O Menino, o Cofre e a Morte

This is a simple story of a boy who finds himself trapped in the vault at the bank where his father works and the race to get him out alive. It's Friday and the Bank is getting ready to close for the weekend. Stephen Walker (Winter) has just turned six and as a treat, his mom, Lucille (McDowall), takes him to meet his father, Colin (Patterson), out of work. His dad just has to close up the vault and then they can go and celebrate. However, while Colin and his boss, George Foster (Gifford), lock up the vault there's an automobile accident just outside the window, which takes their attention away for a couple of seconds. When they finally close the door and the time lock kicks in it's the teller, Evelyn (Francis), who alerts them to the child's predicament... now the race is on...

What I really liked about this was the simplicity of both the story and the location. You get a few outside shots, which only take up a couple of minutes, at most, and then the rest of the movie is set in two rooms. Though you never really notice as the Director, Thomas, keeps you involved in the unfolding story. As time passes, the question, "Will they be quick enough?" becomes more and more imperative... while the outlook grows bleaker and bleaker. Thomas uses the limited space well, moving the camera around to its best advantage.

Then there's the acting, which is above par. Every person involved in rescuing the boy has an urgency in their voice and in their movements. Robert Beatty really sells the self-assured and strong-minded Pete Dawson, the mind who is responsible for the banks' security. He is quick with a plan and quicker to rally the troops. Whereas, Gifford as the Bank Manager Foster hits all the right notes in portraying a man who feels accountable for the accident and the possible death of a child. One thing which got under my skin was how little the parents appeared in the film. It would have been better if these two characters had been stronger, then you would have had a near-perfect cast.

I'd recommend this film to all. It's a nice way to spend an afternoon on these cold winter days, while the central heating keeps you nice and cosy.

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!

An out of the ordinary plot by Arthur Hailey is turned into a tedious 'b' film by the Carry on team of Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas. The actors are second rate, apart from Sean Connery in an early role, and can only offer below standard histrionics. The scenario is a small boy is locked in a bank safe, will he be rescued before he suffocates? The problem is that child actor Vincent Winter is such an unappealing performer that you don't care about him, thus ruining any suspense that the film attempts to create. Even if you are stuck in Warrington on a wet weekend, this is one to steer clear of.

Six year old Steven Walker is in the bank with his father near closing time he is in a playful mood and slips into the vault unseen just as it is shut. The problem is that for security reasons the vault is on a time lock and has been set to remain closed until after the weekend. With no more than half a day's air in the vault the race is on to try and get the boy out. The local vault expert is out of town for the weekend but, with no guarantee that he can be found in time, the parents are frantic to get him out.

The plot was more than enough to hook me into it because it sounded like one of those setups that will be tight and tense, set in a single location and, given the race against time, effortlessly engaging. Although there were no guarantees for this, I was surprised by just how flat the whole thing was and how much it failed to grip me. In terms of actions and narrative flow things are fine; the story follows a solid path that makes sense and isn't contrived or forced for the sake of falsely producing tension. However it is the delivery where it takes this and does nothing of interest with it. The main problem is with the script; where it is shouting urgently then things are fine but it regularly has horridly flat scenes of dialogue while the cutting etc is going on and none of them really work. Of course it doesn't help that the performances mostly put me in mind of my last time I was in a forest. Thomas does manage to produce some tension when the action is the focus but he totally undercuts this by his flaccid inability to bring out this tension in his characters and his actors – after all, if they don't seem bothered by the whole thing, why should I the viewer be?

As another review has stated the worst performance is mercifully the shortest – that of the boy Winter. Christ but he could not be less convincing, natural or sympathetic. It is rare for me to be shocked by the ineptitude of a performance but Winter achieved that with very few lines. I know he was a child but are you telling me he was the best child available to the casting director? Of the rest of the cast only Beatty stands out and that is mostly because his dialogue consists of being in charge and tough. Conversely all those blessed with flat lines give bland performances; the list is long but includes Patterson, Mannering, McDowall, Ayres and so on. Connery is only memorable for who he is rather than anything else.

Overall a semi-engaging film that sadly has more weakness than strength. The simple premise should have allowed for great tension but the script and delivery let this fall down badly. Deserves a low-budget but intense remake – perhaps not of the detail but certainly using a similar premise.

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.