Doublecross

Well not quite,but up till the last quarter of an hour this is a brisk and entertaining thriller. Unfortunately a really sappy romantic interest weighs down the film like an anchor. Robert Shaw features in a bit part as a policeman.

I recall seeing this on the BBC one Saturday morning and have never seen it since. The presence of Hartnell as a water bailiff was enough to spark by interest but he has few scenes. The bulk of the narrative falls on wily poacher Donald Houston as he is enlisted by enemy agents Anton Diffring and Alan Cuthbertson (not to mention Delphi Lawrence) to smuggle them across to Europe before they're arrested for murder - they shoot a security guard in the opening scene as they steal secrets from an office. A pleasant if unremarkable time-waster with a surprisingly brutal fight at the climax between Houston and the baddies - he gets the girl at the end. Its astonishing that such an obvious B quota quickie should attract such a decent cast but its a pity we don't have the film industry to churn out such films nowadays.

A pleasant enough way to waste an hour or so, nice to see sleepy Fowey in the 50's, and the chance to see a very interesting cast - early performances from Kenneth Cope, Robert Shaw and as usual William Hartnell adds some class in the acting department. However the whole affair is doomed from the start by a series of comically appalling "RADA Cornish " accents (Oooh arrgh me 'andsome !) - particularly by Faye Compton as the mum, and Donald Houston himself, who was worthy of much better than this, and a soundtrack that sounds straight from "Ivor the Engine". Hmmm.

Although a reasonably low budget film, the story and portrayals are sound. Yes, it's not a blockbuster, but (probably more as an indictment of the present day film industry), it is more enjoyable, believable, and entertaining than many of the fayre currently on offer.

A nice balance of humour and mild suspense, with a good plot and actors - I'd find it difficult to dismiss this film as 'just a B movie'.

As well as his part in the film he gets a credit as.dialect adviser. Lucky he didn't make it his vocation.