Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

tony-70-667920 I won't bother you with the plot, as other reviewers have given plenty of detail.As so often in films like this, an fading American star was imported. Pat O'Brien was 58 at the time, with what one reviewer's described as a turnip face (given his Irishness, potato face seems nearer the mark.) He looks tired, though given the character is a drunken, depressed widower, that's quite appropriate.Despite his age and lack of dynamism, O'Brien flattens three villains in a fist fight. Since one of them is played by Freddie Mills, who'd only lost the world light-heavyweight championship seven years before, that scene wasn't totally convincing (English understatement working overtime.)The heroine is played by the lovely Lois Maxwell, 30 at the time. The character is rather silly (she interferes without knowing the facts, thereby putting O'Brien's son in danger.) The film's main problem is that the leads make a very ill-matched couple, and have zero chemistry.This is the last of a string of low budget B movies Terence Fisher made in the '50s, all competently made without being inspired. Who would have thought that his next film, "The Curse of Frankenstein," would lead to a whole series of Hammer horrors, mainly directed by Fisher. The budgets for these were probably pretty low too, but he showed a real flair for Gothic horror, though the law of diminishing returns inevitably set in.A couple of footnotes. The villains operate from the office of a coffee bar in which Tommy Steele performs, too much for my taste. Steele got his start in such a place. And I think this was one of the last films made in Southall studios: the area has changed an awful lot since those days.

a.lampert 'B' picture mainly interesting to me as I saw Tommy Steele's name listed first and I have tickets to see him in 2016!! Rock on. However, back to the picture. Directed by Terence Fisher and starring American gangster actor Pat O'Brien, near the end of his illustrious supporting career to stars like James Cagney. Quite how Terence Fisher went from this dud to the wonderful The Curse of Frankenstein with Peter Cushing in a matter of months is beyond me. Anyway, O'Brien plays a booze riddled newspaper man who needs a £1000 to get his son cured of an eye tumour that will almost certainly kill him if it's not fixed pronto. He gets involved with gangsters led by George Coulouris and the whole thing becomes a bit convoluted but O'Brien still somehow ends up getting the girl, played by Lois Maxwell (Moneypenny from the early Bond films) who looks young enough to be his granddaughter. Ug! gross, particularly when he tries to kiss her in the final scene and Lois appears to turn her head away. Still, it was funny seeing Tommy Steele rocking away like an idiot which is how these young stars were presented in this type of picture back then. Another reason I love watching these old films is to see the character actors and actresses, most of them long dead. Boxer Freddie Mills, Al Mulock, Robert Brown, Richard Pasco, Ronald Adam, Wensley Pithey, all familiar faces to me. Always worth a look.

Raymond Russell This UK, homegrown, studio based movie, was not one of the best films of the period. The great American star Pat O'Brien, who often played a priest or a good guy in his roles, many opposite his real life friend James Cagney, was in life, the nice man he betrayed. On the set of Kill Me Tomorrow, he gave me his dedicated photo and wrote to my mother when he returned to the states. I doubt if movie stars of today would have the time or thought to be so nice to child actors. Lois Maxwell of Miss Moneypenny fame, was also wonderful in her role. However, the film was rather disjointed and Tommy Steel's introduction was marred by his over-long performance. The film can be rented from Amazon and the poster is now available on the Internet. Good fun if you like to see black and white London in the 1950's. Raymond Russell, boy in hospital bed.

last-picture-show This is one of many 1950s British B-pictures which featured an American actor in the lead role, in this case round-faced, turnip-haired Pat 'O Brien. He usually played well-meaning Irish priests or policemen but here he's somewhat unsympathetic, and unconvincing, as Bart Crosbie, a washed-up journalist going through a mid-life crisis. His wife died in a car accident (he was driving), he has a drink problem and now his estranged son (Jimmy) needs an eye operation because of a tumor.Worryingly the kid neither looks or sounds anything like his dad and has a voice so posh and squeaky it's small wonder the hospital staff didn't throttle the little brat. The hospital scenes with Jimmy are somewhat awkward and uncomfortable with O'Brien looking like he couldn't give a damn. Notice also that little Jimmy's teddy bear only has one eye which seems a bit cruel under the circumstances (or perhaps it was an in-joke). O'Brien's lack of concern is also evident the end where he and fellow journalist Jill (Louis Maxwell) are waving Jimmy off at the airport when he's traveling to Switzerland for the operation. 'Goodbye Jimmy, goodbye Jimmy my boy' O'Brien mutters unenthusiastically and repeats it in the same bored tone of voice like he can't wait to be rid of the kid so he can have his wicked way with Jill. However you get the impression from the equally unenthusiastic way Lois Maxwell turns away from O'Brien at the end when he is supposed to be kissing her, that she either couldn't stand him or he had really bad halitosis.There are many more equally ludicrous and unintentionally funny moments in this film which you musn't miss: When Jill (Louis Maxwell) drives up to Scotland Yard to give evidence she not only narrowly misses running over a pedestrian but she also does what is possibly the worst bit of parking ever seen on screen, and this was outside England's Police Headquarters! The cafe scenes with Tommy Steele performing the song rock 'n' roll song Rebel Rock are wonderfully naff as well. Some of the lyrics are not words but Tommy making a lot of strange noises like he's having a seizure, which is a bit disconcerting. And he seems to perform the song over and over again like a human jukebox. Perhaps the producers could only afford to commission the one song and got maximum use from it. Also watch out for the cafe owner (and gangster) George Coulouris and his heavies and the way hang around the joint looking furtive and menacing. Surely anyone would have guessed that they were up to no good. Lastly you have to question the way the doctor (Richard Pasco at his most zombie-like) works out that Jimmy's operation will cost exactly £1,000 and that he needs payment in cash the next day. Surely private medicine doesn't work that way? You get the impression that the whole operation thing was a scam and that half way across the English Channel the doc was going to shove little Jimmy out of the plane and head off to sunnier climbs with the nurse, keeping the grand for himself. Surely that's a better plot that the one they actually used and at least the title would make sense. Watch it at your peril...