Offbeat

An undercover agent (William Sylvester) infiltrates a gang planning a daring bank heist; inevitably all does not go entirely to plan when he gets in deep and develops a conscience.

An above-average short from the British Lion studios so much of the location work is around Shepperton. What sets this film apart from most of its contemporaries is its sympathetic depiction of the bank robbers; instead of being shown as two-dimensional bad apples, or smug cockney geezers (see most Brit crime offerings circa early 2000s), here they are a proper small business profit and loss set-up, headed by the excellent Anthony Dawson.

Sylvester's character (Layton/Ross) starts off almost unbearably slick and cool, but the chemistry between him and Mai Zetterling is tangible, and he mellows. John Meillon (much later of Crocodile Dundee fame), is also very likeable as a fellow gang member, piling on the ethical dilemma for our antihero as the film builds to a very effective climax. The only problem for the viewer was that it was difficult to equate the murder - a brutal running down in a getaway car- of a police officer at the beginning of the film, and this engaging, amiable and hard-working outfit. Past that minor quibble, this is one of the good ones.