Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Excellent, smart action film.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Thanks to the enterprise of Kit Parker Films, much of Hammer's noir output in now available on excellent DVD transfers from VCI. Pick of the bunch is "The Glass Tomb" (1955), starring an appropriately glum John Ireland, and superbly photographed in a stunningly noirish manner by Jimmy Harvey (who once told me he was Lilian Harvey's brother). And most importantly of all, in my opinion, directed (at least in some scenes or maybe all of them) by Joseph Losey, who was actually working for Hammer at this time.Frankly, there's no way in the world that the stunningly noir lighting, set-ups and acting could have been supervised and/or directed by Montgomery Tully. But I'm not surprised Losey made no move to claim this movie, because the story, while decidedly macabre, is somewhat unbelievable. Nonetheless, the script does feature perennial minor villain, Sydney Tafler, in his best role ever; and it also offers some riveting opportunities for Geoffey Keen, Sid James and Liam Redmond. Even Sam Kydd has a good part, though it must be admitted that the lovely Honor Blackman is wasted in a nothing role.

This film is only 59 minutes long,but it feels as if it has been edited down from 90 minutes.Knowing the producers ,this is not likely.They probably hoped that audiences would not notice the joins.The problem with this film is that so much is just left unexplained.So many actors come and go they each must have been employed for just a day or two.Sid James,receives a blackmail note.John Ireland goes to see the girl and persuades her against going ahead.However subsequently James murders her.In turn he is killed by Sydney Tafler,who has previously roughed up Honor Blackman for no given reason.It would appear that Taffler is arrested.Then Geoffrey Keen kills Eric Pohlman again for no reason.So you just end up scratching your head and wondering what it was all about.

The Glass Tomb (AKA: The Glass Cage) is directed by Montgomery Tully and adapted to screenplay by Richard Landau from the story The Outsiders written by A. E. Martin. It stars John Ireland, Honor Blackman, Geoffrey Keen, Eric Pohlmann, Sid James and Sydney Tafler. Music is by Leonard Salzedo and cinematography by Walter Harvey.Pel Pelham's carnival is in town and the star attraction is Sapolio, a man prepared to be locked in a glass cage and starve himself for 70 days. But when a couple of murders occur at the carnival, the police become involved and suspicion starts to point its ugly finger.Part of the Hammer Film Noir series released by VCI Entertainment, The Glass Tomb is an odd little picture that's more a collection of noirish traits and ideas than a fully fledged movie. Running at just under an hour in length, film hinges on the flimsiest of stories but just about gets away with it on account of solid performances and some spiky themes in the piece. In the mix are carnival outcasts, blackmail, murder, carnal desires, gluttony, addiction and a macabre party scene with a body upstairs kept company for some time by the murderer?! These are nicely presided over by Tully and Harvey where shadows are often prominent and a neon light and subway train serve the atmosphere very well. You do wonder what world we live in when people pay to watch a man just not eat? While the murderer is known to us from the first killing, thus there's no mystery aspect to hang your coat on. Though clearly the makers want us to observe how the murderer easily moves about this carnival group undetected and above suspicion.Not comfortably recommended as a whole, but enough parts of the quilt for the noir fans to appreciate. 6/10

John Ireland wanders through this B movie like a penniless child in a nightmare candy store! As a freak-show promoter, he is compelled to bankroll a corpulent carny who, billed as The Starving Man, draws crowds to watch him go foodless for 70 days! Instead of turning on the two like hungry lions, mobs of curious Brits pour continuously forth to goggle the decidedly ungaunt attraction while he shaves, sleeps, and so on. Somehow, two murders occur in the midst of the mess, and so the rub. One has to wonder if the whole production (the movie, not the sideshow) is a joke on the audience, since the film is peppered with crude carnality symbolism and (for the fifties) sly sexual innuendo and double entendre. If one has a taste for oh-so-awful flicks and fool-the-rubes humor, this might be worth a peek.