Crime Over London
1936 film by Alfred Zeisler
Crime Over London is a 1936 British crime film directed by Alfred Zeisler and starring Margot Grahame, Paul Cavanagh and David Burns. It was written by Harold French and Norman Alexander based on the novel House of a Thousand Windows by Ludwig von Wohl. It was made at Isleworth Studios, with sets designed by art director Edward Carrick. Distributed by United Artists in Britain, it was later given an American release by Gaumont British. It was also re-issued in Britain in cut form in 1946.
Plot
With the police on their tail, a gang of New York criminals decided to relocate to London where they plan a major robbery on a department store.
Main cast
Margot Grahame as Pearl, gang moll
Paul Cavanagh as Inspector Gary
David Burns as Sniffy
Joseph Cawthorn as Mr. Sherwood / Reilly
Basil Sydney as 'Joker' Finnigan
Rene Ray as Joan
Bruce Lester as Ronald Martin
Edmon Ryan as Spider
John Darrow as Jim
Danny Green as Klemm
Googie Withers as Miss Dupres
Roland Culver as soap salesman
Torin Thatcher as Mr. Finley
Reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This complicated and involved story lacks the element of surprise, and is long drawn out in its development. The characters are types rather than individuals, and no very great demands are made on the capable cast.
“Crime Over London” enters the record as 1936 film by Alfred Zeisler. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Crime, Over and London can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Crime Over London” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Crime, Over and London provides the most credible route into that argument.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5185205. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1936 and 1946.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Crime Over London”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Crime Over London primary sources, Crime Over London archive and Crime research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Crime Over London”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Crime Over London” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.