Roy Lewis (Norman Wooland) is released from prison after serving six months for stealing a large sum of money. He arrives in London to see his estranged wife, Ann (Silvia Francis) and seven-year-old son, Ted (Dennis Waterman), but is sent away by his domineering mother-in-law, Mrs Wall (Irene Arnold). With the help of Marion Crane (Jane Hylton), an ex-girlfriend, Roy abducts Ted and the three of them take the overnight train to Inverness to start a new life. But unknown to his adoring father, Ted is a diabetic and without his regular insulin injections he will go into a coma and die...
A good example to prove that the much maligned British quota quickie industry could at times produce pleasing results. Director Ernest Morris (a prolific director of British b-pics throughout the fifties and early sixties) manages to generate some tension from the situations in Mark Grantham's screenplay. For instance, Scotland Yard's hunt for Ted is complicated because his father has left a false trail of evidence behind which sends them on a wild goose chase checking all the airports as they are lead to believe that they are fleeing to Ireland. Another plus is that the characterisations are better realised than one might normally expect of a second feature. For instance, Roy and Ann's marriage suffered because of Mrs Wall's (convincingly played by Irene Arnold) domineering nature. Frustrated by the fact that he and his wife and son had to live under the same roof as her and not being able to save enough money to get a place of their own, Roy turned to crime. In addition, while he was in prison, Mrs Wall destroyed all the letters he wrote to his wife leading her to believe that he never wrote. It was always all about what Mrs Wall wanted and Ann never had the courage to stand up to her and when she finally does, her mother still refuses to accept she was wrong and storms off. Thanks to convincing performances from Arnold, Wooland and Francis you can sympathise with the family's situation and this works in the film's favour even if the plot becomes a little predictable towards the end. Also deserving praise is Jane Hylton, a sadly underused actress, who offers a good performance as Roy's ex girlfriend Marion. Fans of Minder and The Sweeney will be interested because the child, Ted, is played by none other than Dennis Waterman here making his acting debut.
A good example to prove that the much maligned British quota quickie industry could at times produce pleasing results. Director Ernest Morris (a prolific director of British b-pics throughout the fifties and early sixties) manages to generate some tension from the situations in Mark Grantham's screenplay. For instance, Scotland Yard's hunt for Ted is complicated because his father has left a false trail of evidence behind which sends them on a wild goose chase checking all the airports as they are lead to believe that they are fleeing to Ireland. Another plus is that the characterisations are better realised than one might normally expect of a second feature. For instance, Roy and Ann's marriage suffered because of Mrs Wall's (convincingly played by Irene Arnold) domineering nature. Frustrated by the fact that he and his wife and son had to live under the same roof as her and not being able to save enough money to get a place of their own, Roy turned to crime. In addition, while he was in prison, Mrs Wall destroyed all the letters he wrote to his wife leading her to believe that he never wrote. It was always all about what Mrs Wall wanted and Ann never had the courage to stand up to her and when she finally does, her mother still refuses to accept she was wrong and storms off. Thanks to convincing performances from Arnold, Wooland and Francis you can sympathise with the family's situation and this works in the film's favour even if the plot becomes a little predictable towards the end. Also deserving praise is Jane Hylton, a sadly underused actress, who offers a good performance as Roy's ex girlfriend Marion. Fans of Minder and The Sweeney will be interested because the child, Ted, is played by none other than Dennis Waterman here making his acting debut.