Ultimatum

Seven Days To Noon is ironically one of those films that has grown into the times rather than be dated. It's certainly a relevant film given the threat of nuclear terror today.

But back in 1950 I don't believe the technical expertise was there so that Barry Jones or anyone else could have put a device like that in a briefcase. Take a look at pictures of Fat Man and Little Boy the code names for the weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those things could not have fit in a briefcase and developments hadn't advanced that far in five years. Now sad to say it actually could be done.

Barry Jones is an atomic scientist who is suffering from fatigue and overwork and a questioning mind about what exactly he's developing. His mind snaps and he takes one of the weapons Great Britain has been developing and sends a letter to the Prime Minister. Issue a statement you'll stop the program or he's going to explode his package on Sunday at high noon.

That sets up a manhunt for Jones throughout the United Kingdom, but especially of course in London. His note does specify the seat of the government. Andre Morrell as a Scotland Yard Inspector, Hugh Cross as one of his fellow scientists who will have to disarm the device once located, and Sheila Manahan as his daughter lead the search for Jones and the package of destruction he has.

Despite the fact that it was a technological impossibility in 1950, Seven Days To Noon is still an effective thriller of a film, worthy of a Hitchcock. It's interesting that they came close to getting Jones a few times before they do catch up. Best in the film is Olive Sloane the frowzy former music hall entertainer who Jones holds as a hostage for a while. She wants to do her bit as well as she's trying to get to Aldershot to entertain the troops.

Seven Days To Noon got an Oscar for Best Screen Story. It remains one of the few films that actually grew technologically and became more relevant now than when it first came out.

An excellent suspense thriller! Kindly old Prof Bullington (Barry Jones) gives the British government an ultimatum- unless they cease all atomic testing by the weekend, he will set off an A-Bomb in the center of London. Andre Morell heads the task force to find "the needle in one helluva haystack." Done in a documentary style that shoves the details and urgency of a great manhunt onto the audience. However, the human element of the story (i.e what Bullington's daughter has to go through, the dear sweet ol' actress Bullington holds captive, and the mass evacuation of London) is not lost for a millisecond. Superb acting (Especially by Morell and Jones) and writing. Do not miss!!

... but tells the story of a nuclear scientist in England who goes a little nutty and writes a letter to the prime minister demanding that the country stop making bombs. If not, he'll set off a little atomic bomb he just swiped in the middle of London at noon on Sunday. Barry Jones plays the nutty guy and Andre Morrell plays the stalwart Scotland Yard superintendent who coordinates the manhunt.

Their inability to track down this crafty guy leads to a massive evacuation of residents. It's a fascinating little film about the new nuclear age set amid the rubble of blitzed London which is still obviously evident. About half-way through the film, matters take a little turn by introducing a washed-up actress who sort of picks up the fugitive in a bar. She's played by Olive Sloane and she's quite marvelous as the cheerful has-been who doesn't quite know it's over. It's an unexpected little turn and it makes the whole film, especially since there can only be one outcome to the film's premise. It won an Oscar for best writing.

In this day and age when atomic weapons are everybody's bow and arrows the plot of this film has never been more up to date. The setting of the film in London with the devastation left by the bombing in World War II made a great back drop for the story. I can remember when London really looked like that. Both the plot and the characterisation are believable and the acting more than adequate. But star status must go to the people of London who back in 1950 still had the camaraderie and spirit forged by six years of war. This was a time when people still looked out for each other and this come over well as the story unfolds. With our video making mobile telephones and instant access to news this film may seem tame and dated but don't let the black and white format fool you this is a good story, well told and well worth seeing. Oh, and by the way, we really did talk like that back in 1950.

The Boulting Brothers stray from their usual cheery British comedy films to make this effective and thoughtful thriller. Leaving the plotting to one side, it is remarkable as, at that time, the Government was laying the basis for the U.K.'s independent atomic deterrent and the effects of Atomic and Nuclear testing were never discussed. (ask the poor soldiers who watched the tests in Australia!) The issue is never resolved, and in the end the Professor can't make his case publicly.

Part of the film shows the evacuation of London. It harks back to the great evacuations of 1939/4 and invokes the same spirit. Oddly enough, Wartime studios had not portrayed the Home Front (other than nods to Fire Services or War-Work)and perhaps this is a belated look back. It does show one incident that would never have passed the wartime censor's pencil- the shooting of looters.

Other cultural notes: How easy it was for the studios to clear London even then the most traffic congested city in England, and to get the army to lend hundreds of personnel (and demonstrate their efficiency). And the great attraction of the old 1950's films: glimpses of bomb sites, long lost street scenes and forgotten buildings.

Watch it and remember its been 55 years since this film was made and 7/7. I don't think the genre was attempted again. Instead Studios turned to Sci-Fi ( a thin disguise for the external Russian menace).