User Reviews

Strongest is unchallenged master of menace, Patrick McGee as a racing gang boss. The film seems an unflattering but knowledgable portrait of British horse racing, here portraying a jockey menaced to win by one crooked bookmaker but menaced to lose by a rival outfit. The appearance is typical budget B but the plot and dialogue rise above the average. Its more inventive and harder hitting than than expected for a British B. Jack Headley, still with us, didnt convey the gritty qualities of a former Marine who insists in persisting after a receiving a warning beating and a credible death threat.

The ending was a bit of a let down - the Patrick McGee character turns out to be a bit of an old softie.

A 6.5

I think this is strong enough to be remade now. Perhaps set in those times, the early 1960s.

An insurance investigator called Jim Matthews (Jack Hedley) is sent to look into a £20,000 claim by a racing jockey, Sanders, who was involved in a suspicious road accident. It transpires that Sanders had recently got into trouble when he lost a race with a horse that was the odds on favourite to win and many people lost a lot of money as a result. Matthews finds out through a bookmaker called Bernside (Harry Locke) that one big loser was the crime lord Lucky Ben Black (Patrick Magee) who tells him that he hangs out at a club called The Silver Moon in Soho. Matthews takes a beating from some hoods outside of the club who warn him to "mind his own business or they'll be more to come". But, after he is attended upon by the club's waitress Marion Parker (Jacqueline Ellis), Matthews gets to meet Black who is playing poker in a back room at the club. He admits to losing money on the horse whilst staking £50.00 on Matthews to play poker, but denies being involved in Sanders accident. He tells him that a Clive Parker is taking over Sanders job and, in a veiled warning to back off, allows the young insurance man to beat him at poker. Matthews meets Parker and finds that Marion is in fact his sister. It transpires that Sanders was the victim of a gang who pressurized him into throwing the race, but turned nasty after he refused to do it again. Now, the same gang are leaning on Parker to do the same. Matthews and Marion attempt to persuade him not to go through with it and drive him to the track the following morning. But, they are tailed by Black and his gang and Matthews pulls into a side road telling Parker to get a taxi. However, Matthews and Marion are abducted by Black who tells them that unless Parker wins the race they will die. Parker faces a dilemma. If he throws the race his sister and Matthews will be murdered by Black but, if he wins, the gang will surely kill him too - Sanders has since died as a result of his injuries. But, who is behind this vicious gang and what will the final outcome for Parker and his friends be?

A British crime drama with a typical 'B' picture plot, but done with a bit more polish, professionalism and one or two offbeat touches by the talented director Robert Tronson. Jack Hedley convincingly plays his part as the rookie insurance investigator while Jacqueline Ellis is likable as his love interest, Marion, a hard working girl who sweats blood as a waitress at a Soho club in order to support her brother Clive's ambitions to be a top racing jockey. She bluntly tells him that if he throws the race and commits himself to a life of crime that she'll disown him. The acting honours here, however, go to Patrick Magee's powerful performance as the Soho crime lord Lucky Ben Black and the climax in this film is rather charming. The film is enhanced by Bert Mason's excellent b/w photography neatly capturing the seedy world of racetrack gangs and London's underworld.