One by one we meet four troubled men.
(1) Richard Basehart is a clerk in New York who gives up his job and spends all his money flying to England to fetch his wife, Joan Collins, back home. Collins loves Basehart but is in thrall to her wicked Mum who hates Basehart and constantly comes down with phony, hypochondriacal illnesses to keep Collins with her. Basehart can't pry her away and, in any case, is now nearly broke.
(2) Stanley Baker, a boxer who has had his brains beaten out for twelve years but has finally managed to save twelve hundred pounds, enough for him to quit the ring and buy a tobacconist's shop. His decision is made final when he must have his hand amputated. Alas, his stake disappears when it's used as bail for his no-good brother-in-law who promptly skips town and forfeits the bail.
(3) John Ireland, a sergeant in the US Air Force, who is about to be transferred from England to Germany. His problem is that his wife, Gloria Grahame, is a narcissistic film star who is always followed around by a gaggle of horny groupies. He becomes a deserter in his efforts to renew their love.
(4) Lawrence Harvey: Smooth, insincere husband to a rich woman who finally refuses to pay for any more of his indulgences, such as women and gambling. Like the others, he's a combat veteran. But his decorations in North Africa were unjustly won because he simply murdered a handful of German prisoners. This was especially déclassé because North Africa was a gentleman's war. Now his rich old wife is cutting him off.
What to do, what to do? The answer is to organize a group of robbers -- himself and the other three, whom he has met adventitiously in a pub -- and steal ninety thousand pounds in old bank notes from a post office across the street from the pub. They will all have guns but if they do what they're supposed to, the guns will not be needed.
I don't want to give too much away, but the four men pull the robbery off, but the duplicitous Harvey not only begins shooting police officers but Baker as well. During their getaway, Harvey sees to it that Ireland "accidentally" falls on the third rail of the underground railway. Basehart has seen none of this but suspects betrayal since, after all, he may be a mere unemployed clerk but is not a jackass. Nobody gets away. This is 1954. No miscreant ever got away clean in 1954. But the final scene, a confrontation between Harvey and Basehart, is not badly done. A lot of tension nicely captured. Other than that, the direction is routine.
I had a problem with Harvey's hair. He doesn't have nice hair. It's long, thin, and stringy and if not properly maintained it tends to fall in greasy strands across his forehead. Here, makeup has created a coiffure that resembles some kind of 1950s pompadour or something. It juts up and out over his face. When he runs, this lump of hair bounces up and down as if held together by Crazy Glue. Other than that, he's an admirable rat, what with his sleek features and posh accent. Joan Collins hasn't that much screen time but she's gorgeous. She should leave her cheek bones, those flaring malars, to the British Museum. She's worth robbing a Post Office for. Gloria Grahame was a popular noir figure and for good reason. She has a tiny sexy mouth and a girlish whine. She always sounds dumb and wily at the same time. But her attempt at an English accent is a successful failure.
(1) Richard Basehart is a clerk in New York who gives up his job and spends all his money flying to England to fetch his wife, Joan Collins, back home. Collins loves Basehart but is in thrall to her wicked Mum who hates Basehart and constantly comes down with phony, hypochondriacal illnesses to keep Collins with her. Basehart can't pry her away and, in any case, is now nearly broke.
(2) Stanley Baker, a boxer who has had his brains beaten out for twelve years but has finally managed to save twelve hundred pounds, enough for him to quit the ring and buy a tobacconist's shop. His decision is made final when he must have his hand amputated. Alas, his stake disappears when it's used as bail for his no-good brother-in-law who promptly skips town and forfeits the bail.
(3) John Ireland, a sergeant in the US Air Force, who is about to be transferred from England to Germany. His problem is that his wife, Gloria Grahame, is a narcissistic film star who is always followed around by a gaggle of horny groupies. He becomes a deserter in his efforts to renew their love.
(4) Lawrence Harvey: Smooth, insincere husband to a rich woman who finally refuses to pay for any more of his indulgences, such as women and gambling. Like the others, he's a combat veteran. But his decorations in North Africa were unjustly won because he simply murdered a handful of German prisoners. This was especially déclassé because North Africa was a gentleman's war. Now his rich old wife is cutting him off.
What to do, what to do? The answer is to organize a group of robbers -- himself and the other three, whom he has met adventitiously in a pub -- and steal ninety thousand pounds in old bank notes from a post office across the street from the pub. They will all have guns but if they do what they're supposed to, the guns will not be needed.
I don't want to give too much away, but the four men pull the robbery off, but the duplicitous Harvey not only begins shooting police officers but Baker as well. During their getaway, Harvey sees to it that Ireland "accidentally" falls on the third rail of the underground railway. Basehart has seen none of this but suspects betrayal since, after all, he may be a mere unemployed clerk but is not a jackass. Nobody gets away. This is 1954. No miscreant ever got away clean in 1954. But the final scene, a confrontation between Harvey and Basehart, is not badly done. A lot of tension nicely captured. Other than that, the direction is routine.
I had a problem with Harvey's hair. He doesn't have nice hair. It's long, thin, and stringy and if not properly maintained it tends to fall in greasy strands across his forehead. Here, makeup has created a coiffure that resembles some kind of 1950s pompadour or something. It juts up and out over his face. When he runs, this lump of hair bounces up and down as if held together by Crazy Glue. Other than that, he's an admirable rat, what with his sleek features and posh accent. Joan Collins hasn't that much screen time but she's gorgeous. She should leave her cheek bones, those flaring malars, to the British Museum. She's worth robbing a Post Office for. Gloria Grahame was a popular noir figure and for good reason. She has a tiny sexy mouth and a girlish whine. She always sounds dumb and wily at the same time. But her attempt at an English accent is a successful failure.