Dangerous Cargo

A nice little B-movie thriller from mid-'50s Britain. The star of the show is one Jack Watling, who plays a mild-mannered airport employee who hooks up with an old war buddy (Terence Alexander) and embarks on a short-lived gambling career. Unfortunately for him, before long he's in debt with a loan shark, and a gang of bullion robbers have him in their sights. How will he get out of it?

This is a short, snappy thriller, well-paced and with an interesting story and characters to propel it along. The leading characters are flawed but a little too wholesome to really get behind, but the supporting characters are really interesting. Especially Alexander, playing against type as a spiv sort of character, and he's excellent - charming, and ruthless too. Watch out for John Le Mesurier being completely unconvincing as an Italian called Luigi!