The other reviews here which seem mainly to originate in the US/Canada and other countries far from England seem to qualify this movie as the "Real Deal" and compare it favorably with more established gritty crime dramas around the same period. I have to beg to differ. The ploy of casting a Hollywood B-Lister in the lead to increase chances of a release in the US gives such hybrids an uneven texture. The very premise of the suave thief, the jail break, the loot in the vault (the McGuffin here), the double cross, the party girl to help him works believably in New York or Boston or Chicago but falls flat in London, especially since they use so many London tourist landmarks to "prove" it's real. Nader does his best and Bernard Lee gave a nice turn as a turncoat friend, but Maggie Smith's part is terribly underwritten (possibly because the misogynistic Kenneth Tynan was co-writer...)and she is little more than a cipher, looking vague and a little lost and speaking in a tiny voice.
I'm British born and grew up in the period this was made - it's a dud.
The only bright spot was Harry H. Corbett (pre-Steptoe) in a too brief cameo as a gang boss
I'm British born and grew up in the period this was made - it's a dud.
The only bright spot was Harry H. Corbett (pre-Steptoe) in a too brief cameo as a gang boss