Moviecut—Calculated Risk

source: Calculated Risk

Calculated Risk

Relentlessly grim Brit caper movie, from the dying days of the black and white B era. A gang of villains plot to rob a bank by tunnelling through the cellar of an adjacent bombed house. Spoiler Unfortunately for them there's an unexploded German bomb down there, a reminder that they are still living under the shadow of the second world war - 60s London in this film is all snow, cups of tea and frowzy parlours, the only character with any life left in them the would be girlfriend of one of the villains, who proves too clumsy to accept what she wants to give. One point of note is the soundtrack by none other than George Martin. It's sort of half way between Johhny Dankworth and the Ipress File score.

9 for noir with a moral. Oftentimes high stakes risks should better be left alone. Or something like that. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Deliberately botched (for the "it's so bad it's good" crowd) 2 I don't want to see it 3 I didn't finish and or FF'd through it 4 Bad 5 I don't get it 6 Good 7 Great but with a major flaw 8 Great 9 Noir with moral 10 Inspiring with moral.

A bank heist set and shot during the freezing winter of 1963. The thing is about the plot is that you knew it would never work out, it was just a question of how and why. The reason was an explosive twist. An unfamiliar main cast was somewhat refreshing.

Tightly plotted, suspenseful minor British crime thriller about an ex-con who leads a group of safecrackers to break into a bank vault through the cellar of an adjacent deserted building, only to find more than they had bargained for (namely an unexploded WWII bomb). Decent performances by Warren Mitchell and William Lucas, and a taut script by Edwin Richfield (a well known British character actor of the 60s) make this worth a watch.

This one isn't that well known. It has to be caught every now and then (Probably in an obscure plot on a TV channel). A bunch of crooks plan a robbery. They break into the bank they have in mind. Looks like a standard thing. Will they get caught, shot, will the alarms go off? No. As they dig deeper they're confronted by a WW2 bomb! Worse still, they're trapped with it in the 'hole' - and of course, to add to the suspense, all along it's ticking...! A really good film and a shame that like a lot of the British comedy classics of the 1950's - 1960's the same attention isn't given to the classic B-movie dramas that really are excellent like this.

Brilliant winter 1963 movie where the lead character and gang mastermind, played by William Lucas, comes unstuck by a combination of his greed for wanting his robbery to succeed and his sympathy for the partner in crime who suffers a last minute coronary and is therefore sidelined. Much attention is paid to the catering arrangements for our crooks: pork pies; gallons of tea; the pound of aforementioned sausages; and the poor Irishman gets his booze confiscated. All set in the stunning juxtaposition of literally snow white January 1963 and the dingy cellars and basements forgotten since WW2 where a great big UXB stands between our crooked heroes and their booty. A cautionary tale therefore: just enjoy the snow when you can and don't bother trying to dig up the past - maximum points to writer Edwin Richfield.

This is a film that i remembered well from the time that i first saw it at my local cinema back in 1963.it has been shown on TV and now i am pleased to report it has been released on DVD.It was shot during the big freeze of 1963 which explains the fact that everything is covered in snow.The plot is very straightforward but with the extra twist of the bomb.Up until only a few years ago unexploded bombs were still being dug up in London,particularly in the EAST end.There were many delayed action bombs,designed to cause maximum inconvenience and blow up the bomb squad.Once reactivated there would only be a matter of minutes till they exploded.Of the cast only Warren Mitchell is familiar giving us a hilarious cameo.a really good B thriller.