Escape from Broadmoor (1948)

Pretty Good

I'll tell you why so serious

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A criminal lunatic called Pendicot (John Le Mesurier) and his accomplice burgled a house in Hampstead Heath and murdered a servant who disturbed them. Pendicot turned king's evidence against his accomplice who was hanged, and he was sent to Broadmoor instead after being certified insane. Some time later, Pendicot escapes from Broadmoor and is hiding out at a ruined terraced house in London. He has found a confederate in a young man called Jenkins (Antony Doonan) who supplies him with food. In order to be able to pay him for his trouble, Pendicot persuades Jenkins to help him pull a robbery in which the target is a valuable stash of rubies. But, little does Jenkins know that Pendicot is returning to the scene of the crime that got him sent to Broadmoor in the first place. Meanwhile, the owner of the house, Trent (Frank Hawkins), fears that Pendicot will make an attempt on his life since it was the evidence he gave against him that nearly got him hanged. Inspector Thornton (John Stuart) reassures him that he will be caught and takes him out for a night out at his club. After they have left, Pendicot and Jenkins break into the house having overpowered the police guard. Pendicot boasts that he has planned the perfect crime, but the pair are interrupted by a young girl - a servant, perhaps? - (Victoria Hopper) or does Pendicot know her from somewhere?An ingenious little 'B' picture thriller which was the directorial debut of writer-director John Gilling who would later go on to be famed for his work at the Hammer studio after a long period during the 1950's writing and often directing second features before progressing to more prestigious 'A' features via Warwick-Columbia. But, it was always horror and the supernatural that were going to be his forte and this offering offers glimpses of his future career direction.Gilling evidently relished the chance at directing this, his first time out behind the camera, since he begins the film with a handwritten introduction to the story saying that this is the tale about the escape from Broadmoor and the events that followed it as he was told them, but that he couldn't say for sure whether it was a true story or not only that it interested him and hoped that it would thrill the audiences too. What follows could have been merely a routine crime yarn, but Gilling succeeds in generating quite a lot of tension and suspense from it - more than I was expecting as a matter of fact. There are thrills to be had in the scenes between Trent and his housekeeper who does little to soothe his paranoia that Pendicot may break into his house and try to kill him by her relation of the events of the Burke and Hare case to him. After she has gone, he starts hearing noises and seeing shadows everywhere, which are made extremely effective by Gilling's use of music and camera angles. But, it is the climax which is truly a corker in which the cocky Pendicot, thinking that he has pulled the perfect crime, gets more than he bargained for. No, I won't give it away, but shall confine myself to say that I was reminded of one of Vernon Sewell's better second features like Ghost Ship, House Of Mystery and The Man In The Back Seat with its themes of the supernatural and the uncanny. If you have seen those I would highly recommend that you check this one out.Performances from a cast of recognizable British actors are good all round with John Le Mesurier of particular note here playing a criminal lunatic, which he does really well conveying a real sense of menace in the role. Victoria Hopper is also deserving of praise as the sinister woman who haunts Le Mesurier's villian too.

John Le Meseurier breaks out of prison, where he had been sent after evading the hangman's noose by giving evidence against his accomplice in a murder. He talks Tony Doonan into breaking into the house in which he had committed the earlier crime; there's a safe where some valuable jewels are kept. When they are in mid-work, however, a young woman comes in and proceeds to mock them....It's Le Meseurier's first movie, but it's also John Gilling's first movie as a director. Given his career later, it should come as no surprise that it's a ghost story, and a decent creepy-crawly. What may come as a surprise is its running time. 38 minutes is too long for a short subject and too short for even a B picture. It could very well work in a long program or a three-feature show, but that was not the standard even back then. It's like the novella in fiction these days, with all the fiction magazines gone. Still, it would fit in nicely with the coming world of the television, where forty minutes might appear as a hole in the scheduling.

Police are trying to track down a man called (I believe) Pentecost who escaped from an asylum years before because its feared that he may attempt to get the man who's testimony sent him away. The police are trying to do this by following a man named Jenkins who is bringing Pentecost food. Jenkins is getting annoyed since Pentecost hasn't been paying him for the food. A deal is struck and Jenkins agrees to help Pentecost on his next job. Jenkins is unaware of his partner's past and so is unprepared for where the job takes them.This is a neat little movie that is perfectly paced for its short running time. I don't think there is a wasted moment in the whole movie as writer/director John Gilling cranks up the suspense and send the story spinning off in interesting directions. As the movie cross cut between the police, the criminals and the frightened victim I found that the film drew me into the story in ways that many longer films never do. It also comes to a satisfying conclusion and leaves you feeling as if you've seen something of substance when its over.Definitely worth seeing if you run across it, this is a neat way to spend 40 minutes of your time. A word of warning, if this should show up on a TV station with commercials tape it and then zap through the nasty advertisements since the film's structure will be destroyed by any real interruptions.