Track the Man Down

This is a sort of British version of film noir. While it has many qualities of noir (such as vile bad guys, killings and a lack of sentimentality), it lacks the usual language, style and cinematography you might associate with the genre. Because of this, although the film is pretty good, it lacks the style to make it great.

The film begins with a robbery of a racetrack. During the robbery, a guard is killed and the gang takes off in a car...only to crash and then scatter. The weak link in the gang is Rick...and the police are soon looking for this loser. However, instead of staying put and playing it cool, he tries to double-cross the gang and ends up on the run. He ends up on a bus with a bunch of characters--some of which are horrible. The drunk, while entertaining, is way over- played and makes the film seem a bit light in spirit--which is odd considering its other dark qualities. There are also a couple characters that simply don't make a lot of sense. Still, it's modestly entertaining and worth your time. It's a shame, as with a slight re-write it could have been exceptional.

The first of several crime supporting features to made in England by Republic Pictures, who brought over R.G. 'Bud' Springsteen to direct. It begins quite promisingly with a robbery at that very 1950's venue, a greyhound stadium, with one of the gang making off with the loot. He leaves this with his girlfriend (Ursula Howells) but the police are soon on to her, and it's left to her innocent sister (Petula Clark) to deliver it to him as he flees from his fellow crooks and the law.

Trouble is, this situation is never developed very satisfactorily. Little is seen of the police after the first thirty minutes or so, Walter Rilla's gang leader hardly seems very dangerous and the thin story is padded out by a number of minor characters, presumably to provide comic relief. They include a middle-aged actress (Renee Houston) and two hackneyed stereotypes, a blustering newspaper editor, and an annoying stage drunk. There's the odd moment of tension, but the final scenes are hardly convincing. Lead actor Kent Taylor makes little impact, but then all the characters are constructed from the thinnest of cardboard. There's some good location shooting though and it's watchable if you don't expect too much.

A band of criminals rob a dog track and get away with a lot of money.... and a murder. The police start closing in on the one with the loot, and the head of the gang explains to a henchman that if he's caught, he'll squeal. It all winds up with reporter Kent Taylor on a bus that the desperate crooks hijack.

It's a rather confusing plot, with some fine performers acting in character, under the direction of R. G. Springsteen. Springsteen was a fine western director for Republic, and did a good job when given a shot outside the field. He certainly delivers here for Republic in their second British production, although the script is a bit muddled, and far more violent than most British movies were; clearly this was intended for American production, but Republic had all this cash sitting in Britain, just like the major studios. Still, there are good, roles for Petula Clark, Renee Houston, and Walter Rilla.

I know, this RG Springsteen film is not a masterpiece, this is not a golden gem set with diamonds, but it remained a rare movie for a long time. So, when I finally got it, I was so glad. Maybe I waited for it because of the plot, a heist pulled in a race track stadium, as also was Stanley Kubrick's THE KILLING. This was a masterpiece, and of course, I did not expect to find something equivalent here. And I was damn right. This is a pure garbage junk stuff, more British than American - no offense to our UK friends - but it is light heart, nearly comedy, talkative, lousy, boring. How could I think about THE KILLING when I first began to search this one? Useless to say that RG Springsteen has made far far better than this in his homeland. And the American director finished his career with TIGER BY THE TAIL, a movie also involving a race track heist at the beginning.