Prismark10

Adapted from a Swedish film and directed by John Hyams.

Alone is a stripped down survival horror thriller.

After the death of her husband. Jessica (Jules Willcox) is moving across the country to her parents house. She is transporting everything on a U-Haul trailer.

Along the way she is harassed on the road by an older Man with a moustache.

The Man apologises the next day but acts a tad creepily. Jessica keeps encountering the same Man. His car breakdowns and he wants a lift. Jessica wisely drives off.

Eventually he abducts her. By now it is clear that the Man has done this before. Jessica manages to free herself and escape to the woods.

There is not much original about Alone. It starts off a bit like Spielberg's Duel.

Then it becomes a survival in the woods movie. Jessica is certainly a resourceful woman that can fight back.

It is tense but in a way, where the Man is beaten up with a tyre iron, is stabbed in his leg and is never hurt, injured or slows down.

Hancock goes to a jeweller to get his watch cleaned and serviced. It costs 35 shillings more than the watch is worth.

Hancock spots a young man with a posh lade. He looks familiar and the jeweller tells him that the man is a male escort.

This gives Hancock an idea to join an escot agency himself. He concocts a fictitious resume about himself such as being in the guards even though he is not tall enough. Also knowing many languages.

Frustrated the agency owner matches Hancock with uncouth loudmouth Australian millionairess Fiona Lonegan.

While Hancock dresses up to the nines for a night at a posh restaurant and the opera. Fiona wants to go down to a greasy cafe in Stepney for a bacon sarnie.

A thin plot with lots of filler. This includes Hancock fencing by himself for a long time. It is a while before the actual plot kicks in and it really is not that humorous.

This was the last of the ATV series of Hancock. You can see why more of them were not commissioned. Galton and Simpson's contributions were sorely missed.

What a movie, what a cast, just listen to that music.

Despite its epic running time. I watched this movie each time it came on television as a kid.

Although inspired by true life events which resulted in the execution of 50 recaptured Allied servicemen. This has been fictionalised and romanticised with composite characters, and in the case of Steve McQueen added motorcycle stunts.

The movie takes place in a newly built prison camp consisting of Allied POWs who have a history of escaping.

Once Big X (Richard Attenborough) arrives, he instigates a plan for a mass prison breakout though the digging of three tunnels.

Escaping from the prison camp is one thing. The next issue is surviving once out of the prison camps with the German military looking for them.

The first half of the movie introduces many of the main characters and you see the escape plan coming to fruition.

Then there is the actual escape and the aftermath. It all starts rather upbeat, almost like a derring do, boys own adventures.

Slowly a few things go awry which includes the actual escape as the tunnel is discovered.

Director John Sturges reunited some of the cast from The Magnificent Seven. Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Charles Bronson.

He adds James Garner with the cream of British talent. Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasence, David McCallum and Gordon Jackson.

The standout is McQueen as the Cooler King. Who amazingly gets out of isolation looking cleaner and healthier than he went in.

It is a long movie but does not feel it. Coburn is odd with his Australian accent and he is the only character who still retains some humour while escaping. Note the car scene as the Resistance shoot down some Nazis.