karbarmusic

Interesting post-war British revenge tragedy which, surprisingly, casts Robert Preston as a Canadian anti-hero. Fine acting throughout with Harold Lang, who was to become a charismatic acting coach at RADA, as the bad guy. The Scottish actress, Elizabeth Sellars, is doe-eyed and lovely as the lead actress and Thomas Heathcote excels in a cameo performance. It's also good to see some post-war British film industry stalwarts such as Noel Howlett and George Woodbidge turning in their usual robust performances. The black and white photography is quite magical although the film score is overly dramatic. It's sad to see that this film is quite forgotten: the performances demand greater consideration. An English film noir.

Compared to the contemporary film of Get Carter, this is a very poor film. Even the usually witty pens of Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement (Porridge and The Likely Lads) could do little more than make this a better than an average episode of The Sweeney. Richard Burton does his best, but he is Welsh and his Cockney impersonation is only slightly better than Dick Van Dyke's in Mary Poppins. Worth seeing, but not worth seeing twice. Better Engish gangster films are The Long Good Friday (Bob Hoskin's acting is exceptionally good, particularly the last scene) and, perhaps The Krays (almost a documentary of these East End thugs).