Val Guest directs Stanley Baker, Donald Pleasance and Billie Whitelaw in this British policier where a tough cop tries to track down a fugitive who is running riot through the mean streets of… Manchester.

The plot is pretty loose allowing Baker enough room to build up quite the portrait of a humane yet hard bastard cop. The various female characters seem better acted and consistently attractive than the norm and they again are a noteworthy highlight. Every set piece is pretty exciting even when Baker is off screen. The alleyway heist, a tossing tournament, a stalk sequence involving a deaf mute tinker’s daughter and the rooftop shootout finale. Guest knows how and when to make an impact.

7

Perfect Double Bill: The Frightened City (1961)

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We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/