Hell Is a City (1960)
Genre: Crime / Thriller
Duration: 88 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom
Directed by: Val Guest
Stars: Stanley Baker, John Crawford and Donald Pleasence
IMDb score:
7,0 (1.726)
Releasedate: 10 April 1960
Hell Is a City plot
"Murder money stained his hands...."
Police Inspector Harry Martineau has a strong sense that escaped American criminal Don Starling has returned to the city of Manchester for one last big job. When a simple robbery leads to murder, Martineau becomes obsessed with getting Starling and his gang.
Actors and actresses
Insp. Harry Martineau
Don Starling
Gus Hawkins
Julia Martineau
Chloe Hawkins
Furnisher Steele
Doug Savage
Lucretia Luske
Bragg
Reviews & comments
Bobbejaantje
-
- 2301 messages
- 2092 votes
A Hammer crime film that certainly drew inspiration from American examples. We see Manchester in the early 1960s—that alone makes the film worth watching. There's also the jazzy soundtrack, and the opening is also noteworthy—a POV from the police car, likely inspired by the opening of the American crime series M starring Lee Marvin.
The film has a solid script and ditto acting. Along the way, we also see how the social roles of men and women functioned at the time. The police inspector's wife is a housewife and is bored stiff. But working isn't an option, as it would be insulting to her husband's status. Yet, it weighs on them because they don't have much money and it prevents them from having children. The woman's worth is also somewhat measured by her desire/ability to bear children. That's a subplot within the film. The crime plot itself revolves around a cat-and-mouse game between the perpetrator and the police.
This film is every bit as impressive as its American inspirations. The Manchester locations give it an extra edge, as we haven't seen much of that before. For this film, Hammer was forced to film outside its Bray Studios, and with good results.
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