The First Offence

{{for|the King Prawn album|First Offence}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}} {{Use British English|date=June 2016}} {{Infobox film | name = The First Offence | image = First_Offence.jpg | caption = Original trade ad | director = Herbert Mason | producer = Michael Balcon | writer = Stafford Dickens<br>Austin Melford | story = | based_on = ''Mauvaise Graine'' | narrator = | starring = John Mills<br>Lilli Palmer<br>Bernard Nedell | music = Allan Gray<br>Franz Waxman | cinematography = Arthur Crabtree | editing = Michael Gordon | studio = Gainsborough Pictures | distributor = Gaumont-British Distributors | released = {{Film date|df=yes|1936|3|}} United Kingdom | runtime = 66 minutes | country = United Kingdom | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''The First Offence''''' is a 1936 British low-budget "quota quickie"<ref>{{cite news |title=Fancy a quickie? |author=Matthew Sweet |author-link=Matthew Sweet (writer) |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2 January 2007 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/jan/02/features.features11}}</ref> drama film directed by Herbert Mason, produced by Michael Balcon for Gainsborough Pictures and distributed by Gaumont-British Distributors. The cast includes John Mills, Lilli Palmer and Bernard Nedell.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20171021102420/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6aa323b1 ''First Offence''] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}</ref> The story was written by Stafford Dickens and Austin Melford. It is a remake of the 1934 French film ''Mauvaise Graine'', directed by Billy Wilder.<ref>Bergfelder p. 174</ref>

''The First Offence'' was released to cinemas in the United Kingdom in March 1936.

==Plot==

A wealthy doctor's rich and spoiled son, Johnnie Penrose joins a gang of car thieves in France after being denied a car by his father.

==Cast== {{div col}} * John Mills as Johnnie Penrose * Lilli Palmer as Jeanette * Bernard Nedell as The Boss * Michel André as Michel * H. G. Stoker as Doctor Penrose * Jean Wall as The Zebra * Paul Velsa as Peanuts * Marcel Maupi as Man in Panama Hat * Judy Kelly as Girl in Garage * Marcel André as Michel {{div col end}}

==Production== The film was originally called '''''Bad Blood''''' and was going to star Paul Robeson.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article191510890 |title=Film Gossip |newspaper=The Telegraph |location=Queensland, Australia |date=19 November 1935 |access-date=27 October 2017 |page=6 (SECOND EDITION) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Filming took place in London.<ref>Neale, 2012, p. 138</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== * Bergfelder, Tim & Cargnelli, Christian. ''Destination London: German-speaking emigrés and British cinema, 1925-1950''. Berghahn Books, 2008. * Neale, Stephen. (2012). ''The Classical Hollywood Reader.'' Routledge

==External links== *{{IMDb title|0024015}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20171021102420/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6aa323b1 ''The First Offence''] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}} *[http://www.britmovie.co.uk/films/First-Offence_1936 ''The First Offence''] at Britmovie | Home of British Films *[https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-first-offense-v91544 ''The First Offence''] at AllMovie

{{DEFAULTSORT:First Offense, The}} Category:1936 drama films Category:1936 films Category:British drama films Category:British black-and-white films Category:1936 English-language films Category:Films directed by Herbert Mason Category:British remakes of French films Category:Gainsborough Pictures films Category:Quota quickies Category:Films produced by Michael Balcon Category:1936 British films Category:English-language drama films