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A perspiring 1960s bloke, wearing a gabardine raincoat and Chelsea boots, is chased down an alleyway (no, not like that – he's wearing trousers after all.) In hot pursuit - a car (or motorcar, as they were known back then) which promptly drives into him, deliberately apparently, and at terrifying speed! 60s bloke may not be going anywhere but we are – round black and white London, aka the frightened city. It doesn't look all that frightened – no shots of people cowering in terror. But wait! In one of those sophisticated and seedy private drinking clubs – the sophistication implied by a shot of a soda siphon – "the chaps" are smashing the gaff up. "What we want is a law to catch villains and not hamper the police", opines Sayers (a policeman, not the bakers, played by John Gregson, who is far more hardboiled here than in Tomorrow at Ten). This is consistent with the theme that runs throughout the film of over-worked police pining for a mythical age of the gentleman crook.
Enter Waldo (Herbert Lom) who has a master plan to get the top chaps together – one of whom, Harry (Alfred Marks) has a problem - a suitcase full of protection dough. "That's a problem?" asks Lom. (Harry is a superb character, a really early genuine representation of London villainy.) The heads of London's gangland firms promptly carve up the capital (quite literally) teaming up to keep the "teds and tearaways at bay", pooling resources and profits. Their no nonsense methods, however, begin to attract the attention of not only plod but the Home Secretary ("some of these boys are lively on the cosh.") Exit Tanky Thomas - and enter Damion (Sean Connery). Damion is a cat burglar whose partner, Wally (Kenneth Griffith) is currently indisposed after tumbling off a roof. "I've got to provide Wally with the comforts", says Connery (no explanation is proffered for the Scottish accent, by the way).
Damion might be a burglar but he knows how to order a meal in fancy Italian restaurant Sanchetti's. He's also after some comforts for himself, by the look of it, namely Anya "I'm sorry, darlink" (Yvonne Romain). We first see her under Lom's wing – or, to be exact, pressed against the desk in his office. Miss Rush, Lom's secretary, has an annoying habit of popping in whilst Lom is trying to give Anya – ahem – career advice. He wants her to perform at The Temples ("It's not exactly the Palladium") a nightclub full of geriatric off duty brigadiers complete with eye popping monocles (her "I larffed at lerve" routine is beyond comedy) – whilst keeping an eye on Damion (she ends up giving him more than the eye). Damion thinks she's a sweet kid but Anya's really only a brass with Lom as her pimp – "Anya, meet Lord Bunch!" The protection alliance begins to fall apart when gang leader Alf gets the hump. So Alf hits back with his gang – supplemented by some yobbos he's brought down from Brum – and start smashing up the protection's interests. Sanchetti's even gets blown up by a handgrenade. Blimey!
score 7/10
fillherupjacko 22 April 2009
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2056080/ |
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15-4-2021 04:54:05