Time Lock

I didn't expect Sean Connery to have any dialogue for this little known "B" picture but to my surprise, he does have quite a few lines to act with. His character has no depth or significance however and isn't even given a name. He is one of many cast members involved in a simple story about a young boy who's accidentally locked inside a bank vault. The usual scenario follows: a race against time, the need to find a particular person who can help with the situation in hand, panicking characters etc. No one in the cast is well known apart from Connery and he hadn't appeared in many films before this one. The production moves along at a reasonable pace, dialogue is standard but the last few minutes includes a tense moment or two.

Although the plot feels rather forced and awfully predictable, this is a surprisingly quite intense film that is able to keep one always interested all the time, due to the presentation of all the scientific evidence in an interesting manner, as well as an appropriately short running time. It feels well researched, the music used is applied well, and for Sean Connery fans it has the bonus of his presence in a brief supporting role as a welder. Still, the film does have quite a tendency for unnecessary melodrama; in particular McDowall overacts whenever she is on screen. But in spite of the film's flaws, the overall picture stands strong, and while it might not be everyone's cup of tea, I would highly recommend it if the film has even the slightest appeal to one's taste.

This is actually a pretty good thriller that benefits from the no-nonsense, fact-based dialogue and avoids sentimentality for the most part. Technically it's nothing remarkable and yes, the actors are largely undistinguished, but the story is developed in a pleasing and suspenseful way. Another reviewer's remark on this page that the film doesn't work because the child is unappealing is somewhat bizarre. The kid is on screen for all of two minutes and has but a few words of dialogue. And he's actually a cute little fella too, making you root for his rescue.

In summary then, this is a movie which had the likes of Hitchcock or another of the greats directed it, have been a classic. Instead it's an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a bit in front of the telly - especially if you, say, find yourself off work ill one afternoon.

I remember seeing this movie on TV in the USA in 1961 when I was a nipper, it's always stuck in my mind, I have no idea why. Watched it again recently on TV, probably in the small hours, must've had insomnia. Not the worst 1950s B feature I've ever seen.

Reference the helicopter, as the film was made in the UK I'm pretty sure it was G-AKFB, with the registration crudely altered to a Canadian one. There were only 3 Bell 47s around in the forties/fifties according to the UK register, the only one apparently airworthy in 1957 was this one, which was then owned by BEA Helicopters. It was built in 1947 and was finally withdrawn from use in 1967, not a bad age for an early helicopter. I must get out more!

A very simple story of a young boy accidentally locked in a bank vault with no way of getting out until the time lock is released some 60 hours later, well after the air will have run out. No way except, of course, breaking in. And that's it. Together with an average cast and fairly wooden performances from some of them this should, by rights, have been no more than an average fifties film. Its strength, however, is its script. This kept the story very tight with very little embellishment and a great deal of intelligence. Usually with this type of story there are many gaps where one cannot help but feel that a truck could be driven through the errors made or the ridiculous twists. With Time Lock, however, the script covers virtually everything that the viewer would consider. Details such as the thinking and methodology of how to get into the vault, organising the people required and even such items as the possible medical effects on the boy and how to calculate the amount of air left to breathe. All this had a great effect on building the tension and I had to watch it until the end. One of the most enjoyable films that I have seen in a while.