John Crawford stars as Don Starling, a criminal who has managed to escape from prison after serving less than half of a lengthy sentence for robbery. He’s a desperate man and desperate men can commit desperate acts. Stanley Baker plays Harry Martineau, an officer of the law who is determined to capture Starling and put him back where he belongs before anyone else gets hurt by him. He does this by checking out friends of Starling and ensuring that everyone knows the consequences if they’re caught helping the escapee.
Directed by the consistently solid (and sometimes he was truly great) Val Guest, who also wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Maurice Procter, Hell Is A City is a fantastic crime drama that tries to add a frisson of stylish noir to the streets of Manchester. That mix doesn’t really work the way that the filmmakers intended it to but it definitely makes the film something of a curiosity piece and something far removed from the majority of UK movies of the time. It’s also a film that’s very entertaining, full of snappy dialogue and great performances and paced from start to finish at almost breakneck speed.
There are plenty of good exchanges in the movie but the script also contains gems like the line spoken by Stanley Baker to his Maxine Audley (playing his wife): “It would look alright if you justified your existence by having a baby or two”. Yes, you read that line properly. That’s one of the best but there’s also the priceless moment when Baker exits a house after listening to an vulnerable and upset Billie Whitelaw and then tells the policeman outside to watch out because she’s a maneater. If this is giving the impression that the movie is just one unintentional laugh after another then I must rush to say that’s not the case.
Most of the film is, in fact, sharp and highly entertaining in all of the right ways. That’s thanks, mainly, to the script and direction by Val Guest but it’s also thanks to the wonderful cast. Baker is very good in the lead role, Crawford is a convincingly nasty villain and Geoffrey Frederick is solid in a supporting role as another police officer. Donald Pleasence plays a bookmaker, and puts in another of his many fine performances, and Billie Whitelaw almost steals the movie with the brief screentime that she has playing his wife. Maxine Audley is stuck with a drab character but Vanda Godsell makes up for that with her lively, flirty performance as Lucky Lusk.
I should, however, end with a word of warning. Even while I was watching this movie I started thinking about how I would love others to enjoy it as much as I did and I started thinking about how unlikely that was. I think many people will be unhappy with the tone of the film and the blending of the styles. It didn’t bother me once I got used to things in the first couple of scenes but I know it will be offputting for others. In any case, give it a viewing and see what you think.
Hell Is A City breaks out onto DVD on October 8th and the disc also features an alternate ending, a clean and clear transfer of the movie and even some subtitles (which may not seem like much but I have found myself more and more lately thinking how much I appreciate having the option of subtitles when the clamour of daily life around me won’t always pause for my movie viewing time).
DIRECTOR: VAL GUEST
WRITER: VAL GUEST (BASED ON THE NOVEL BY MAURICE PROCTER)
STARS: STANLEY BAKER, JOHN CRAWFORD, CHARLES MORGAN, VANDA GODSELL, DONALD PLEASENCE, BILLIE WHITELAW, MAXINE AUDLEY, GEOFFREY FREDERICK
RUNTIME: 92 MINS APPROX
COUNTRY: UK
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