No Trees in the Street

Based on the play by Ted Willis, the film is set in the years just before World War II, when England hadn't completely dug itself out of the worldwide depression. Melvyn Hayes is featured as an aimless teenager, who tries to escape his squalid surroundings by entering a life of crime. He falls in with local hoodlum Herbert Lom, who holds the rest of the slum citizens in the grip of fear including Hayes' own family. No Trees in the Street chronicles Hayes' sordid progress from nickel-and-dime thefts to murder.

Directed by J. Lee Thompson, No Trees in the Street leans on a strong ensemble — Sylvia Syms, Herbert Lom, Melvyn Hayes — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1959.