Der Mann ohne Gewissen

This low budget film is an early version of The Defiant Ones.

Jack Warner does a villainous turn who along with George Cole are handcuffed prisoners on the run. Warner is smart, cunning and amoral. Cole is naive and dim, pretty soon he is stitched up for murder that Warner committed. Warner even manages to have a meet up with an old flame, even though his wife is fretting over him.

Comedy is provided by David Tomlinson as a reporter on his honeymoon persuaded by his editor to cover this breaking news story.

Warner provides an energetic even complex performance, a world away from PC George Dixon, but the film is too uneven, the comedy sections with Tomlinson and his editor just gets in the way. The film has some nice location shooting, appearances from some familiar British actors and even a social conscience.

This is a low budgeted British film about two handcuffed prisoners who escape and are tracked throughout the film. One of the guys is a smart and amoral older crook. The other is a complete idiot who should have just stayed put instead of hopping off the police truck transporting them. Thrown into the mix is a guy on his honeymoon (David Tomlinson), as his editor insists he stop his canoodling and get the story!

The film is an interesting portrait of the older prisoner. The younger guy is just too stupid to make him worth watching. But if you think about it, the plot is so much like the better American film "The Defiant Ones"--so why not just watch that instead? Especially since this British film is amazingly flat and dull at times considering the subject matter.

An interesting piece of casting, having Jack Warner playing the bad guy, but he is a good enough actor to pull it off. He plays a war hero George Martin, who with another convict, Willie Stannard, (George Cole) break loose from police custody, while handcuffed together. David Tomlinson as the young reporter, who is called in to work on the story. A film from another era, that is well worth watching.

In so many ways this is a fine all round film, which is only let down somewhat by the unnecessary comedic element of the young newspaper reporter (David Tomlinson) accompanied by his new bride (Yvonne Owen), on their honeymoon, covering the man hunt for the two escaped prisoners. The inclusion of this improbable and forced attempt at humour simply jars within the context of the whole film. That great character actor, Jack Warner, is excellent in the lead role, playing against type. He is ably supported by a young George Cole, and the ever dependable Jane Hylton. The film also has a lively pace about it, and is well staged, with the outdoor locations lending a good balance to the proceedings. It's a film that doesn't seem to be widely available, but is certainly well worth tracking down, despite the inappropriate light-hearted interludes.