The Frightened Man

THE FRIGHTENED MAN is another low budget British crime film written and directed by the ever-present John Gilling. Once again Gilling was working for the Berman and Baker team at Tempean Films and and once again he has managed to craft a well-told and engaging tale from very little resources.

The film features the ubiquitous Dermot Walsh (complete with his trademark white hair streak) as an anti-hero who's something of a scoundrel; he begins the film by quitting his studies at Oxford and returning to his father, begging charity. His father wants him to come and work at his antiques shop but Walsh is more interested in romancing the lodger and getting involved with some ne'er-do-well characters.

Eventually the main thrust of the film becomes your typical heist thriller, with plenty of tension utilised to keep the viewer occupied right until the fitting climax. Walsh does well as a truly detestable character but THE FRIGHTENED MAN is of particular note thanks to the efforts of the supporting cast. Charles Victor is excellent as the doting father who'll do anything to see his son succeed while Barbara Murray is never irritating as the woman drawn into his wiles. Michael Ward, Thora Hird, John Horsley, Ballard Berkeley, and Martin Benson all put in solid turns too. There's little to dislike about this well-plotted film.

A bit of a misleading title given that there is really nothing frightening going on here at all. Obnoxious Dermot Walsh (Julius) is expelled from university. It doesn't matter that we don't know the specifics but it is quite clearly deserved. He is horrible. His dad Charles Victor (Rosselli) offers him a partnership in the family-run antiques business but Walsh refuses it, especially given that homosexual Michael Ward (Cornelius) works there and smells so fragrant. Walsh is not having anything to do with him. We follow Walsh's story as he steals someone's girlfriend and gets in with a bad crowd. Does he make the correct decision...?

Unfortunately, the film never gets going. We are given nobody to root for and the female roles are totally insignificant other than to stress to us that the men are bad. Annette Simmonds (Marcella) should have been given a bigger role. We get an opportunity for both women to shine when they rumble certain situations but nothing is developed for them down this route. This is something the film really needed as ultimately, there is no tension and the film just wraps up. The end.

Dermot Walsh has just been sent down from Oxford. His father, Charles Victor, is disappointed, but puts a good face on it. Walsh can join him in his business! His son doesn't like it. The shop looks like a junk shop to him, with the very occasional valuable antique -- there's a pair of Ming vases he just got, which his assistant, Michael Ward, tells him is on the police list as stolen. There must be some mistake, says Victor.

The shop doesn't even cover all expenses. Victor has a couple of paying guests at his house. Walsh likes one very much: Barbara Murray. In fact, they disappear and he marries her, but he can't get a job, so Victor comes through with a check for fifty pounds and a secretarial job in Hatton Gardens. Actually, Walsh has been working for a local hood, and he comes up with a plan to steal a shipment of diamonds from Hatton Gardens.

It's a very twisty story from writer-director John Gilling, and the actors are up to their jobs. It's the sort of nasty crime story that pleases people: there have been lots of stories about robbing the jewelry district in London over the years, from smash-and-grab up to the one in 2015, when pensioners carted out most of one safety deposit vault over a holiday weekend -- that actually happened. I'm waiting to see a movie about that, but until I do, this dark little tale will do.

John Gilling directed and provided the script for THE FRIGHTENED MAN - and I readily admit that he did well on both counts. The copy that I watched could never rate good, let alone pristine, with some truncated bits where dialogue was lost. That said, it was clear enough to deserve praise for cinematography by Monty Berman.

Those lost words notwithstanding, dialogue struck me as both convincing and involving, assisted by two very fine actor performances from Dermot Walsh as the worthless, cheating, mendacious Julius, the son of Rosselli (superbly portrayed by Charles Victor as the caring father with a past about to catch up with him). Martin Benson plays very effectively the shifty villain Alec Stone.

I found the film arresting from beginning to end without needing any extraordinary amount of action. The characters came across as believable and well rounded. With a length of 69 minutes, it is short enough that it is a pleasure to view and review. 7/10.

I just feel the need to begin by noting that the promotional poster/art for this film is very misleading and should be disregarded. Now, onto the film itself: I was anticipating something good but my expectations were greatly exceeded. The story itself is very solid and the script fully supports it through to its final conclusion. The entire cast does a fine job with Victor, Walsh, and Murray all delivering exceptional performances. Gilling does well in directing this thoroughly engaging and interesting film from beginning to end. Its is very British in all of the best ways and I can hardly think of a recent film that so thoroughly delivered such entertainment in such a short run time. The Frightened Man is definitely one to check out.