Freedom to Die

A fatalistic little Butchers crime drama shot at Ardmore Studios in County Wicklow. Hence the presence of T.P.McKenna as an Irish gangster with a loud, high-maintenance mistress; one of several unpleasant and venal characters shot in harsh black & white by cameraman Ken Hodges to a moody music score by John Veale.

One of many cheap thrillers knocked out by Butcher's Films during the early 1960s, and it's no surprise to find that the ubiquitous Francis Searle directed this one. FREEDOM TO DIE is a surprisingly professional little crime thriller that utilises a handful of small sets to tell an intriguing tale of crime and retribution.

The horribly slimy Paul Maxwell plays a con who gets released from prison and comes looking for a stash of stolen loot. An assortment of small-time crooks and cops stand in his way, while Felicity Young gives the film's best performance as the young woman he tangles with. T. P. McKenna (STRAW DOGS) also shows up here, looking very young, while poor Kay Callard is forced to swan around in a negligee for 90% of her screen time.

Anyhow, FREEDOM TO DIE is a brisk little thing with some good suspense sequences and a left-field ending which is bizarre in its abruptness. And for a film facing the double whammy of Butcher's and Searle, it's a lot better than it has any right to be, too.

Convict Paul Maxwell learns that the money from a big job he took part in is in a safety deposit box, so he goes over the wall. While the brains of the job, Bruce Seton, figures out who should -- ahem -- deal with him -- before Maxwell can get to him and his daughter, Felicity Young without attracting the attention of the police, Maxwell has his own plans.

It's a tough crime movie, a lot stronger than the sort that Frances Searle usually directed, but he didn't often get a good script and a good cast. While the script is very good, the cast has its issues, apart from Seton, and they all portray unlikable people, with the exception of Miss Young. Searle does all right with it, but the score by John Veale is a bit too much. Still, the movie is worth your time.

Francis Searle made a bunch of good features in the late fifties and early sixties. And this one makes no exception. I would say it's more a drama than a gangster movie. I won't spoil it, but the characters are rather interesting, deeply described, and not the lead. In resume, a fairly good British B noir, starring the always efficient Paul Maxwell - we saw in many films of this kind. A tragic story, and sometimes poignant. It is still a classic topic, no real surprise in it, and a predictable ending.

But it's worthwhile. And so rare.

I almost forgot: this movie was produced by Butcher's Films. British B productions of this era. With the Danziger's, of course...