Sick Product of a Sick System

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

MY BROTHER'S KEEPER is one of the earlier 'handcuffed together' type thrillers in which a couple of convicts elude the police and struggle to overcome their situation. This scenario has been done to death in the cinema with De Niro's MIDNIGHT RUN perhaps the best known of its type, but this low budget production is worth a look as the plot is an interesting and appropriately suspenseful one.The story boasts Jack Warner in a rare villainous turn as a murderer who finds himself handcuffed to a youthful George Cole, a simpleton whose performance reminds one of John Hurt in 10 RILLINGTON PLACE. The story plays out as you'd expect, but there are some memorable set-pieces dotted throughout, such as the hide-out in the wood or the fine climax. Alfred Roome was something of an inexperienced director but he acquits himself well here; he was better known as an old-hand editor who worked hard on the CARRY ON franchise in the 1960s.The cast is generally interesting, with Cole and Warner given the most screen time and thus coming off the best. David Tomlinson and Yvonne Owen play a newlywed couple whose spousal humour feels staged and shoe-horned into the story, so their presence is a detraction. Elsewhere, you get an unrecognisable Bill Owen alongside the likes of Maurice Denham, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Reginald Beckwith, and even Valentine Dyall in a cameo.

I have two reviews for this one in my files. First, let's have my original review from the late 1950s when I saw the movie on TV: This film does not generate the excitement promised by the title and the cast. One drawback is the normally welcome David Tomlinson stuck in an unproductive role as a harassed reporter on his honeymoon. First strike against this assumption is that the screen Tomlinson is such a fumbling idiot, there is no way any girl would marry him – let alone a peacherino like Yvonne Owen! His scenes generate neither laughs nor tension. All they do is waste our time. In fact, the screenplay tends to be far too talky. Fortunately, the action spots are well handled.Now, here is my second review, based on the excellent Beyond DVD: Comedian Jack Warner is surprisingly cast as the villain – a ruthless if ingenious killer who can turn on the charm when he wants to – and does a superb job in this well-made thriller directed by Alfred Roome. Warner is ably supported by fellow comedian George Cole (also in a straight role) and Jane Hylton. Less impressive are Raymond Lovell who has two large a role as the hapless Tomlinson's editor and Wilfrid Hyde White (billed as Wilfred Hyde White) who has far too small a part but still manages to make an impression in first big scene even though he has only one or two words of dialogue. Director Alfred Roome makes excellent use of his locations.

In so many ways this is a fine all round film, which is only let down somewhat by the unnecessary comedic element of the young newspaper reporter (David Tomlinson) accompanied by his new bride (Yvonne Owen), on their honeymoon, covering the man hunt for the two escaped prisoners. The inclusion of this improbable and forced attempt at humour simply jars within the context of the whole film. That great character actor, Jack Warner, is excellent in the lead role, playing against type. He is ably supported by a young George Cole, and the ever dependable Jane Hylton. The film also has a lively pace about it, and is well staged, with the outdoor locations lending a good balance to the proceedings. It's a film that doesn't seem to be widely available, but is certainly well worth tracking down, despite the inappropriate light-hearted interludes.

An interesting piece of casting, having Jack Warner playing the bad guy, but he is a good enough actor to pull it off. He plays a war hero George Martin, who with another convict, Willie Stannard, (George Cole) break loose from police custody, while handcuffed together. David Tomlinson as the young reporter, who is called in to work on the story. A film from another era, that is well worth watching.