Strongroom (1962)

Superior British "B" Noir.

Strongroom is directed by Vernon Sewell and written by Max Marquis and Richard Harris. It stars Derren Nesbit, Colin Gordon, Ann Lynn, Keith Faulkner and W. Morgan Sheppard. Music is by Johnny Gregory and cinematography by Basil Emmott.

Three men enact a bank robbery and lock up the manager and his secretary in the vault. Upon making their getaway it dawns on them that the two in the vault could die from lack of oxygen and thus landing them as murderers should they be caught...

Every once in a while a "quota quickie" or "B" crime movie really strides out on its own to stand tall and proud, Strongroom is one such film. Originally the support feature to the George Chakiris film Two and Two Make Six, Sewell's picture went down well enough with the public that it often became the main feature in some theatres.

Compact at just 80 minutes in length, it's a picture heavy on claustrophobia and thematic stings, embracing that old noir devil of fate along the way. It's directed in a tight no-nonsense way by Sewell, who manages to keep things moving without it being at cost to nail biting suspense. Well performed by all involved, it's a film that never once cops out, right up to, and including, the quite brilliant finale. 8/10

The last ten minutes of this film are quite nerve-wracking. A trio of bank robbers leave the manager and his assistant locked in their strong room after stealing the loot. Their somewhat flawed plan to release them afterwards goes awry when one of their number is killed and so it falls to the remaining pair - "Griff" (Derren Nesbitt) and "Len" (Keith Faulkner) to try and get back to open the door before they are apprehended by the pursuing police and, more importantly, before they end up facing murder charges! The acting is really nothing special, but the tension built up by Vernon Sewell is really quite effective. It's almost enough to make you want to open all the windows... The whole is most certainly better than the sum of the parts and though it could lose fifteen minutes from the middle, it makes for quite a compelling and different take on the routine crime caper.