He Who Rides a Tiger

A tale of a master thief and his attraction to a young and somewhat naive girl. Girl tries to change his ways but to no avail. Notable for the youthful appearances of two great actors. At this time Tom Bell was much better known than Judi Dench. Good acting in an indifferent story but good shots of a Maserati when this marque was in its heyday.(Mistrale)

Tom Bell is 33, have been a professional burglar since he was 16, and is released from prison for the seventh time. He immediately goes back to his cat-burglary, and is immensely successful at it. But he has streaks of temper when dealing with girl friends, seethes when questioned by police, visits his mentor, Peter Madden in prison, and leaves thousands of pounds in cash for Madden's wife, Kay Walsh. He's also very fond of children, and eventually falls in love with fiercely independent Judi Dench and her son, Grant Lovatt.

Director Charles Crichton's last big-screen feature until A FISH CALLED WANDA is a superbly acted portrait of Bell's character. It's highly cinematic, and we have to infer everything about him from what he does. Even that is available only in flashes and bits that don't seem to fit together unless the audience can make a leap of intuition from the title; then it all becomes clear. Miss Dench's character gets a bit more talk and explication. It seems peculiar to see her as a beautiful young woman in a role any of a dozen other actors could have performed as well; she wouldn't begin to find roles that suited her ability to play a strong woman for several more years.

One night, a notorious cat burglar, just out of prison, is driving through the woods of suburban Surrey, surveying a grand property for a future heist, when he's hailed down by a young woman who has missed the local late night bus.

He drives her back to London and then pursues her.

Judy Dench plays the young woman, Joanne, a gentle, single parent of a boy, born out of wedlock (in the days when this was still a social issue). Her son attends a local orphanage where she helps out in exchange for his education. Peter Rayston, played by Tom Bell, is the handsome, edgy criminal with a kind heart who pursues her.

Initially, Joanne, is reluctant to get involved with this man who tries to woo her with his stolen fortune. Then she falls for him and the love story begins.

Shot in black & white and much of it at night. This is both a crime drama and a sensitive tale of a love in spite of itself. The film isn't quite a classic, more a classy B movie, but the cast are superb and its gentle message is memorable and effectively told.

Made just before London really started swinging, shot in a very grainy black & white, it would have already looked old fashioned by 1967. But it is still well worthy of a DVD release.