Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Best movie ever!

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

How come I've never seen this gut busting, ball grabbing, bum clenchingly great film before ?!? A clear precursor to French Connection and Dirty Harry and a lost British classic.

Director John Guillermin and producer Peter de Sarigny concocted this rather thin story about a married family man (and rising cosmetics executive!) in a rough British neighborhood who has his car stolen one night by a ring of young turks; the hooligans are working for a dapper racketeer (Peter Sellers, talking through clinched teeth)--and when the obsessed businessman gets the police involved, the snarling crime boss vows to take him down. Woebegone melodramatic vehicle for the miscast Sellers, who never quite figures out how to get into this (admittedly impossible) character. Richard Todd does well as the protagonist, though his home-life scenes with spouse Elizabeth Sellars are pure cliché (she tells him at one point, "If you walk out that door, I won't be here when you get back!"). Not especially well-made, with a laughable editing technique to cue us in to whom the characters are thinking about (featuring close-ups of Peter Sellers turning around slowly, as if someone is creeping up behind him). The film does pin down a certain time and place in 1960s England, but the script--with its slow-acting police inspectors--is irritating rather than intriguing. *1/2 from ****

This is a nice little picture, kind of a commentary on crime, which features Richard Todd as a perfume salesman who doesn't take kindly to having his new Impalia stolen by a gang lead by Peter Sellers. Although there may be elements of dark comedy, this is basically a straightforward crime drama and all the principals are very effective, particularly Sellers.You could basically see this film as a modern urban variation on "High Noon." The police and the man's wife eventually decide that going after Sellers is far too dangerous, but as the title implies this man will just not let go of his precious car. He goes so far as to bring danger down upon his own household, when Sellers tracks him there and pushes his wife around. Finally he has to have a man-to-man showdown with the villainous Sellers, and the men beat each other nearly to death.I've never really seen Sellers quite as evil as he was in this film. He pushes women around, he robs from innocent people with no remorse, and he brutally punishes his underlings when they disappoint him. He attacks the role with great relish, like a man who enjoys doing bad things. This was Sellers' least mannered performance to date, among the films I have seen. In contrast to some of his later films where his excellent performances stand out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the film, this one serves the story and the film before all else.It's an interesting comment on materialism in our society, although I don't know if it plays out today exactly as it was intended. I found myself becoming quite aggravated with the good guy and wishing that Sellers could get away with it, because I was almost as infuriated with him as the bad guy. There's also a juvenile delinquent couple that just seems thrown in to give the story "modern relevance." But all in all this is a very memorable movie and I'm surprised that it's not discussed more often.

Saw this movie in the UK in the early 60's. Sellers was a major comedic hero of mine who I first discovered in The Goon Show. What made "Never Let Go" so important was that as far as I can remember this was the only time he played a vicious character. The scene where he is crushing Adam Faith's hands in a drawer stayed with me forever not only because Faith was a major pop star at that time but that it was shocking to see Sellers play this cruel roll. Now some 40+ years later I wish Sellers had pursued this other side of his character in more films as I think he could have become a real 'bastard' London character that have become so popular. Yes I prefer his comedy as it was so important to Britain's comedic release from it's stiff upper lip but he might have become one of the few actors that span both comedy & drama. Imagine Sellers with a touch of Bob Hoskins & Michael Caine (Long Goodbye mixed with Ipcress/Alfie). Definitely worth seeing. As an aside Adam Faith was a huge pop singer who did some acting and later became a very successful business man. Look out for his music.