The Weapon

The Weapon is a 1956 black and white British thriller film directed by Val Guest and starring Steve Cochran, Lizabeth Scott, Herbert Marshall, and Nicole Maurey. It was made by Republic Pictures. Its themes were originally explored in the 1951 British film The Yellow Balloon. The film was shot in the east end of London and at Walton Studios, with sets designed by art director John Stoll. Plot Elsa Jenner (Lizabeth Scott) is an American-born war widow who lives in London with her young son Erik. While playing with friends in Aldersgate, Erik hides in the basement of a bomb-damaged building, Erik finds a handgun stuck in a lump of concrete. As all the boys try to pull it free, it accidentally fires a shot from Erik's hands, hitting another boy. Believing he has killed his friend, Erik runs away. A policeman relates the events to his mother and explains the boy who was shot is alive but in hospital.