Belfast police conduct a door-to-door manhunt for an IRA gunman wounded in a daring robbery.
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Reviews
CinemaSerf
7
By CinemaSerf
This is very much an example of less is more from Carol Reed. James Mason is super as ("Johnny") who leads an IRA cell that decides to rob a textile mill to secure continued funding for their operations. As they make good their escape, he is shot, seriously wounded and has to try to secure medical care whilst being pursued by a determined constabulary and by his loving gal "Kathleen" (Kathleen Ryan). What helps this film to stand out, it that it attempts to deal in a far more sophisticated fashion with the goings-on, brutal at times from both sides, as the net tightens around the fugitive. The characters - especially a superb Robert Newton ("Lukey") - add oodles to the gritty realism of this struggle to escape and to pursue, as does the eery Belfast photography and the snow. How effective is the snow!? The dialogue is sparing, much of the performance - and our appreciation thereof - relies on the gently evolving storyline with Mason doing much of the heavy lifting as he lurches around his city seeking help and safety. Reed doesn't take sides - we must draw our own conclusions, and that isn't an easy thing to do - that's another clever aspect of this production. At times it is quite scary, tense and suspenseful but at it's heart it is about a great cast and a strong story - we get to decide who is right, wrong or ....
