The Fake (1953) User Reviews

good mystery

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 13 November 2012]

Dennis O'Keefe stars in "The Fake," a 1953 film set in London. There are a lot of these films from the '50s featuring an American or two, such as Cesar Romero, in a British mystery.

O'Keefe plays Paul Mitchell, who is checking on the security of the Tate Gallery (with scenes actually filmed there) as the gallery gets ready to show Da Vinci's Madonna and Child. He is also interested in the $50,000 reward for two other stolen masterpieces where the paintings in their place were found to be fakes. He begins to suspect that the father of an employee (Colleen Gray), who is an accomplished painter, might have painted the fakes. But for whom? This is a pretty good mystery with a nice upbeat performance by the affable O'Keefe, and it's always great to see Colleen Gray in anything. For my money she was underused by Hollywood.

These types of films are usually quite enjoyable and atmospheric, and also on the short side. They make for good watching.

Nice little Anglo-American mystery

[carmike · 7/10 · 12 December 2005]

"The Fake" is a British film made in 1953 and features two American leads, film noir stalwarts Dennis O'Keefe (T-Men, Raw Deal) and Coleen Gray (The Killing).

O'Keefe plays an American detective who is in charge of guarding a masterpiece painting by Leonardo da Vinci during an exhibition at London's famous Tate Gallery. Gray plays the American daughter of a somewhat destitute British painter who never received the artistic recognition he deserved and who arouses O'Keefe's suspicion.

O'Keefe is investigating the theft of two other da Vinci masterpieces that had occurred earlier in Florence and New York. In both cases, the paintings were stolen and replaced with near-perfect forgeries as cover-ups. O'Keefe suspects something similar is bound to happen at the Tate Gallery, which would give him a chance to catch the thief and cash in on a $ 50,000 reward. Problem is, while he suspects Gray's father to be involved in the art forgery scheme, he also falls in love with her.

While certainly no film noir, the movie does use some typical and nice to look at noirish lighting techniques. The film's pace and storytelling is more American than British and O'Keefe and Gray do a credible job, although neither gets much of a chance in terms of character development, not to mention the other actors.

The Tate Gallery footage seems to have been shot on location, which lends the picture an air of authenticity. A splendid touch is the use of variations on Mussorgsky's famous composition "Pictures At An Exhibition" for the musical score.

While "The Fake" is certainly no masterpiece, it does keep the viewer interested while it lasts. Being both an O'Keefe and a Gray fan, I give the movie 7 out of 10 points.

Good British US Mystery

[nova-63 · 7/10 · 21 February 2011]

Dennis O'Keefe stars as a self proclaimed adventurer who is interested in the $50,000 reward for the recovery of stolen da Vinci paintings. His investigation leads him to London's Tate Museum where he arrives just in time to prevent another theft. The thieves method of operation is to break into the museum, steal the masterpiece, and replace it with an excellent forgery.

The film is set up in such a way that it is obvious that someone connected to the Tate is the thief O'Keefe seeks. Is it the pretty Tate employee (played by Colleen Gray), whose father just happens to be an excellent painter? Or the Tate's own investigator, played by that excellent actor, Guy Middleton? This film is no masterpiece by any means, but still an enjoyable mystery. The film is shot in England with some scenes located right in the Tate Museum. O'Keefe and Gray have a nice chemistry together and the British actors in the character roles are excellent as one would expect.

A Neat Little Number

[zounds456 · 7/10 · 27 November 2014]

Forget the criticism about this motion picture "The Fake." This is a gem of a movie...with good characters,acceptable plot line and lots of British and American flavor. The male lead is a somewhat obnoxious--but charming--American private investigator who is attempting to solve the case of the disappearance of several Da Vinci paintings. Low budget, but still worthwhile (Hell, some low budget films have earned Oscars!)...and there are a few real chuckles...and some very neat scenes, such as the chemist's lab (took me back to my high school and college chemistry classes...and the Hollywood horror films of the fifties and sixties, with people like Vincent Price and Peter Cushing.. and the museum boiler room.

The romantic development is worthwhile too. Oh...black and white, so it has a film noir air about it. I liked the picture enough to burn to disc...and grinned through much of the action.

An enjoyable watch

[bensonmum2 · 6/10 · 21 July 2021]

A security expert, Paul Mitchell (Dennis O'Keefe), working for the Tate Gallery in London, is concerned about the possible theft of a priceless Da Vinci painting. Two other Da Vinci's were recently stolen from galleries in Florence and New York. In both cases, the original was replaced by a near-perfect forgery. When the Tate Da Vinci is ultimately stolen, Mitchell sets out to catch a thief.

Overall, I enjoyed The Fake. Sure, it's never going to be on anyone's Top 10 list, but it had enough going on that I had fun with it. I'm a sucker for a stolen art plot line, so this one naturally appealed to me. From the opening scenes on the crowded dock to the finale as the art thief is revealed, The Fake moves at a nice, but leisurely pace. Having the actual Tate Gallery as a shooting location really helped the "feel" of the film. I've got no complaints with respect to the film's two main leads, O'Keefe and Colleen Gray. There's some definite chemistry between the two - the dinner scene, complete with playful banter, being a good example. The supporting cast is made up of a bunch of British actors that, while not familiar to me, really give the film some color. Finally, the solution to the mystery was satisfactory. We, as viewers, get the chance to figure things out right along (or even quicker) than our hero, Mitchell.

One thing that really bothered me was the security set-up at the Tate. I realize (or hope) that the actual security is different, but as pictured here, anyone could have stolen the painting. From unlocked doors in the basement to open windows to the lack of any alarm system, the painting was practically begging to be stolen.

Finally, IMDb lists The Fake as a crime / drama / film noir. I agree with the first two, crime and drama. And you can even add Mystery. But what about film noir? No way. If you're watching The Fake for the darker elements associated with a noir, you'll be disappointed.

6/10.

A True Art Lover...

[azathothpwiggins · 3 August 2021]

New Yorker Paul Mitchell (Dennis O'Keefe) is visiting London's Tate Gallery during a rash of art heists. A gang of thieves has been stealing the works of Leonardo da Vinci, and replacing them with fakes.

When the Tate's own da Vinci is found to be bogus, the hunt is on. Not only for the crooks, but also for the modern master behind the replacements.

The secrets of THE FAKE are revealed slowly, as in any good mystery. The motive for the thefts is baffling, due to da Vinci's legendary status in the art world.

This is a very good drama with a classic ending...

The Madonna and Child is stolen.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 20 January 2013]

THE FAKE is a crime drama directed by Godfrey Grayson. Very simple plot, but an entertaining who done it. Someone is stealing major art pieces and swapping them with very real looking fakes. Paul Mitchell(Dennis O'Keefe)is an American hired to guard the priceless Leonardo da Vinci painting of Madonna and Child as it makes its way to be on exhibit in London. When it is stolen from the museum, Mitchell goes into action hunting down the thief who replaced it with, yes... an almost faultless fake. Mitchell will first suspect museum worker Mary Mason(Coleen Gray)only then to change his mind after meeting a frustrated painter, who happens to be her father, Henry(John Laurie). There will be some plot twists, but nothing real stunning. Others in the cast: Hugh Williams, Gerald Case, Stanley Van Beers, Guy Middleton and Ellen Pollock.

B-crime thriller

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 12 October 2023]

Paul Mitchell (Dennis O'Keefe) is guarding Da Vinci's 'Madonna and Child' as it gets unloaded from a cargo ship bound for the Tate Gallery in London. He starts following a suspicious man and gets tackled by insurance man Smith. The painting has been insured for a million dollars. They find the painting seemingly in perfect shape. Mitchell continues to guard the painting against various suspicious figures.

It's a B-crime thriller with a splash of noir. Mitchell is way too relaxed in his demeanor. It saps the tension out of the thrills. I do like the holding back of the mystery although I don't like the lax nature of the security. I guess that's the case back in the day. I'm not expecting lasers or anything, but it looks like a guy can just grab whatever he wants. This could be more intense but it's fine.

"You're the disagreeable man from The Tate"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 5/10 · 1 March 2021]

The story is a bit slender but it's OK entertainment and it's interesting to see footage taken inside Tate Gallery in London when it was the only Tate. (It's now called Tate Britain). The use of the Mussorgsky music fits well and there are good supporting actors like Hugh Williams, Guy Middleton, John Laurie and the unmistakable Dora Bryan playing the barmaid as only she could. Billie Whitelaw plays a waitress but blink and you'll miss her.

Unfortunately imported American actor Dennis O'Keefe is dull and dislikeable. There is a scene where he gets beaten up and I quite enjoyed it, which one shouldn't really do considering he is the hero but mainly I liked the film when he wasn't on screen.

The Fake

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 7 March 2024]

This is actually quite a fun little story with just about all of the jeopardy dealt with by the title! A ship docks at Tilbury and a crate is off-loaded, rather unceremoniously. A scuffle breaks out between the dockers and next thing, the world renowned "Madonna and Child" by Leonardo Da Vinci has gone walkabouts. It's very quickly recovered, but - is it the real thing? Well fortunately, we have a visiting American expert "Mitchell" (Dennis O'Keefe) on hand and soon he is on the hunt for a mysterious and well connected fraudster. Coleen Gray provides the sidekick element amiably enough, and there's a surprisingly decent supporting cast with John Laurie and Hugh Williams featuring, but the production is cheap as chips and photography as wobbly as most of the sets. There are some interesting interiors of London's Tate Gallery illustrating a rather grander collection than the rolled up prop Leonardos that make up the bulk of the story. Dora Bryan is, as ever, behind the bar calling time and you might spot Leslie Phillips and Billie Whitelaw who both went on to better things, too. It's too long, a bit on the verbal side and O'Keefe is just a little wooden, but it's still quite a watchable affair.

One character pretty much ruined the movie.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 25 August 2013]

Dennis O'Keefe plays a man investigating the thefts of many of the great paintings of the world. It seems that someone is stealing them and substituting them with almost exact copies---and such a plot appears to be headed to the famed Tate Gallery in London.

I know that we Americans have a stereotype that we are loud, pushy and rather obnoxious. I really don't think it's that true--though we certainly can be loud and a bit boisterous. However, someone must have told the writer of this film as well as Dennis O'Keefe that his character had to be EXTRA loud, push and obnoxious...as well as almost constantly pushes himself on a woman throughout much of the movie! Because he comes off as so boorish and creepy, he and his character pretty much ruin what COULD have been a very good film. Instead, it's like a training film used by companies to educate their employees about the dangers of sexual harassment.

Brilliant art thriller

[clanciai · 9/10 · 22 March 2021]

It is well written with qualified actors, but it's not just a thriller about forgeries and thefts and the madness of a great art collector and lover gone wrong. The most interesting story here is the tragedy of the artist, John Laurie, who is a perfectly honest and meticulous artist who knows his profession and tries hard to stick to his good decent work, but he never reaches recognition and is ruthlessly used by art parasites which dilemma leads to his ruin. Fortunately though he achieves some posthumous triumph by in his last painting giving away his profiteers by presenting it with a clue and a lead, which saves more lives than one. The film is mainly shot within the Tate Gallery, which provides many fascinating scenes and shots, and for music the film makes use of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" aptly enough and no other music. You might object against two Americans given the leads, Dennis O'Keefe and Colleen Gray, in this very British museum drama, while all the English actors are rather played down, even Hugh Williams. Nevertheless, as an art thriller it is interesting indeed and better than most art thrillers.

Weak on every level--even the suspense is canned, like routine t.v.

[secondtake · 4/10 · 25 February 2015]

The Fake (1953)

You might give this a try if you really like lightweight entertainment with only a shred of suspense. There is a lot of chitchat, and a hint crime drama, not the other way around. When there is a fistfight, it isn't convincing, and when love is in the air, it hovers and never lands.

So really we have a fairly routine movie with some larger intentions. It's very British for the period. It almost feels like a wan play the way the action is worked into small scenes and lots of talk. And to be honest, parts of it are just so implausible it makes the whole enterprise wobble.

At heart is a painting in a London museum (the Tate) that is in danger. This attracted me as an art historian, and I was curious in part to see the museum, and the supposed security at the time. The key figure is an unlikely American who wanders into the plot, half the time carrying a precious painting in one hand as if it was a valise. Meanwhile, a robbery is under way and no one seems to notice. People wander the hallowed halls of the museum at all hours and nothing much is suspected. An intruder is discovered in the dead of night—but how did he get there, and is it enough to shout, "Hey you!" How about sounding an alarm or calling the police?

So that's the upshot. Leading man Dennis O'Keefe seems to be a William Holden wannabe, and Colleen Gray as his female counterpart is a hair more believable but not especially compelling. The cinematography is routine, and script a bit forced. In all, it's a struggle to appreciate much here.

The verdict? Not a great movie on any level.

Nothing Original About "The Fake" But Worth A Glance

[zardoz-13 · 5/10 · 30 November 2014]

A savvy American detective, Paul Mitchell (Dennis O'Keefe of "The Fighting Seebees"), is hired to keep his gimlet eyes on Leonardo da Vinci's priceless masterpiece "Madonna and Child" as it goes on display at the Tate Gallery in London, England. Naturally, thieves scuttle out of the wood work like cockroaches, and Mitchell discovers that one of the best painters at replicating the art of the ancient masters, Henry Mason (John Laurie of "The 39 Steps"), is the genius who knows how to duplicate the masters. Predictably, Henry has a beautiful daughter, Mary (Coleen Gray of "Red River"), who knows nothing about her father's nefarious exploits. As it turns out, Henry is in cahoots with a mysterious gentleman who prefers to appreciate the da Vinci's paintings on his own premises. Chiefly, this prestigious person doesn't want to share da Vinci with anybody but himself. Meantime, Mitchell has a few tricks up his sleeve that he uses to thwart the villain, but he cannot prevent this wicked man from eliminating anybody who has had anything to do with him along the way. Of course, when Mitchell starts snooping around Henry, he incurs the wrath of his daughter who isn't entirely certain that she cares for Mitchell. Mitchell manages to sort everything out by fade-out, but he is too late to prevent the sinister villain from having Mary' poor pop from being hanged in his own secret lodgings so that it appears he committed suicide. Eventually, not only does everything work out for Mitchell, but also it seems that Mary and he will at least part friends after the shadowy fellow who killed her father and poisoned one of his own accomplices is caught.

"So Evil, So Young" director Godfrey Grayson, working from one-time only scribe James Daplyn's original story, adapted by "The Human Monster" scenarist Patrick Kirwan with an uncredited assist from Oscar-nominated writer Bridget Boland of "Anne of the Thousand Days," has fashioned a straightforward but sometimes devious thriller. Mitchell has more tricks up his sleeve than a magician and keeps the villains guessing. Grayson and company don't dawdle for a moment in this 70-minute, black & white, epic that was lensed partially on location at the Tate Gallery. Mind you, "The Fake" is nothing special, but it contains a couple of clever touches. Music department maestros Ilona Kabos and Matyas Seiber draw on Mussorgsky's memorable composition "Pictures At An Exhibition" for the orchestral score. Cinematographer Cedric Williams, who had collaborated with Grayson on other films, provides atmospheric compositions, and the lighting is evocative, especially when our hero purses a thief early in the action near the docks. You see the thief slip into a warehouse with Mitchell at his heels. When the thief realizes that he has been spotted, Mitchell's huge shadow is cast on the façade of the warehouse. The scenes after dark in the Tate Gallery when Mitchell is searching for a thief create suspense, too. The low-budget exposes itself when the chief villain is revealed because the producers didn't have enough money to spend it on red herrings to divert our attention. Grayson's helming is efficient; O'Keefe is charismatic enough, and Gray is distracting, but there is little about "The Fake" that is original. Nevertheless, it bearing viewing at least one.

Compilation of clichés and formulas.

[filmalamosa · 1/10 · 14 January 2013]

British mystery "quota" movie equivalent to Hollywood B's. This one was more equivalent to a Z. The production values are so cheap but it is the script that is a stupid wooden formula thing with so many obvious flaws in it.

The story is about museum artwork being stolen by replacing real paintings with fakes. This sounds interesting but trust me this rendition seemed like it was written by a 10 year old. It is nothing but a compilation of clichés and formulas.

If the Tate museum had such lax security...people crawling through windows in the boiler room--million dollar paintings with no alarms--ALL of their artwork would have been stolen.

DO NOT RECOMMEND

Entertaining Crime Drama

[bnwfilmbuff · 8/10 · 16 March 2017]

Dennis O'Keefe shines as a detective hired to protect a famous da Vinci painting on exhibition at the Tate in London. Later, he engages himself in trying to uncover an art forgery ring to cash in on a $50,000 reward. Hugh Williams, Guy Middleton, John Laurie, and Coleen Gray are marvelous in support. I love the way "Pictures at an Exhibition" is used as the soundtrack through the film. IMO grossly underrated on this site for reasons that aren't totally clear. This is another solid O'Keefe vehicle to go along with "The Leopard Man", "Lady of Vengeance", and "T-Men" in which I have enjoyed his performances.

Not at all good

[stoneyburke · 1/10 · 27 November 2014]

I so wanted to like this movie. The premise is interesting but oh brother, and then nothing logical happens.

Yeah, besides a lot of clicking footsteps of folks walking what is there? I adore both O'Keefe and Gray and really love Laurie, but I was so disappointed. It appeared as a low budget looking movie and seriously it made no sense if you think about it. O'Keefe was always at the right place at the right time? I don't think so. The pub server lady was a breath of fresh air. At least she was having some fun.

Please I cannot say anything besides... Don't bother your short time on earth with this barker.

"We're doing a series of articles for Good Housekeeping"

[richardchatten · 8/10 · 22 June 2022]

Most valuable today for it's record of early fifties London in general and the Tate Gallery in particular (an unlikely place to show a Da Vinci, by the way), the soundtrack is probably the most imaginative thing about it, from the gallery acoustics to the Mussorgsky score.

"The Fake" Paints a Fine Picture

[glennstenb · 8/10 · 28 December 2021]

"The Fake" is an entertaining story of fakery in the art world occuring in London. It held my interest without wavering, even though I was reminded numerous times of how films of this nature are often marked by intersections and coincidences of happenstance that lead to progress made in solving mysteries, much like those seen in the Barnaby Jones TV series of the 1970's.

The black and white photography is gorgeous, with interplay of shadows beautifully choreographed. That the stirring musical score is judiciously minimal only serves to enhance the telling of the story. I was worried during the opening credits because the scene of the ship unloading its cargo was obviously shot using two different sets of cargo and edited in a sloppy and careless fashion. Happily, those fears did not carry forth into the film itself and the continuity is nearly flawless. It may seem a little jarring to see an April-October romance play out between Gray and O'Keefe (25 years and 54-- he looks even older), but it is the story and cinematography that count most, and in this case they come together very well. This is an enjoyable and swifty moving program.