Eight O'Clock Walk

Dirty old men with sweeties stuffed into their coat pockets to secure the trust of young children seem to have been a regular feature of London life back in the law-abiding fifties.

We already know from the start that nice young Richard Attenborough isn't the guilty party, but with the recent hanging of Derek Bentley still fresh in people's minds it was a hot enough topic for the title to overtly (if archaically) refer to the fate that awaits the hero if he isn't exonerated before the conclusion.

As in 'The Angry Silence' the beleaguered Attenborough has to face the music with a sad-eyed, short-lived young actress from abroad by his side. Six years later it was Pier Angeli, on this occasion it's the waif-like Cathy O'Donnell.

I have awarded this film 7/10 and was surprised as a 67 year old regular viewer of films that I had not seen this long neglected title on TV before.I was given this Christmas from my wife about 12 movies of my choosing after visiting my favourite contact of rare dvds in North London.I was attracted to this title by the inclusion in the cast of actress Cathy O'Donnell who won acclaim as a newcomer acting in "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), playing the young fiancé then wife of a U.S.seaman (Harold Russell) who actually lost both his wrists in WW11.

There is no point giving the plot again but my wife & I both thought the mother was totally naive and not a little stupid allowing her very young daughter to roam over bomb sites rather than being escorted to school.However since I was 8 in 1954 I can state there was a much more casual approach by parents to child safety then like climbing trees, playing on bomb & building sites, walking by canals and walking home from school alone.Perhaps it was the effect of living through the war.Of course the 1954 British Board of Film censors would never have allowed a certificate for a film portraying murderous, psychotic paedophilia on cinema screens.Also in my DVD collection is Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock"(1949) which shows the depth of roles Dickie Attenborough could play.Here he plays an innocent cabbie in the wrong place & time who gets accused of the little girl's murder.To solve why Cathy O'Donnell has an American accent she plays Dickie's Canadian wife in this movie.She believes in her husband and fights to get him the best legal counsel for his defence.The real killer was spotted by my wife.

A great movie showing the dangers of circumstantial evidence. Being a 1954 movie, I liked seeing all the old cars. The taxi cabs are old now but they looked new in the movie. I don't understand why at least two of those cabs were missing a passenger front door! I like the Wolseley police car. I also like the piece of comedy about the lady who witnessed Tom chasing the girl. She told a lady she was looking for long pants for her husband. I'm sure she was supposed to be talking to the judge about her witnessing Tom chasing the girl, but she picked the wrong topic and talked about the long pants!

I'm in agreement with most other people here that this is an excellent British post-war melodrama (based on a true story). I just wanted to add that the title "Eight O'Clock Walk" refers to the time (8.00 am) when executions used to be carried out in England. It basically alludes to a condemned man's walk to the gallows (or the electric chair).

By the numbers murder mystery drama starring Richard Attenborough as a London cab driver who is on trial on a murder charge accused of murdering a young girl.

The time the film was made in 1953 which meant the potential consequences of a guilty verdict was execution by hanging which adds even more suspense to a courtroom sequence and provides the title for the film as all UK executions were carried out at eight o' clock apparently.

The court scenes are quite flimsy by modern standards, hardly A Few Good Men (1988) standard!

Attenborough is good in his part as the innocent man facing a guilty verdict under a tonne of prosecution circumstantial evidence.

I can't help feel that I have seen this kind of story loads of times. It brings nothing new except the relationship between the prosecuting barrister and his son as the junior defence barrister who is trusted to defend Attenborough due to the senior defence lead being called away.

The wife of the accused (Cathy O'Donnell) plays the usual concerned damsel in distress.

An average British production from the 1950s that I only watched for Attenborough's appearance really.