Bang! You're Dead

Concisely directed by Lance Comfort this is an extremely well made film with an unusual plot. I will try not to spoil viewers appreciation of it and certainly in the UK it can be purchased on DVD. It is certainly worth seeing either on Talking Pictures ( when they show it again ) or as I mentioned a low price DVD. The cast is dominated by two very young actors, and I am singling out Sean Barrett for his nuanced performance. He has a friendship with the boy played by Anthony Richmond and it is this boy who sets in motion a controversial chain of event. He commits a crime ' innocently ' which puts a man's life at the mercy of the state and possible Capital Punishment. What came over to me in this story is how easily people could be executed if the guilty person of the act is neither found or suspected. I hope Lance Comfort was conscious of this aspect of the film and if he was then he was making a subtle case against the barbarism of state ' murder '. The relationship with the two boys is delicately handled, and conveyed with childlike tenderness. This again is largely due to the acting and the director. It is well photographed and I intend to see some of Lance Comfort's other films. Judging solely by this one he was a director not to be forgotten. My only reservation is with some of the adult actors and felt Derek Farr was a dull choice, and that Jack Warner could stop for a while being Jack Warner and inhabit than just ' act ' in his significant role in the film. Michael Medwin who died this year is also to be remembered, and he is always good to watch.

An interesting examination of life in the years following the blitz on London. Many are still living in sub-standard housing - in this case, within a deserted US military depot, where an aging widowed dad strives to support his young son. The main focus of this little psychological drama centers on the finding of an old service revolver and its consequences - while also looking at the social standards of the day.

Effective performances, direction, and good b/w cinematography help but an odd intro showing the crime before it's been committed seems unnecessarily confusing. Great Studiocanal/Network DVD Re-Mastering helps.