This rather hard to find little British film has few reviews on IMDB and a low rating: 4.9 at the time of this writing, which is pretty awful. While low budget and much of it set in darkness somehwat due to the less than perfect print I had of it, I nonetheless found it to be a wonderful acting tour de force between Donald Houston and Bill Kerr, the latter having been totally unknown to me.
What I particularly liked about this film was its ability to avoid the cliche and to take choices that I never expected. The plot twists are not able to be foreseen except that the movie is book-ended by the prisoner Houston waiting to be executed and speaking with a priest played by Liam Gaffney. As we move along we are expecting the movie and its lead characters to be somehow vindicated or excused or heroic and we are kept up in the air throughout until we, the viewing jury, must make our final assessment as to what has transpired and determine if the planned execution is justified. And we are left to wonder about Helen Bradley (Kathleen Byron) and what blame she bears for what has happened to her husband (Donald Houston).
The movie has that grim post World War II sense of grime and desperation that I as an American often get from British films of the period. It is like a British street gang movie of misguided youth but set on the sea. The writer and director are interested also in what causes the characters to behave the way they do and how difficult it is to survive in bad times and how we are all just one misfortune away from turning into someone we hardly recognize.
John Bradley as played by Houston is an individual down on his luck but who is a take-charge guy and natural leader. Does he deserve what seems about to happen to him at the end or is he not really guilty, partially guilty or a victim of bad lawyering, bleak godless destiny and/or a bad partner. Did the court really understand the man and judge him fairly? Would every viewer feel the same way about him?
I found the film thoroughly engaging, dark in its overall message, and so well played. The chemistry between the two male leads was palpable and was enhanced by the claustrophobic boat and the half-glimpsed violence encountered on the never really seen French coastline. One cannot help thinking that the author of this strange little film had a bleak vision of the world we live in and one other reviewer of the film on imdb suggests this in his tribute to his father, the author of the story.
The film also made me want to see more work by Donald Houston.
All in all, this is not for someone looking for a light bubbly fun film or even a carefree murder mystery like The Thin Man. But if you enjoy superior acting on a budget and you want to become a judge and jury evaluating what has gone on, this one is certainly worth at least a look.
What I particularly liked about this film was its ability to avoid the cliche and to take choices that I never expected. The plot twists are not able to be foreseen except that the movie is book-ended by the prisoner Houston waiting to be executed and speaking with a priest played by Liam Gaffney. As we move along we are expecting the movie and its lead characters to be somehow vindicated or excused or heroic and we are kept up in the air throughout until we, the viewing jury, must make our final assessment as to what has transpired and determine if the planned execution is justified. And we are left to wonder about Helen Bradley (Kathleen Byron) and what blame she bears for what has happened to her husband (Donald Houston).
The movie has that grim post World War II sense of grime and desperation that I as an American often get from British films of the period. It is like a British street gang movie of misguided youth but set on the sea. The writer and director are interested also in what causes the characters to behave the way they do and how difficult it is to survive in bad times and how we are all just one misfortune away from turning into someone we hardly recognize.
John Bradley as played by Houston is an individual down on his luck but who is a take-charge guy and natural leader. Does he deserve what seems about to happen to him at the end or is he not really guilty, partially guilty or a victim of bad lawyering, bleak godless destiny and/or a bad partner. Did the court really understand the man and judge him fairly? Would every viewer feel the same way about him?
I found the film thoroughly engaging, dark in its overall message, and so well played. The chemistry between the two male leads was palpable and was enhanced by the claustrophobic boat and the half-glimpsed violence encountered on the never really seen French coastline. One cannot help thinking that the author of this strange little film had a bleak vision of the world we live in and one other reviewer of the film on imdb suggests this in his tribute to his father, the author of the story.
The film also made me want to see more work by Donald Houston.
All in all, this is not for someone looking for a light bubbly fun film or even a carefree murder mystery like The Thin Man. But if you enjoy superior acting on a budget and you want to become a judge and jury evaluating what has gone on, this one is certainly worth at least a look.