. The film chronicles Tommy's sordid progression from minor thefts to murder.

Cast

Critical reception

TV Guide wrote "NO TREES suffers from artificiality of plot and dialog. Characterizations are reduced to mere stereotypes...There are some notable exceptions within the drama, however. Syms is surprisingly moving, giving a sensitive performance despite the film's constraints. Holloway's characterization of a bookie's tout is comical and charming...The camerawork attempts a realistic documentary look, which manages to succeed in capturing the details of slum life that make the setting seem surprisingly naturalistic. The finer points of the film, however, are overshadowed by its faults." Time Out wrote "released at a time when kitchen sink drama was all the rage, this is an unremarkable 'we had it tough' chronicle from another age." Variety wrote "Ted Willis is a writer with a sympathetic eye for problems of the middle and lower classes...Syms gives a moving performance as the gentle girl who refuses to marry the cheap racketeer just to escape. Lom, as the opportunist who dominates the street, is sufficiently suave and unpleasant."