The Intruder

Smartly blending thriller (a desperate ex- soldier who got a raw deal after WW2 becomes an ex-convict on the run) and war movie (scenes from the past of the characters of the story) ,"the intruder" ,although too over-the top melodrama ( Ginger 's fate when he comes back from war could be that of a character of Hugo's "le misérables" ) , is a gripping movie.

Mertin (Jack Hawkins ),the officer who goes back in the past ,begins more and more compassioning as the story unfolds .Nothing in the world is black and white, even in war when men are supposed to be heroes : Perry (superbly portrayed by Dennis Price ,for me the stand-out) acted like a coward and ,discharged ,he has become a well-respected man, smug , despising. On the other hand , there is a strong camaraderie between these brothers in arms which lingers when the war is over , a friendship even a little girl can feel ; little by little,the colonel will side with them .

Underrated film, starring Jack Hawkins - long one of my favourite actors. There are some great scenes, not least that at the farm when the Merton character appears with a container of water for his car, immediately defusing an awkward situation with his friend being interrogated by two detectives. Watch out for character actor Edward Chapman, in a nasty role as an abusing stepfather.

Jack Hawkins plays a Colonel of a tank corps during world war two.After the war he finds a burglar in his home who turns out to be Michael Medwin who was one of his loyalist soldiers during the war.It turns out that he is on the run from prison having been sent there for manslaughter.The story of how Medwin arrived at that spot is dealt with by flashbacks.A couple of them ,such as that with Arthur Howard,don't add very much too the plot.What this film does tell us about is the trouble that many ex servicemen had in adapting back to civilian life.The cast is excellent and is very entertaining.However I found the end a bit of a disappointment and rather an anti climax.Not seen now,it deserves an airing.There is a great cameo from Denis Price who nearly steals the film with his cowardly Captain.

Guy Hamilton's "The Intruder" is neither fish nor fowl. Jack Hawkins is the ex-colonel who comes home to find one of his former soldiers breaking into his home and sets out to discover what it was that drove him to it. It's told largely in flashback as Hawkins tracks down the survivors of his batallion so the film is part war movie, part psychological drama and part comedy. The story is interesting enough and it's generally well played by a fine cast of British character actors. Hawkins is excellent as always and Michael Medwin is surprisingly good as the intruder and there's nice work from the likes of Dennis Price, George Cole and Dora Bryan. Unfortunately the film takes a bit too long in getting to the point and remains something of a curiosity at best.

The colonel Jack Hawkins coming home surprises a burglar, who happens to be one of his former soldiers. He can't understand how such a good soldier could happen to a criminal course and can't just let the case slip away. He engages himself in the mystery of the fallen soldier, finds other soldiers of the same company, and gradually gets a thread or two with which to unravel the mystery. The mystery proves a tragedy, and the final sequences out in the country are heart-breaking in their revelations of sheer bad luck derailing into overwhelming misfortunes. There are many flashbacks, you get back into the war and some of its worst ordeals, you only catch faint traces of the soldier in question at first, but gradually your eyes are opened to his case. It's not a great film, but it's a great story, and it is well filmed, and definitely one of Jack Hawkins' best.