Review of Decision Against Time

Struggling aeroplane manufacturer pioneers RATO (rocket - assisted take off) on what looks suspiciously like a Bristol170 Freighter in an attempt to fill its order books. This works fine,but,don't you know it,one of the orthodox piston engines catches fire and all the boffins and odds and sods are made to bale out,leaving former RAF pilot Mr J.Hawkins alone at the controls. His job and the future of the company depend on his ability to land the plane safely. Unusually for a 1950s film,the hero's marriage is shown as going through a sticky patch so not only is he responsible for the future of hundreds of workers he is also anxious for his family's future. No pressure then. Cue rather too many long shots of the stricken plane droning across the sky as the director tries to rack up tension in the tower with lots of smartly dressed chaps snapping out RP English to the monosyllabic Mr Hawkins whilst he goes through a rather quiet wobbly. There is never any doubt that he will land safely despite Mr Crichton's attempts to string out the ending,and the last 10 minutes are by far the best part of the picture as Mr Hawkins alights from the plane with hardly a word,gets into his Standard Roadster and rives home through the ranks of the company's employees who stand in complete silence,where a lesser director might have made them break out in a cheer. "Hello,old thing",he says to his wife by way of greeting. Again a lesser director could have ended it with a tearful embrace,but Mr Crichton suddenly turns on the heat and Mr Hawkins and Miss Sellars go toe to toe as his façade crumbles and he literally shakes with suppressed emotion and all his fear and feelings of guilt show themselves. It is the only time he ever seemed like a real person in the whole film. Gut - wrenchingly honest,decent,brave and dependable. A typical Jack Hawkins part but through no fault of his own,most of this film doesn't deserve him.