TIGER BAY is one of a number of films made in the 1950s and 1960s that focused on the relationships between criminals and small children. This time around, it's the turn of Horst Buccholz in his English language debut, playing a Polish worker who murders his girlfriend in a fit of rage. The crime is witnessed by tomboy Hayley Mills, also making her screen debut, but instead of turning him in she proceeds to protect him for reasons of her own.
The trappings of this film are of a familiar police procedural, with all the wit and colour of the era and another finely-judged turn from John Mills. At its heart, though, is the relationship between man and child, and both Buchholz and Mills are excellent in their roles. There's no sentiment here, Buchholz's brutal crime is never excused for a moment, and it feels more true to life as a result; the ending is unbearably tense. A very good thriller, and unlike most one with real heart.
The trappings of this film are of a familiar police procedural, with all the wit and colour of the era and another finely-judged turn from John Mills. At its heart, though, is the relationship between man and child, and both Buchholz and Mills are excellent in their roles. There's no sentiment here, Buchholz's brutal crime is never excused for a moment, and it feels more true to life as a result; the ending is unbearably tense. A very good thriller, and unlike most one with real heart.