The Man in the Back Seat (1961)

I wanted to but couldn't!

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Two young crooks, Tony (Derren Nesbitt) and Frank (Keith Faulkner), cosh a bookmaker (Harry Locke) in order to rob him of his takings from the dog track. However, they discover the bag containing the money is chained to his wrist and the key is not on his person so they are forced to put his unconscious body in the back of the car and take him with them. They finally succeed in separating the bag from his wrist, but every time they try to dispose of his body it keeps reappearing and finally results in deadly consequences for the two men...Alongside House Of Mystery (1960), this is one of the most highly acclaimed second feature thrillers that writer-director Vernon Sewell ever made. For a film running for only 56 minutes, his tight and economical direction succeeds in getting maximum suspense out of the situations in Malcolm Hulke and Eric Paice's screenplay. A series of close calls occur as the two men narrowly avoid been caught before the film reaches disturbing supernatural climax. which is a match for anything any 'A' feature ghost thriller could do and it will chill your spine. Good performances too from Nesbitt who is utterly convincing as the more ruthless and cunning of the two men (he coshes the bookmaker and later kills him). Faulkner is quite good as the weak and easily lead Frank while Carol White of Cathy Come Home fame offers a gritty, realistic portrayal of the latter's wife who is dismayed at her husband's involvement with Tony and puts her foot down and says "It's either me or him. You come in with me or that door will close shut behind you." Frank later reveals that he had planned it to be his last job for Tony and tells his wife that he wanted the money so they could get out of their dingy, basement flat and so they both wouldn't have to go out to work. It is one of joys of these British crime thrillers that they feature believable and realistic working class villains with ordinary aspirations as opposed to the more glamouress, fanciful and not lifelike ones in their bigger budget Hollywood counterparts.

With the Christmas/New Year holiday coming up I started looking for movies that I could watch with my dad,and I was pleased to find that a DVD seller had recently tracked down a British Film Noir,which led to me getting set to jump in the back.The plot:Looking to make some easy money,young thugs Tony & Frank decide to rob a bookie.Seeing him walk out,Tony and Frank grab the bookie and knock him out.Finding the bookie with a suitcase,Tony and Frank try to run off with the suitcase,but find that the man has chained it to his wrist.Desperate to get the cash,Tony and Mark decide to throw the man in his own car and drive round to find a way to open the case.View on the film:For the trim 54 minute running time,director Vernon Sewell & cinematographer Reginald H. Wyer give the rebellious Film Noir teens a Kitchen Sink backdrop,as Frank's girlfriend Jean begins asking questions.Filmed largely outdoors,Sewell soaks up the early '60s London mist,as blunt side shots take Frank and Tony down every murky Film Noir street corner rotting in the outskirts of the city.Given a limited amount of time,the screenplay by Malcolm Hulke & Eric Paice does well at drawing the friction between street-smart Tony and self-aware Frank,whilst delivering a surprisingly icy supernatural final note,as Tony and Frank take a look at the backseats.

This kind of films must take care to the details. If the details are silly, then the film is silly, period. In this case, it's about a wrist connected by a chain to a bag full of money. The simplest plier could cut the bag free or open the ridiculous lock of the bag but the thieves attack the chain instead, as far as I could see in my fast forward viewing. Had they only used a steel box instead, they would have fixed the annoying detail - but they did not. Simply ridiculous. I guess they didn't care. The whole viewing of the film will thus be spent on being annoyed at a detail that did not have to be. Well, to tell the truth, this film did not need to be either.

First rate little thriller by veteran director Sewell, who could be very good when he tried. Two crooks rob a bookie at a dog track and are stuck putting his body in the back seat. Every time they try to get rid of him, fate intervenes and they're back in the car with him. Derren Nesbitt is especially good as the more callous of the two. Good script, crisp black and white photography, taut direction. Good work all around. This is a fine addition to British film noir and should be included with others in that genre. And perhaps a re-appreciation of Sewell is in order. It's too bad this isn't out on DVD yet. Those who think Hitchcock was the only one who could use confined spaces well should check this out.