Film Review
Having established himself as a superlative comedy performer in a
series of hit British comedies - including
The Naked Truth (1957) and
I'm All Right Jack (1959) -
Peter Sellers was keen to take on a tough dramatic role to avoid being
typecast in future films. He had the opportunity to do just
that when he landed the part of a psychopathic gangster boss in this
hard-edged thriller, in which he starred opposite Richard Todd, another
major British actor of the period.
Never Let Go may be considered
something of a landmark film for British cinema, with its harrowingly
realistic portrait of the kind of gangland violence that had become
endemic in London by the late 1950s. Director John
Guillermin had cut his teeth making film documentaries and this shows
in the striking realism that he brings to the film. It is a pity
that Guillermin's efforts are compromised by a mediocre script which
fails to make the characters much more than thinly sketched caricatures
who have a nauseating habit of speaking in clichés.
The script is the only weak element in this film and this deficiency is
easily forgiven given the high calibre of the work in every other
department. Cinematographer Christopher Challis uses light
and shade effectively, as in the classic films noirs, to build tension
and lend an aura of menace and oppression which the script singularly
fails to convey. The performances from the supporting cast are
varied but the contributions from the leads, Richard Todd and Peter
Sellers, are admirable.
Todd is convincing as a pathetic middle-aged man trying desperately to
make something of his life (a far cry from his previous heroic roles)
whilst Sellers is utterly terrifying as a sadistic thug with a serious
anger management problem. John Guillermin would go on to make
better films than this -
The Towering Inferno (1974) and
Death on the Nile (1978) being just two of his subsequent achievements -
but
Never Let Go is still an
effective and compelling thriller, memorable for Peter Sellers'
relentlessly nasty portrayal. Can the man who beats up women and
casually squashes a pet reptile in this film really be the same man that
makes us laugh our guts out in the
Pink Panther
films?
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by frenchfilms.org and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
John Cummings is an unsuccessful cosmetics salesman who barely earns
enough money to keep his wife and two children. He can just
about afford the repayments on the new car he has recently purchased
but is unable to pay for the insurance. When his car is stolen,
he is thrown into a panic. Without his car, he will not be able
to do his job effectively, and if he loses his job, he could lose
everything. The police offer Cummings little hope that the car
will be recovered and so he sets about finding it for himself. He
questions a newspaper vendor who witnessed the theft of the car and
discovers the identity of the man who stole it, a hard up youth named
Tommy. The latter is in the employ of a ruthless gangland boss,
Lionel Meadows who will stop at nothing to protect the little empire he
has built up. Cummings' determination to find his car soon turns
into an obsession. First he loses his job, then his wife abandons
him, and ultimately he is drawn into violent showdown with Meadows...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by frenchfilms.org and must not be copied.