Thu 24 Nov 2011
Movie Review: TIME LOCK (1957).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Suspense & espionage films[10] Comments
TIME LOCK. British Lion/Romulus, UK, 1957. Robert Beatty, Lee Patterson, Betty McDowall, Vincent Winter, Robert Ayres, Alan Gifford, Larry Cross, Sandra Francis, Sean Connery. Based on a play by Arthur Hailey. Director: Gerald Thomas.
While this is a small scale British thriller, and filmed there, the story itself takes place in Canada, as a small boy gets trapped in a bank vault right at closing time on Friday. The lock on the vault is timed so that it cannot be opened until Monday morning.
And that’s it. That’s all there is. The boy’s parents are there, as well as a couple of bank personnel, soon joined by more bank people, a police inspector, a radio news reporter, various doctors, and a supply of workmen with hammers and sledges (including Sean Connery, in what I’m informed was his first film speaking role).
All very professional, all quite concerned and even more competent. The mother goes into near hysterics at one point, but she’s quickly quieted, allowing the men on the job to do their job.
No side plots, no background on any of the people involved, and not a lot in the way of suspense either, even though that’s the category I put this film in.
If that last sentence sounds a bit snarky, well, maybe, but it is interesting to see how good men can figure out a good puzzle that’s presented to them, and then doing a good job in carrying out their ideas. On the other hand, if Sean Connery didn’t happen to have been in it, or if he’d never played James Bond, no one would have ever heard of this film.
November 25th, 2011 at 8:54 am
Lee Patterson (who was Canadian) later went on to star in several American soaps, mostly notably as Joe Riley on ONE LIFE TO LIVE.
November 25th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Lee Patterson played the boy’s father. That’s him in the second photo down.
He’s probably best known as Dave Thorne, one of the three stars of SURFSIDE 6 in one of the series’ two seasons, but it’s been so long since I’ve seen that show, I don’t remember him. Troy Donahue and Van Williams, yes.
Strange that he was from Canada too, which is where the story is supposed to have taken place. Arthur Hailey, who wrote the play, was living in Canada by this time, so maybe that’s the reason.
I’ll have to remember to ask Judy if she remembers Joe Riley.
November 25th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
According to IMDb there are two films that Sean Connery features in that came out in 1957 before TIME LOCK. They were NO WAY OUT and HELL DRIVERS. I am sure they are speaking roles in both. HELL DRIVERS is a classic ‘tough’ thriller, well worth seeking out. It stars Stanley Baker and Patrick McGoohan and a host of well known British actors including Jill Ireland and David McCallum
November 25th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
I think you meant NO ROAD BACK, Connery ‘s first movie appearance, not NO WAY OUT.
It looks as though I was wrong about TIME LOCK being his first speaking role in a film — or my source for that statement was — since the one person on IMDB who’s commented on NO ROAD BACK says, “As for Connery,his first main screen role consists of a brief supporting turn as a gang member,though he gives the part a little more depth by employing a speech impediment.”
I’ll have to see if a copy of HELL DRIVERS is easily found.
November 25th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
I’d like to second Jamie Sturgeon and say that HELL DRIVERS is a terrific thriller. There’s a two disc special edition available from NETWORK, although as far as I’m aware it’s only on region 2.
November 25th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
I’ve seen that Region 2 release too, and I may go for it. I’ve not spotted a copy on DVD for the US market, but maybe an unofficial one will turn up, once I start looking harder. It has quite a cast!
November 25th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
I have the region 2 dvd of HELL DRIVERS and have watched it twice. I gave it a high rating and really enjoyed it. Hardboiled, hard driving men driving hell for leather. A very well done, fast moving film.
November 25th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Looking on IMDb I see it was shown on TCM in the US in 2007 as part of a 24 hour Sean Connery day. Some location scenes were filmed in West Sussex, not far from where I live
November 26th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
I have vague memories of seeing this on TV in the sixties, but only for the plot of the little boy locked in a bank vault.
January 8th, 2015 at 4:05 pm
Its really hard to describe how good ‘Hell Drivers’ is to anyone who hasn’t seen it. The bare re-telling of the plot leaves people scratching their heads. It sounds almost trite. Nothing in it comes across as dramatic or exciting. But when I try to name an action movie–even modern ones–which I’ve experienced, I can hardly name even one other which is as powerful as this obscure little movie. Its a dynamo. For one thing, the film is in near-constant movement. The POV editing creates the effect that you might be knocked out of your seat at any moment. Its one of those films where you ‘lean-to-the-right-or-left’ based on the images hurtling towards your eyes. Otherwise, its a very gloomy, dark film. Most scenes filmed at night or else on overcast days. Palpable feeling of doom, dread, and menace. Baker’s character–you are pulling for him 100%–one of the best ‘underdog’ stories ever. When psycho Patrick McGoohan starts hazing this guy in the lunchroom, you want to leap right in with both feet, into the frame of the film, and help Baker clobber him. Gobs of tension–the setting is as claustrophobic as a Hollywood submarine film (but feel-good US submarine films never show disunity among sailors). Not so, in this flick. Everybody is at everyone else’s throat. Its out of HAND