Hell Is a City

I had been postponing my purchase of this and another Stanley Baker crime drama, Joseph Losey's THE CRIMINAL (1960; see below), ever since their DVD release back in 2002; ironically, what eventually pushed me into ordering them was the recent death of this film's director Val Guest - at the venerable age of 94! Well, all I can say is that I was foolish to have deprived myself of it for so long; this is surely one of the best British crime films ever and, being an atypical release for Hammer, is also one of their finest non-horror efforts!

During the excellent Audio Commentary included on the splendid Anchor Bay DVD edition, Guest admitted that one of his major influences (and not only on this particular film) had been Jules Dassin's innovative THE NAKED CITY (1948) and, curiously enough, one has to go back to Dassin's own NIGHT AND THE CITY (1950) to find an equally hard-hitting British noir!; then again, the film was ahead of its time since it would be years before a similarly truthful depiction of a policeman's domestic life would emerge in the U.S. (THE DETECTIVE and MADIGAN {both 1968}, for instance). The film is a veritable class act in every department: Guest's direction never puts a foot wrong and his screenplay (adapted from a novel by Maurice Proctor and deservedly nominated for a BAFTA award) is truly exceptional; Arthur Grant's chiaroscuro camera-work (mostly shot in real Manchester locations) is stunning; while Stanley Black's jazzy score lends the fast-paced if rather involved proceedings the requisite urgency.

Stanley Baker has one of his best leading roles as the tough cop who tries to make several ends meet - catch a dangerous criminal (American actor John Crawford, very effective) who's basically his alter ego, save his childless marriage with selfish Maxine Audley, and escape the daily temptation of a fling with the carnal (despite being middle-aged) but genuinely concerned barmaid Vanda Godsell (who also happens to be Crawford's old flame). Donald Pleasence has an important, scene-stealing supporting role as a bookmaker marked for robbery by Crawford - who had also been intimate with Pleasence's sluttish young wife (Billie Whitelaw who, despite this being her 12th feature film, was impressive enough to be up for the "Most Promising Newcomer" BAFTA award - and is even featured in a brief but startling nude scene which was promptly snipped for the U.S. version!). The rest of the cast is filled with familiar character actors, many of them members of Guest's own stock company.

Among the film's best scenes are the swift alleyway heist towards the beginning (which ends in murder), the wonderful "tossing school" (an illegal form of gambling) scene which takes place on the moors, several grueling interrogation scenes (with Baker often reduced to blackmailing his hard-as-nails 'customers') and the remarkably violent rooftop climax. By the way, I wasn't as displeased as Guest was with the alternate ending included as an extra (and which he had never seen before!) - inverting a couple of scenes and adding a brief hopeful coda (not filmed by Guest) with Baker and Audley - but I totally respect the director's decision to stick with his uncompromising original vision.

This 'Hammer Films' production is still comfortable viewing, even now (2017), largely because of the familiar cast and memorable outdoors scenery. It also helps that the rapid-fire screenplay keeps us moving along with the plot at a brisk and exciting pace. There's also lots going on to pay attention to besides the main cop pursuit.

Inspector Martineau (Stanley Baker) marches through the plot leaving his neglected wife, Julia (Maxine Audley) behind. (Despite a rather significant part in the story and being an actress of some renown, she isn't on the list of credits. I have no idea why.)

American actor John Crawford plays villain Don Starling and is convincing as the hardened prison escapee trying to round up his swag while avoiding the cops.

There are familiar faces aplenty for those 'spotters' among us... and even a turn from an unrecognizable Warren Mitchell (In Sickness and in Health) as a traveling salesman who comes across a dead body. (If you look carefully you can see the victim blink when she's discovered.)

A busy Donald Pleasance found time to squeeze in this project with nearly 20 other film and TV commitments in 1960! He plays a bookie with a heart... and a cheating wife (Billie Whitelaw).

Sarah Branch (Who?) plays a beautiful deaf and dumb girl innocently caught in the crossfire of crime. And I must say that my only real peeve about this movie is that she never got together with the young detective Devery (Geoffrey Frederick), who comes to interview her. There were obvious sparks going on here yet the viewer is left hanging! Boo!

The story is actually a rather complex one, but basically, Starling escapes from jail and teams up with his old partners in crime. Inspector Martineau reckons he knows what the villain is gonna do next so he races off to Manchester to see if his hunch pays off.

It does of course as Starling beats it back to the scene of the crime to pick up some stashed jewelry. He and his gang also pull off a robbery which nets them a lot of cash but results in a murder. The body is dumped on the Manchester moors but even that doesn't go according to plan...

I suspect that director (and writer) Val Guest was paying his respects to the American 'noir' films of the 1940s here. Hard boiled cops and robbers, fancy dames and dark sleazy surroundings... and it's filmed in black and white!

Get yourself over to YouTube and find out for yourself. There's a great copy there in full wide-screen.

I watched Hell is a City on DVD again the other day and was struck by how fresh and undated the story and acting still appears. It was a breakout Brit film for 1959/60- with its semi-documentary approach to police procedure,meshed with a tough on women approach and attempt to show relationships that don't have happy endings. On the DVD there is an alternate ending shown, which the director Val Guest claims to have no knowledge of at all! It's much weaker i think than Guest's own choice of ending. Stanley Baker is excellent; successfully showing all dimensions to an Inspector's working/personal life; Billie Whitelaw got nominated that year with the BAA for in the Newcomer category and deservedly so. All the support cast flesh out their characters' quirks very well. Actual location shooting (in this case-Manchester) was still quite unusual and there is a world of difference between this and a studio based crime thriller of maybe 10 years before.

Hammer Films, best known for horror movies, stepped into film noir with Val Guest's "Hell Is a City". Stanley Baker plays a police inspector who suspects that an escaped criminal will head for Manchester to collect some loot. The dreary look of the city is as much a character as any of the actors. The post-war British film industry wasn't generally known for these sorts of movies, but they did an excellent job here. The chase at the end of the movie is impressive but I thought that the most effective scene was the whole sequence where the criminal hides in the woman's house.

I've liked every film noir that I've seen, but HIAC has to be one of the best. Baker's forceful performance as the hardened inspector is the epitome of acting. I recommend the movie.

The rest of the cast includes Donald Pleasance (Dr. Loomis in the "Halloween" franchise), Billie Whitelaw (the nanny in "The Omen") and Joseph Tomelty (the father of Sting's ex-wife).

This is a very competent action crime film with an excellent cast and very atmospheric photography - the Northern industrial scenes are almost surreal. Stanley "Could Have Been James Bond" Baker is on great form with a good supporting cast. The script is tight and fast paced with good lighting/cinematography. One of those films to watch late at night and stay up to find out what happens in the end. The treatment of women is typical of 1960's Britain - it's a period piece and the attitude/demeanour of men, given that many went through the Second World War, is a notable contrast with today's society. My only aside is that the opening/closing credits inappropriately reminded me of Police Squad...