Impact

A drab little effort which sees investigative journalist "Jack Moir" (Conrad Philiips) framed and convicted for a mail heist. The remaining drama combines all the usual aspects - a local "Mr. Big" - this time hammily played by George Pastell; an incompetent police investigation and - luckily for him, his former colleagues from his newspaper (Ballard Berkeley & Linda Marlowe) who believe him innocent. Once he is released from prison, he is bent on revenge. The biggest snag for me with this crime caper is that they clearly invested heavily in the jazz-style soundtrack and so wanted to get their money's worth - it's intrusive to the point of being annoying and is frequently used to generate tension instead of any script!

Dozy, formulaic, B-movie crime story which must have cost about three quid to make, featuring all the usual ingredients of the low-budget genre: 1. the wooden hero (Conrad Phillips, who co-wrote it) with pretty but otherwise pointless girlfriend; 2. the 'Mr Big' villain, plus equally pointless Moll, who uses a night club as a front for his crimes (and which appears to be financially viable despite being populated largely by his own henchmen); 3. Clueless coppers, who only appear at the start of the film in order to arrest the wrong man; 4. A banal script which avoids any kind of continuity of motivation or behaviour, so that any kind of irrational action will do.

The plot concerns ... no, let's not bother about that. Of virtually no interest (and therefore the most interesting thing about this film) is the appearance of Ballard Berkley, trying to be a tough-talking newspaper editor, who later became a stalwart of Fawlty Towers, and who must have forgiven Phillips enough by the 70s for writing this dross to appear with him in one episode -The Wedding Party. It is mercifully short, and no one gets hurt.

Back in the day when 'B' movies were common and an additional bonus that preceded the 'main feature' (and ruined by the terrible localized Pearl & Dean' ads) this would have been a largely un-impressive and forgettable time filler Sixty years on the remaining appeal of this hour-long quickie is its nostalgia value only... but that doesn't mean it's not worth your time, especially if you're an older person, like me.

It's a reminder of how simple and mundane life was during the mid-fifties to early sixties. It's also rather like watching an episode of 'The Saint' (with Roger Moore) without The Saint actually present!

Despite the wearisome cliches and absurd plot, the cast put on a good show.

If you're in the mood for some YouTube nostalgia, then don't be put off by all the other very negative reviews. It's actually a pretty good way to spend an hour.

Crime reporter Conrad Phillips' series of articles about gangster George Pastell annoy him so much he frames the reporter for mail robbery. While in, Phillips talk about his hopes for revenge with cell mate John Rees. When he's out, he goes to Pastell's club and proceeds to annoy him into wanting Phillips dead. When Rees comes in and offers all the information on Phillips a vengeance-seeking crime boss could want, he bites.

It's an inexpensive second feature from Butchers, which means it's very inexpensive. Nonetheless, it's competent, and I could figure out if Rees was helping Phillips, or wanted a payoff from Pastell. Now that's suspense! A very nice balance in script and production, and a particularly nice part for Rees.

Terrible film from 1963 (locations appear to be shot during the freezing winter of 1963).

The whole plot is ridiculous and implausible.

The acting is poor and the settings in the freezer store are beyond belief. No breath condensation at all and a complete lack of reality. The whole thing in the freezer was just appallingly done.

Impact is a 1963 British crime thriller directed by Peter Maxwell and starring Conrad Phillips and George Pastell. It was written by Maxwell and Phillips, and produced by John I. Phillips and Ronald Liles for Butcher's Film Service.

Seeking vengeance for newspaper articles written about him, crooked Soho nightclub owner "The Duke" kidnaps crime reporter Jack Moir and frames him for theft. While serving a two-year prison sentence Moir plots his revenge and, upon release, embarks on a scheme to clear his name.