The film is a character study of Sammy Rice (David Farrar), an alcoholic scientist who specializes in explosives. He's part of a small contingent of scientists, engineers, and munitions experts tasked with developing weapons and defusing those of the enemy during WW2 circa 1943. Sammy, filled with self-loathing due to an injury that has left him with a prosthetic foot, is asked to help solve the mystery of a new type of booby-trap bomb that the Germans are dropping around the country, blowing up anyone unlucky enough to pick one up. Sammy must face his drinking problem and other personal troubles, such as his emotionally abusive relationship with co-worker Sue (Kathleen Byron).
A change of pace after the Technicolor beauty of Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes, the Archers instead opt for B&W cinematography and gloomy desperation. There are a lot of striking scenes, interesting camera shots, and unique directing choices. But there's a lack of momentum, a listlessness that undermines the film's flabby middle section. The performances are reliably good. Farrar's alcoholic isn't quite the unshaven wreck of most movie drunks, but he puts across the self-destructiveness and the hopelessness one feels when they realize that they're in the grip of something that they can't control. Byron's character is both enabler and victim, and she plays her as the quiet victim. Other standouts include Cyril Cusack as a mild, stuttering mechanical genius, and Leslie Banks as a Colonel Blimp-esque military commander.
A change of pace after the Technicolor beauty of Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes, the Archers instead opt for B&W cinematography and gloomy desperation. There are a lot of striking scenes, interesting camera shots, and unique directing choices. But there's a lack of momentum, a listlessness that undermines the film's flabby middle section. The performances are reliably good. Farrar's alcoholic isn't quite the unshaven wreck of most movie drunks, but he puts across the self-destructiveness and the hopelessness one feels when they realize that they're in the grip of something that they can't control. Byron's character is both enabler and victim, and she plays her as the quiet victim. Other standouts include Cyril Cusack as a mild, stuttering mechanical genius, and Leslie Banks as a Colonel Blimp-esque military commander.