Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

r-d-marchant The more one watches this film, the more inconsistencies reveal themselves. These do not detract from the overall intensity of the drama unfolding before your eyes ; one is almost a voyeur in a dingy world that hopefully doesn't exist anymore..... or does it? That's for the voyeur to contemplate or despair of. Those who know this area of the Kent coast in England will identify the Chetney Marshes on the Medway Estuary as the prime location ; as bleak a location as you can get - mud flats as far as the eye can see. However, as the tide come in, the scene changes dramatically as the boats come in to harbour along the coastline. The other location in Gravesend, Kent is no longer there, but part of Queen Street still exists (for the time being). The church so prominently displayed is St. Andrews on the waterfront and is now open to visitors as an Arts Centre. One annoying blooper is the Inspector at the end who forgets to negate the possession of a gun licence that the old scavenger hasn't got after having just shot the villain! Yet another blooper is the exodus from Waterloo at the start of the film, when in fact they should be boarding the train to Gravesend! Still, I am a man of Kent, I know these things. Don't let any of these points deter you from watching the best of British. It's a great film.

chorima75 This is not Chicago…this is postwar London. This is not Bogart…this is John Mills. This is film noir…the English way. I discovered this little known gem on TV the other day, while swapping between channels. I spent the next hour and a half glued to the screen. At first, John Mills would seem an unlikely choice for the leading role, but the film would not work without him. He perfectly portrays Davidson, a common man framed by his own girlfriend for a murder he did not commit. He is released after twelve years in prison and finds his girlfriend Fay now married to Lowthers, the policeman who investigated the case. Will Davidson seek vengeance? Or will he start a new life with Ilsa, a refugee girl he has just met? I cannot even imagine Humphrey Bogart or Robert Mitchum questioning if revenge is worthy. However, Mills possesses the innocence and fragility required to make his doubts believable. His tender relation with Ilsa is the best thing in the film. Both characters work as reflections of each other: Ilsa has been made orphan and destitute by the war, while Davidson's parents died while he was in jail. Ilsa works in a bar in the docks, where she suffers constant humiliations and abuse by the male customers. She falls for Davidson when he saves her from a rapist, and literally offers herself to him (no prizes for guessing: he is unable to resist her). We could be cynical about their motives for getting together…or we could see them as two human beings who desperately need to feel loved.One of the comments wonders why the Lowthers sleep in separate beds. The answer is censorship. Till the late 50s (this film was released in 1953), not even married couples were allowed to share a bed on screen. Davidson and Ilsa also sleep in twin beds in his tiny shack, even when a previous scene clearly suggests that they have become lovers. However, the film turns censorship to its advantage. One sequence alternatively shows both couples talking in bed. Davidson and Ilsa, the couple who are falling in love, have their beds joined at the headboard, so the camera can show them together in the same shot. Lowthers and Fay, the couple who are falling apart, have their beds separated by a bedside table, so their conversation is shown by means of alternate shots of one or the other. I totally agree that the title could not be more appropriate: this film will stay in your memory for a long time.

Neil-117 Crime, punishment, revenge, love and redemption are the big themes of this short movie. The moral bleakness surrounding John Mills, as a man unjustly jailed and now seeking revenge, is reflected in the powerfully stark black and white landscape images which accompany the action. But the issues are far from black and white - the guilty, the innocent and even the investigating policeman are all caught up in the moral dilemmas explored by this clever and thoughtful script. Ultimately all the characters learn that punishment can take many forms, in a conclusion which is both gripping and surprising.It's not light entertainment, but don't be put off by its serious tone and gritty subject matter. Once seen, this movie will live long in your memory.

edward wilgar I am a fan of British cinema but I must admit that there a couple of genres that Hollywood does much better, particularly musicals but also film noir. In fact I didn't know that the British had attempted noir until I saw Robert Hamer's `The Long Memory' which makes a fair fist of it while perhaps finally lacking the courage of it's convictions. The doomed characters, the shadowy, desolate streetscapes and of course the femme fatale are all there and John Mills convinces as a broken man at liberty after serving 12 years for a crime he didn't commit.John McCallum and Elizabeth Sellars are perhaps a little too restrained in the English way (I know McCallum is Australian) but John Slater makes an impression as a punch-drunk ex-boxer. Incidentally, Slater's make-up reminded me irresistibly of Mills' Oscar-winning turn in ` Ryan's Daughter' years later.In this solid, involving drama Mills has revenge in mind, Geoffrey Keene is an ethical reporter (an oxymoron?) looking for a story and nothing turns out as expected.Well worth seeing.