The Passing Stranger

I thought this film had a promising mood and atmosphere. The main problem I had was that the copy I saw had very poor sound which meant I had to guess approximately 50% of the dialogue which (although by no means a taxing or difficult storyline to understand), meant my interpretation of the film was from the acting and overall feel alone. I thought their was some interesting camera angles and shots, particularly during the dockland scenes. Unlike many people I didn't managed to spot future household names in the cast apart from Warren Mitchell. Maybe I'll give it another go if I can find A better copy.

An attempt to break into features by several interesting talents offering a moody but drab & tinny slice of low life with the novelty of being set in Oxfordshire, a rather monotonous guitar score and an interesting cast of youngsters (including fleeting appearances by Harry Corbett before he added the 'H.' and Warren Mitchell).

Lee Patterson rents a room in the cafe run by Diane Cilento and her sister, Olive Gregg. He's a deserter from the US Army and on the run, hooking into some underworld operators for the cash to get back to America without papers. Miss Cilento and he fall in love, and decide to run away together.

Cinematographer Walter Lassally shoots Miss Cilento to her advantage, and Patterson looks good in a t-shirt, but this movie doesn't offer any sympathy to Patterson, especially after it stops dead for ten minutes for a flashback to fill in his story. Perhaps it's my middle-class attitude and advanced years, but I feel no sympathy for the leads; if Patterson wants out, he should have slugged an officer and taken the two years at Fort Leavenworth, and if she wants out of her cafe, it turns out that London is an hour's drive away. I feel more sympathy for Duncan Lamont, who has had an understanding with Miss Cilento for some years, but she has insisted on some financial stability, while she's ready to run off and live an underground life with Patterson. Erratic pacing doesn't help.

The best aspect of "The Passing Stranger" is the array of recognisable minor actors of the 1950s in the cast and the backdrop in some scenes of London docklands.

Lee Paterson was underwhelming in the lead and my first reaction to Diane Cilento was that she was an unlikely person to run a "greasy-spoon" cafe for lorry-drivers, especially when wearing a tight-fitting top in the early scenes. But later close-ups showed a woman without the glamour of her later roles.

There is nothing original or exciting about this film. In fact, the only reason to watch is its very attractive leads, Lee Patterson and Fiance Ciento. There are some bleak landscape shots of early 1950s Britain.

There is very little plot, very little tension, a minimum of romance and virtually no suspense. You've seen it all before.

As said earlier, Patterson and Cilento were quite attractive. It is a shame they didn't have better chemistry and their romance built up.

This is basically a time capsule. A cheaply made b film to take Brit's minds off the stress of rebuilding and paying for the war.