L'Île des réprouvés

The most interesting thing about the Siege of Pinchgut are the numbers of scenes of the City of Sydney and some of its suburbs in the 1950s, which is fascinating to review nearly 60 years later.

The story involves an escaped criminal (Aldo Ray), who protests his innocence, and the 3 men who have helped him escape from custody. They attempt a nighttime escape by boat through Sydney Harbour but are forced aground on Pinchgut Island - now much better known as Fort Denison - where they hold hostage the caretaker and his family.

The movie has quite an interesting plot and the acting is quite good. It does fall apart a little towards the end as the plot descends into melodrama and the key question of Ray's innocence or guilt is never resolved.

The interest for me as a child of the 50s in Sydney was seeing scenes of various Sydney locations as they were in my childhood.

Despite being made by the British studio Ealing and containing a number of British actors, the movie was evidently made with the American market in mind. Not only was the star, Aldo Ray, speaking with an American accent but American spelling was used. In one scene a newspaper headline read "Harbor", which is the American spelling. The British and Australian spelling is "Harbour".

Despite its shortcomings, most notably falling into absurdity towards the end, a weak climax and some unresolved issues, the movie held my interest throughout and I can recommend it especially to older Australians for the historical value of the geographical scenes.

One of the previous reviewers stated erroneously that Ealing only lasted 20 years.That is completely wrong.A studio has been on the present site for around 100 years.In 1930 a company was formed called Associated Talking Pictures headed by Basil Dean.This made films for release by Radio Pictures.Trouble was Radio wanted them as supports for their American imports whereas Dean wanted them for top of the bill.So they split from Radio.Dean was ousted in 1938 because he liked to use his wife,Victoria Hopper,in colossal flops such as "Whom The Gods Love".It was at this point that Balcon,who had left MGM British became head of the studios,the name changed to Ealing and it became world famous.However by 1955 various problems beset Balcon and he had no option but to sell the studios,where films are made to this day.Balcon had a distribution deal with MGM and rented space at their Boreham Wood studios,where the likes of "Davy" and "Dunkirk" were made.However MGM was in turmoil and Balcon left for ABPC who distributed this film.However films had moved on since his heyday and so the company was disbanded at the end of the year.It is actually a rather good film,even if Aldo Ray is less than convincing as an Aussie.It is an entertaining film and a fine testament to Ealing and Balcon.

Three men break a convicted criminal out of jail. Their escape plan falters when their boat breaks down off Fort Dennison - "Pinchgut " - an island in Sydney Harbour. The caretaker of the island recognises the felon and the game is up. The four hold the caretaker and his family hostage, resulting in a deadly standoff with police.

An interesting enough hostage drama. The initial setup is well done, with the ambulance and hospital scenes being particularly exciting. The climax of the film is also quite exciting.

However, the middle section, the back-and-forth between the gang and the police, is a bit of a drag at times. The lack of character engagement here is quite telling as, while you're initially made to think that the felon was wrongfully convicted and is in the right, his actions throughout the film are hardly endearing. The police largely act quite professionally (with one glaring exception) so are not the villains of the piece. Still, it's hard to pick a side, especially as there are some good elements within the gang.

One major positive is the views, as we get some great shots of Sydney Harbour (pre-Opera House), including of the Harbour Bridge and from the Harbour Bridge. The Sydney Harbour views are, for me, the highlights of the film.

Neil McCallum breaks his brother, Aldo Ray, and three others out of prison. Ray wants a retrial, and talks about getting the public on his side, while the others just want away, but go along, with grumbling. But the boat they are on wrecks its piston, and they put up at Fort Denison in Sidney Harbor, aka, Pinchgut Island. They take the keeper, his wife and daughter hostage, and plan to get away the following evening, after the tourists have left. But that goes wrong, too, and they come up with a third plan: there are shells inside the disused fort, and a working gun, and a ship in the harbor with 15,000 tons of explosives. A shell in that ship will destroy miles and miles of Sidney. The authorities are paralyzed. They could destroy everyone in the fort, but then what would public opinion say about the keeper and his family? The only man who can order a retrial for Ray is out of town and refuses to act.

The last movie produced by Ealing Studios under Michael Balcon is in no wise a comedy, although there are some funny bits as the harbor area is evacuated. Instead, it's about the men under pressure, the authorities who refuse to budge because of red tape and conviction, and the increasingly frenzied behavior of Ray, as his brother expresses doubts.

Director Harry Watt had become a director in the GPO unit under Humphrey Jennings. He directed the fine NIGHT MAIL, and did uncredited direction on LONDON CAN TAKE IT. During the War he moved to Ealing. After the War he directed their overseas movies. After this, he went to TV and eventually back into documentary work. He died in 1987 at the age of 80.

As a keen Australian movie fan, I have to admit I'd never heard of this British production largely filmed on location in Sydney, Australia during the late 1950's. The Australian input into the movie is minimal, restricted to the mainly harbour-side locations and a couple of supporting actors and extras, but conveniently, director Harry Watt had had previous experience of filming in Australia and it shows.

The Australian accents for instance, as performed by the British cast members are spot on, with American import, Aldo Ray, being the exception to the rule. He clearly plays an Australian character (not American as other reviewers allege) and yes, there's never any explanation, as to why he has a different accent from his brother, who when the film starts, has apparently master-minded his escape from a train (which we never see) with the aid of 2 other gang members.

Though critically regarded at the time, TSOP was never a commercial success, perhaps explaining why it has been so forgotten, also unfortunately heralding the arguably premature end of Watt's movie career. However in recent times through the influence of figures such as Quentin Tarantino, it has undergone a further critical re-appraisal, which serves to highlight many positive aspects of this much under-rated film.

One can easily see why Tarantino's interest was piqued. Twists abound from the start, with these gentlemanly crooks, being forced to divert from their escape plans and take an injured man to hospital, in a prologue which is both humorous and suspenseful.

The gang quickly gain our sympathies, when we soon realise all they are intent on, even whilst relatively gently taking hostages, is escape. Contrasting with this are their police pursuers, who are shown to be at the very least, extremely hard-nosed in their intent and seemingly not all that concerned about the hostages' welfare. It all makes for some clever reversals of your typical crime caper tropes.

Again I take issue with some of the other reviewers, when stating that the narrative plays out in a generally realistic, believable fashion. There is a Fort Dennison (Pinchgut) in the middle of Sydney Harbour, which may well have seen daily tourist tours of the facilities. It's not far-fetched to think a workable cannon existed there since the Korean War and gang members may also have had naval service during World War 2. It all adds up, including leader Matt's gradual mental disintegration.

Watt makes great use of iconic landmarks such as The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the unbuilt Sydney Opera House even gets a nascent, indirect mention via the medium of early Australian television and yes, there was a TCN Ch 9 in Sydney at the time.

The Siege of Pinchgut, whilst no classic, is indisputably an unexpected surprise from 60 years ago and I can well understand it being restored and archived by the The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.