Le perceur de coffres

Ray Milland starred in and produced this film from 1958. He plays Colley Dawson, an expert safecracker who can open a safe by listening to the tumblers. While in prison, he is recruited by the British to break into a safe in Germany and photograph a list of their spies working in Britain.

What's odd about the film is that it starts out as one thing - a safecracker who is stealing things for a partner and getting a percentage - and then turns into more of a spy film.

Milland is way past it to be playing this part. Also, at least in the print I saw, the night scenes and dark house scenes were so dark it was hard to make out anything.

Just okay.

The safecracker is in the Army. He looks at the bed and complains about the thin mattress. The soldier asks him what did he sleep on before. Safecracker says, "on a double bed with a double mattress". Soldier says, "you must have been in the American Army". To the British, "Yanks are Over Sexed, Over Paid, and Over Here".

This was fairly entertaining, but odd. It is like three distinct movies - a crime film followed by a light comedy and closed out with a war picture. There are several plot points that were not well developed and that leave you filling in some gaps yourself - and not in the "I'm glad they didn't just spoon feed it to me" way, but in the "wait - what the heck just happened there?" way. The story was interesting enough but it all stayed pretty superficial. Wasn't a waste of time but won't watch it again.

During every war, there are many stories of how people who would normally be passed by, are often chosen to become heroes, despite their infamy. Here is one such story called " The Safecracker. " It concern one Colley Dawson, (Ray Milland) an honest enough man, but one who is keenly aware that his desire for the good things in life, will never be acquired through hard work and determination. Like so many others, he discovers his talent for opening safes can bring him more money by theft. With a Mr. Bennett Carfield (Barry Jones) as fence, the two commit a series of jewel robberies which lead to instant riches. However, one robbery goes wrong and Dawson ends up doing ten years in prison. WII then provides the unusual but hazardous circumstances, during which he is promised a pardon if he will go to occupied Europe and break into a Top Secret German safe. Dawson joins a special team and finds himself in danger of his life once again. Milland does better as director for this film but is a little out of sync as the hero. Still, the movie is a good effort and he is seen as always in good form as an actor. ***

This low budget 'B' is the third of five films directed by and starring Ray Milland. To say that these five represent a mixed bag would be an understatement but this one is by far the most interesting.

The story itself is involving and the title character provides a perfect vehicle for Mr. Milland's rakish persona.

The pacing and momentum are pretty good compared to this director's other films but that quite frankly would not be difficult. He has the plus factors here of editor Ernest Walter, cinematographer Gerry Gibbs and a first rate score by Richard Rodney Bennett not to mention a supporting cast of familiar and thoroughly dependable British thesps notably Barry Jones and Victor Maddern. Nice performance too from Prague-born Jeanette Sterke who did not alas make as many films as her looks and talent deserved.

Mr. Milland returned to England ten years later to direct and reprise his stage role of Simon Crawford QC in the pedestrian 'Hostile Witness' of which the less said the better.