Five Days

In London, the businessman James Nevill (Dane Clark) is the president of Amalgamated Industries and adores his wife Andrea (Thea Gregory). When he is betrayed by his uncle Cyrus McGowan (Howard Marion-Crawford) in a risky business that will bankrupt the company, he decides to force his former friend Paul Kirby (Paul Carpenter) to kill him so that Andrea receives a life insurance policy to have a good life. However Kirby refuses and devastated with the proposal, he drinks too much disclosing the request in public in his girlfriend´s bar. Out of the blue, James´ uncle changes his position and the business succeeds. James tries to find Kirby to call off their arrangement but does not locate him. After three attempts of murder, James suspects that Kirby is not who is trying to kill him.

"Five Days", a.k.a. "Paid to Kill", is a film-noir by Hammer with a good plot point that may surprise the viewer. The cinematography is also great but the conclusion is disappointing. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Pago para Matar" ("Paid to Kill")

Dane Clark was one of the actors who went to England and made these films for Hammer, Kit Parker Films, etc.

Here he stars in "Paid to Kill," a 1954 film also starring Anthony Forwood, Paul Carpenter, and Cecile Chevreau.

Clark plays a businessman out of options when an important deal falls through. Desiring security for his wife, whom he adores, he arranges for someone to kill him.

We've seen this before, though it does contain a twist. However, it's pretty routine.

Clark was a John Garfield wannabe who had a prolific, if not spectacular career in films and television for nearly five decades.

Anthony Forwood, a tall, handsome Brit, was married to Glynis Johns before he became the manager and long-time companion of Dirk Bogarde. He actually made a few films in the '50s before working behind the scenes.

I like these black and white British mystery/suspense films. Some are better than others, but they manage to be entertaining.

I'd always been interested in catching some of the films from Hammer's pre-horror boom; so far, the only title I'd come across was PHANTOM SHIP (1935) which was made a couple of decades before the studio reached its peak period but which, presciently, starred one of the era's horror icons – Bela Lugosi.

Anyway, Hammer apparently made a whole slew of ultra low-budget noirs featuring either faded American stars or second-tier leading men. This one, then, happened to be shown on late-night Italian TV and, knowing it's been released on DVD by VCI, I made it a point to check it out. It turned out to be a decidedly modest but not unpleasing little film: the star in this case is Dane Clark (not exactly top rank, you see) and, as I lay watching, felt that he wasn't really noir material – an opinion which, incidentally, I would change the very next day when I saw this same actor in the superior French-made GUNMAN IN THE STREETS (1950)! The plot, though far-fetched, is engaging: Clark's business fails and, in order to provide for his wife, proposes to have himself killed so that she can collect on his insurance; soon after, his fortune unexpectedly turns and he desperately seeks to stop his killer from carrying out the assigned task!

Even if I watched the film dubbed in Italian, the London settings and character types offer a whole different atmosphere to the American noirs – the same thing goes for the French locations of GUNMAN IN THE STREETS – and this does help keep one's mind off the measly production values. The denouement provides a few surprises – Clark's wife emerges a villainess (which allows him free rein with the devoted secretary who had really loved him all along), the attempts on his life turn out not to have been done by the person he paid expressly for that purpose – which elevates the whole slightly than would otherwise have been the case. Besides, the film is short enough at 75 minutes not to overstay its welcome or allow the proceedings to slip into tedium. By the way, the original British title of this one is FIVE DAYS (the period of time over which events take place) but got changed to the more evocative PAID TO KILL for the U.S.

For the fifties decade, this plot was very surprising, inventive, exciting. Now, in 2023, we can say that this scheme has been used many times in many suspense thriller plots. Unfortunately, the ending is always more or less predictable. Nevertheless, this littme UK thriller remains outstanding, not very long, pullled by a stong acting and cast. As in many features of this period, some US actors were hired for British productions. I recommend this one for any thriller buff, no matter the B production standard. Keep in mind that a B movie is not necessarily a lousy one, on the contrary: a lesser budget permits many daring and offbeat stories. This one is the best example.

After his London-based "Amalgamated Industries" suffers a devastating loss, American businessman Dane Clark (as James "Jim" Nevill) decides to end it all. This is going to be a strange suicide, however. In order for his wife to benefit from a life insurance policy, Mr. Clark asks an old friend to commit the murder. At first, sleazy hit-man Paul Carpenter (as Paul Kirby) refuses. But Clark makes Mr. Carpenter mad during a fight, and threatens blackmail, too. Finally, Carpenter agrees to kill Clark, within five days. Once the deal is set, Clark's failed business deal reverses. Now, he must stop himself from being murdered...

Writer Paul Tabori adds a couple of surprises to this formulaic story. You can make accurate predictions, but you'll need to revise them. Director Montgomery Tully does well in dark alleys and seedy diners. Second-billed secretary Cecile Chevreau (as Joan Peterson) sends out the right signals, indicating she's interested in her boss. Clark is faithful to pretty wife Thea Gregory (as Andrea), however. Not seen as often as partner (spouse equivalent) Dirk Bogarde, tall blond Anthony Forwood (as Peter Glanville) is impressive. British players shine in small, uncredited roles.

****** Paid to Kill (6/25/54) Montgomery Tully ~ Dane Clark, Cecile Chevreau, Paul Carpenter, Anthony Forwood