The Hi-Jackers

Independent trucker Anthony Booth gives a lift to Jacqueline Ellis. Almost immediately, the truck is hit by some fellows who want the Johnny Walker he's carrying more than Booth does. They're led by Derek Francis, who learnedly lectures his crew on why they don't carry weapons - if someone dies accidentally, the police will have them for murder - and the tight fiscal leash he keeps his associates on - they'll spend it, and then the police will come around with hard-to-answer questions. No, he prefers to remain an ordinary, decent criminal, and live a long and pleasant life on the outside.

While Booth and Miss Ellis warily fall in together, Booth wonders how the criminals knew to hit him.... and that makes up the rest of this pleasant flick. It's nothing to win any critics' polls, but is a decent way to spend 66 minutes.

Writer/director Jim O'Connolly should be well known for two films where the cult status went to someone else: In BERSERK, Joan Crawford gets credit while stop-motion guru Ray Harryhausen and his dinosaurs ruled THE VALLEY OF GWANGI. But O'Connolly's by himself in creating two really neat, tight and entertaining B&W post-noir crime flicks derived from the British b-picture company, Butcher's, in the early/mid 1960's...

The first being THE HI-JACKERS starring Anthony Booth as an independent truck/lorry driver: victim of the titular gang faking accident scenes on the rural roadside and then stealing the cargo: in his case, cases of Johnnie Walker Red...

The essential eye candy is cute-as-a-button ingenue Jacqueline Ellis as a rogue young lady, the likes the truckers deem "Mystery," who Booth picks up at a diner before getting robbed. Their chemistry has the kind of relaxing, lived-in coziness where you want them to hook up, but they're almost too perfectly suited to, too soon...

On the other side are THE HI-JACKERS themselves: you might initially think they're actually highly professional policemen, or even classy college professors on a field trip roadside picnic...

Led by non-violent sophisticated heavy Derek Francis with two thugs from O'Connolly's followup, SMOKESCREEN, Glynn Edwards and David Gregory, they're an eclectic lot, calling the boss "Gov" and, eventually holed up at a rural estate, seem to have all the time in the world... that is, until the ingenue riskily moves in, providing a burst of 11th hour suspense, though more serene than edgy...

This fine little curio is an involving jazz-scored crime flick that, no matter what side's being centered on, moves along with well-timed action sequences blanketed by more intelligent than pulpy bouts of page-turning dialogue.

It works on about the level of a middle school creative writing lesson, with students assigned to produce their own crime story.

Cultured, cigar smoking, dome headed, gourmet wannabe Jack Carter (Derek Francis) is the mastermind behind a series of laughably gauche, but surprisingly successful lorry heists.

Likeable, do anything for anyone, anytime, Anthony Booth (prior to finding immortality as Alf Garnett's randy Scouse git son in law) along with passenger Jacqueline Ellis falls foul of the deftly planned...but still laughable hi-jack and his consignment of top quality Scotch soon becomes whiskey in the car, rather than whiskey in the jar!

Pompous, plum in the mouth detective, Patrick Cargill offers Booth little cheer in terms of recovering his vehicle, or its cargo, but is curious about the absence of his co-driver (Ronald Hines) on the day of the crime. Oddly, Hines bears a striking resemblance to Arthur Kennedy at his most devious and calculating, but minus the westerners gun slinging bravura.

Identified as the woman who knew too much, a couple of gang members attempt to put the frighteners on Ellis whilst she is taking a bath, in a predictably clumsy scene which succeeds only in putting the 'sigh' into Psycho. Responding with some of Grace Kelly's Rear Window resilience she takes matters into her own hands gathering information from ex-hubby and jailbird, Douglas Livingstone. The marriage having failed, due to his life of crime and his painfully boring insistence on including the word 'rich' in every sentence he utters.

Throw in plenty of interesting views of the transport from the early '60's and some modern big band jazz.....and you still have a pretty one dimensional cops 'n' robbers caper. Salvaged, however by its unabashed, unpretentious period charm, 'The Hi-Jackers' is a victory for simplicity, a wholly enjoyable experience.....always assuming that Ronald Hines enjoyed being repeatedly punched.

It was tough being a lorry driver back then with little in the way of creature comforts in the slow and noisy vehicles. Few motorways and to top it off the danger of being hijacked.

It had the look of a 1953 film and not 1963 but this just made it look more gritty and the transport cafe looked great, back then they were for lorry drivers only and the travelling public were likely to be barred from entry. Me and a friend had to talk our way into one as late as the mid 70s.

Well worth watching with a good plot and good acting all round. Different to see nice Dave from Minder as a very nasty baddy.

Yet another late night treat from ITV. Rather above the British second feature norm (no difficult task), it boasts a likeable lead performance from Anthony (father-in-law of Tony Blair) Booth, genuine location footage and a witty villain. Even Vauxhall police-cars make a change from the usual Wolseleys.

I wonder if the PM screens this epic at Downing Street functions?