Time Lock (1957)

So much average

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Made in Great Britain by Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas (the team best known for their Carry On comedies) this film is set in Canada but for no obvious reason. A simple race-against-time drama about a little boy getting stuck in a bank vault, it could just as easily be set in Britain and could have been made more convincing without the constraints bought on by the lack of location filming.The film is more-or-less made on one set, and while there are many successful films made this way including Sleuth, Wait Until Dark and Deathtrap, here it simply doesn't work. The script is flat, the acting is questionable and the whole concept difficult to believe in.There are several unintentionally funny parts which are worth waiting for if you've nothing else to do. My favourite is where the bank manager (whose hair gets more and more disheveled as the time goes on) makes reference to the bank vault having 14 inch thick walls and being like a 'tomb', saying it loud enough for the worried parents to hear in an almost sadistic way.Then in an effort to speak to the boy the local cop (who's just too loud and bossy) orders some sound equipment and they set up what must be the largest megaphone in the world against the vault door. The boy's dad (the totally unconvincing Lee Patterson) nervously talks into a mike in the hope that the little brat will hear him. The problem here is that the sound emitting from the speaker just isn't loud enough. In reality everyone's ears would be bleeding and when he puts the mike down on the counter it would cause a sound loud enough to cause an earthquake.Later supposed safe 'expert' Robert Beatty takes over, although the only thing he's expert at is being louder and bossier than the cop. He keeps telling everyone to hurry up all the time even though they're all going as fast as is humanly possible. And he seems totally unconcerned about anyone helping being injured, tiered or burnt in the process, as long as he gets the chance to stick his arm in a hole at the end and undo the time lock mechanism to free the kid. Meanwhile he stands around doing very little (don't you just wanna punch him!).He demands the services of seven strong men from the crowd to help break through the wall with picks and hammers. This scene is very strange, almost camp, and I particularly love the way he goes to the trouble of checking the men's hands to make sure they were up to the job like a mum checking her kid's mits at meal times. Clock the look of disappointment on the priest's face when bossy Bob tells him that he can't take part. When else is he going to get the chance to be among six burly men with rough hands!To top it all 'second welder' Sean Connery has but a few lines and delivers them in an accent of uncertain origin. Part American, but mainly Scottish, it sounds like he wasn't even trying to disguise his real voice and his skill as an actor is questionable. Curiuosly this was after his part in the successful action drama Helldrivers and I'm surprised he accepted such a small part in what is an average, forgettable film.For those who like this type of story I would recommend the far superior Emergency Call which has a similar race against time theme but more action and a better script.

Six year old Steven Walker is in the bank with his father near closing time he is in a playful mood and slips into the vault unseen just as it is shut. The problem is that for security reasons the vault is on a time lock and has been set to remain closed until after the weekend. With no more than half a day's air in the vault the race is on to try and get the boy out. The local vault expert is out of town for the weekend but, with no guarantee that he can be found in time, the parents are frantic to get him out.The plot was more than enough to hook me into it because it sounded like one of those setups that will be tight and tense, set in a single location and, given the race against time, effortlessly engaging. Although there were no guarantees for this, I was surprised by just how flat the whole thing was and how much it failed to grip me. In terms of actions and narrative flow things are fine; the story follows a solid path that makes sense and isn't contrived or forced for the sake of falsely producing tension. However it is the delivery where it takes this and does nothing of interest with it. The main problem is with the script; where it is shouting urgently then things are fine but it regularly has horridly flat scenes of dialogue while the cutting etc is going on and none of them really work. Of course it doesn't help that the performances mostly put me in mind of my last time I was in a forest. Thomas does manage to produce some tension when the action is the focus but he totally undercuts this by his flaccid inability to bring out this tension in his characters and his actors – after all, if they don't seem bothered by the whole thing, why should I the viewer be?As another review has stated the worst performance is mercifully the shortest – that of the boy Winter. Christ but he could not be less convincing, natural or sympathetic. It is rare for me to be shocked by the ineptitude of a performance but Winter achieved that with very few lines. I know he was a child but are you telling me he was the best child available to the casting director? Of the rest of the cast only Beatty stands out and that is mostly because his dialogue consists of being in charge and tough. Conversely all those blessed with flat lines give bland performances; the list is long but includes Patterson, Mannering, McDowall, Ayres and so on. Connery is only memorable for who he is rather than anything else.Overall a semi-engaging film that sadly has more weakness than strength. The simple premise should have allowed for great tension but the script and delivery let this fall down badly. Deserves a low-budget but intense remake – perhaps not of the detail but certainly using a similar premise.

Time Lock came on Channel 4 during the early hours one morning and I set the video to tape it and was pleased I did.A bank in Toronto is just closing up for the week when the accountant's small boy decides to go into the safe to try out his new flash light he had as a birthday present. Just as they are about to lock up, the staff get distracted to something outside and then lock the safe, which has been timed to open the following Monday morning, not knowing the boy is in there. Several ways are then tried to rescue him, including a loud speaker, hammers and an acetylene torch. They eventually get in the safe to rescue the boy by banging a hole at the side wall and unlock it by accessing the time lock through that hole. Luckily, the boy is OK when rescued at the end. This movie was rather enjoyable, despite its low budget. It was British made, despite the Canadian setting.The movie stars Vincent Winter (Gorgo) as the boy, Steven and a young, pre James Bond Sean Connery. The boy's parents are played by Robert Beatty and Betty McDowall.This movie is worth checking out if you get the chance, as it is rather obscure.Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.

At a bank in Toronto,Canada, the accountants six year old son gets locked in the vault. The police are called and use a variety of methods to get him out including a large microphone, drilling and smashing. Do they get him out alive? Yes!!! I'm sure in its day the movie was a hit but the acting is pathetic and the little boy keeps on begging his daddy to let him out of the vault which is something I found really ANNOYING! Do not watch this film! I'm surprised the usually high class Channel 4 actually showed this, it deserves the late night slot on Channel 5. This type of film should be hidden in a dusty old warehouse, never to see the light of day again! The movie is all in black and white and is set in Canada, but all the actors speak in a high-class British accent. Overall **** / **********.