User reviews

Crime, punishment, revenge, love and redemption are the big themes of this short movie. The moral bleakness surrounding John Mills, as a man unjustly jailed and now seeking revenge, is reflected in the powerfully stark black and white landscape images which accompany the action. But the issues are far from black and white - the guilty, the innocent and even the investigating policeman are all caught up in the moral dilemmas explored by this clever and thoughtful script. Ultimately all the characters learn that punishment can take many forms, in a conclusion which is both gripping and surprising.

It's not light entertainment, but don't be put off by its serious tone and gritty subject matter. Once seen, this movie will live long in your memory.

John Mills himself rated this one as a minor potboiler. Two things seem to deny this. One is the quality of the cast, which includes John McCallum, Geoffrey Keen, Thora Hird and Laurence Naismith, all seen at their best. The other is the quality of the IMDb reviews, a sure sign of discerning viewers either remembering this film all the way from the Fifties, or at least hearing about it.

Whether or not it strictly qualifies as Film Noir, it is certainly a minor-key production, set against the grey half-world of the Thames estuary, so near and so far from metropolitan life. We linger for long minutes on the sheer barrenness of the landscape, which becomes the film's haunting theme. These were the North Kent marshes where, perhaps significantly, Dickens could often be seen walking at night, unable to sleep. A wasteland dotted with neglected little cottages, tumbledown cafés, scrap metal yards and sombre mudbanks lined with the eternal barges.

It is on one of these barges, empty and abandoned beyond repair, that the Mills character has made his home after serving twelve years for a crime he didn't commit. Bent on revenge, he rejects all friendly overtures that might soften his resolve, and systematically sets out to stalk his prey.

As others have commented, Mills was a less-obvious choice for this role. His sudden appearance at the front-door is supposed to paralyse his enemies with fear. Unfortunately he tries to cut a threatening figure by straining to stand as tall as he can. Being quite a small fellow, he simply looks silly in this posture, and should have learned to stare up at them menacingly from below.

Then there was the matter of his accent. By this date, his wartime films were starting to be ridiculed for their unconvincing Shepperton cockney, so he wisely sticks to acting a hardened jailbird, without trying to impersonate one. Yet curiously, some other cast-members have not learned this lesson, and the falsity of the speech can sound jarringly dated.

A wonderfully sinister performance by John Chandos. Also a touching scene on the barge, where Mills and a beautiful young refugee (Eva Bergh) start to compare their very different kinds of psychological baggage. Michael Martin Harvey provides the appropriate Greek chorus - and something more, as you will see - as the local ragamuffin, only slightly contrived, with a sea-shanty permanently on his lips.

The one thing Phillip Davidson (Mills) does wrong is fall in love. On the night he decides to ask Fay's (Sellars) father for her hand he's in the middle of conducting some illicit business; that of smuggling a criminal out of England. Mobster, Boyd (Chandos), who is funding the criminal's escape takes umbrage at the disrespect the criminal shows him. Lashing out with a poker he strikes and kills him. Davidson tries to stop Boyd's rampage and in the fight the boat catches fire. The lifeboatmen pick up Davidson after he jumps off the boat, aflame. Unfortunately, the survivors change their story so they won't be jailed for trafficking. They all confirm there was no criminal onboard and that it was Davidson who struck and killed Boyd. Davidson is jailed for twelve years. Upon his release, he sets out for revenge on those who took those years away from him.

What stands out the most is the atmospheric and beautifully shot camera work. Director, Hamer works well with black and white film. The sequence where the freed Davidson steps off the train and is followed by a plain-clothed policeman is one of the most atmospheric I've seen. It's brilliant. Hamer sets the pace slow and this adds to the feeling of despair and loneliness, which oozes off the screen. There's a bleakness that starts at this point and permeates most of the picture. He is also very good at using the locations to add to the atmosphere... The lone hotel, near derelict, on a sandy beach road... the wooden slatted cafe for the seamen and fishermen... the three beached barges slowly rotting. He's also very adept at the iconic shot, such as a couple of shots of London Bridge. And, especially the sequence where Davidson finally gets to Pewsey (Slater). The entire thing is exquisitely structured and choreographed, though, it's the scene where Pewsey looks through the letterbox to see Davidson waiting in a doorway that holds the most power. I never thought of Mills' as a tough guy or a hard man but when I watched this scene I thought, now that's somebody I wouldn't mess with. Perfect acting with perfect direction makes a perfect scene.

Though Mills' is an outstanding actor, which he proves here, there are a few times when it gets just too melodramatic, in a soap opera way. Luckily enough, this only becomes overpowering towards the latter part of the movie. It does detract from the film's power, though I can forgive that because there are so many better acting sets within the film.

All the actors are good within their roles and there's even an eccentric hermit, Jackson, to keep it interesting. One strange character is alright, because they are out there, and Michael Martin Harvey does a fantastic portrayal. He doesn't go overboard and this makes the man more real to the viewer. Even the lesser characters are full and rounded. Take Mrs Pewsey (Hird), even though her husband has run off with a trollop, she still goes round to the trollop's house to warn him of Davidson's return. While she's there, she takes care of him because he always gets a chest cold at this time of year. Well thought out, written, acted and directed. These little things only add interest to the viewer, add realism and strength to both the story and the film.

Then there's the story. Though it's a revenge tale there's an added depth to even that. When Davidson finally meets his first love, Fay, after his release he realises his perspective and feelings have altered. This is a sobering, sad, and profound realisation.

I have to admit this has now made it onto my expanding favourite flicks list and I would recommend this to all thriller fans, revenge freaks, crime story lovers and drama aficionados everywhere. Also, if you're a budding filmmaker, you could do worse than checking this out.

Stitched up by key witnesses. A twelve year prison term, despite being innocent..... HE'S ENTITLED TO BE OFF HIS LOAF!! A night of argy-bargy aboard a barge, results in loss of life and scapegoat John Mills being unceremoniously thrown under the bus at his trial by fiance Elizabeth Sellars and her whiskey sodden father, while prizefighter and prize dumb guy, John Slater delivers the knockout blow.

During the intervening years, Sellars has married detective on the case, John McCallum, whilst her father has gone to the big distillery in the sky, not a place for tiny tots! Aware of his lust for vengeance, the police choose to monitor Mills' movements. Elsewhere repercussions of his release lead to the horror of a suicide attempt at a Tube station, immediately followed by the horror of a giant poster advocating the wondrous benefits of....cod liver oil.

Meanwhile, Mills has taken refuge on board a less than incredible hulk on a barren stretch of the Kent coast. Beginning inquiries at the local greasy spoon, Vida Hope is chatty, friendly and helpful, but as the kind of woman who would struggle to complete a two piece jigsaw puzzle, the frantically spiralling workload caused by another customer politely requesting a cup of tea almost sends her into spasm.

Mills develops an initially curt, grudging friendship with similarly damaged refugee, Eva Bergh, a victim of Nazi atrocities, but is about to make a shocking discovery, in this often bleak, but strikingly unpredictable drama, dominated by the sombre tone of desolate coastal settings and shabby, down at heel buildings, but equally defined by a number of engagingly oddball characters and moments of droll, quirky humour.