The last couple of editions of the "House of Hammer" podcast have revolved around; an adaptation of the popular radio series "Dick Barton", then the adventures of "River Patrol", where an undercover officer infiltrates a criminal gang. The latest edition details two films based on the radio series "PC49" which combines both of those ideas with a degree of success.
When a band of former Manchester gangsters are robbing trucks on the outskirts of London, PC49 (Hugh Latimer) goes undercover to infiltrate the outfit and bring them down. The plan is complicated when the cover he choses for himself, that of a recently deceased mobster, is compromised by one of the existing gang having been acquainted with him before.
From a technical standpoint, and compared to other films Hammer made at the time, this one is reasonable. The stock footage is kept to a minimum and the sound recording is actually pretty well done, which has been a failing of the earlier films thus far. The performances are generally OK too, even if it's difficult to believe that Hugh Latimer is capable of being a tough beat bobby and the way he beats up the criminals isn't particularly realistic. Towards the end, as it gets more dramatic though, the performances remain a bit too "stiff upper lip" for modern sensibilities.
The story drags a bit in the middle, which is impressive for a movie that's only an hour long, but does recover with a twist that I didn't see coming and then a resolution that seems more based on luck than serious planning.
Still I didn't hate this, which has not always been the case for the films I've watched for the Podcast and I'm interested to see if the sequel can follow the Dick Barton trend and improve on the original.
