MartinHafer While the star of this film technically is Richard Todd, Peter Sellers' supporting performance dominates the film and it's no surprise that the DVD features Sellers on the cover, not Todd. It's one of the better performances of his career--and, interestingly, it's not at all comedic but a VERY gritty and serious role.The film begins with a working man (Todd) leaving work--only to discover that his car's been stolen. He goes to the police but after a couple days there doesn't appear to be any chance he'll get it back--and it's not insured. Todd is a very mild-mannered man and not the sort you'd expect to do anything about the crime, but his car is needed for his job and he won't let it rest. So, he starts trying to find leads on his own--and repeatedly he nearly gets himself killed. Yet, for once this mild-mannered man is NOT going to just back down--he will follow this as far as he can and the consequences be damned. Through the course of Todd's investigations, the trail leads to a truly horrible man (Sellers). On the surface, Sellers seems sophisticated and mild-mannered himself. However, he is a very violent bully--and this comes out with the least provocation. What's to happen next? Tune in to this excellent film to see for yourself--just be forewarned...it's amazingly brutal for 1960--so brutal the Brits gave it what is equivalent to a restricted rating!As I said, Sellers is at his best here. Wearing bulky clothes (and perhaps lifts to make him look taller), he looks beefier and plays a great heavy. His violent and sadistic routine is mesmerizing--and it was hard to believe this is the same guy who made a career out of making people laugh. Here, he's malevolent and cruel--and very effective. Now all this does NOT mean Todd isn't quite good as well--he is. But even in turning in a dandy performance himself, he is overshadowed by the malevolent Sellers. The sum effect of both of them is quite compelling--making a simple and inexpensive film much better than you'd ever expect. If you like to see excellent acting and characters, then see this one.

moonspinner55 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 ****

jakegot86d The thing about a movie like this is it some how tricks you into thinking it's better than it actually is. not to say that it's bad, because it's not. it's just not that good either. The lead is weak to say the least and even though they did an all right job of making peter sellers look tough i spent most of his screen time wondering where his gun was and why he didn't just use it to shoot people. the one thing he does do in this movie astoundingly well is represent that slow hate for his little hood rat hoochie who's secretly dating one of his underlings. i wonder if sellers wasn't just translating emotion from his own failed relationships. tommy tires is cool and is the one character that makes you think this movie might be worth a remake. not because the actor made such a good turn but because he really was terrible and a person can see room for improvement there (which should be the measuring stick of any remake). all and all a sellers flick that stayed under the radar for good reason but you could still do worse so if you catch it on a Sunday just be glad it's not a football movie about redemption.

Steve Pyott (spyott) I've now seen this film a few times when it gets shown late at night on ABC TV here in Australia and it is still compelling viewing. It is a classic example of the gritty working class social reality/suspense genre in a post Angry Young Men gloomy London setting with a superb cast all giving stellar performances, particularly Peter Sellers as the petty vicious crook (one of his best roles), Elizabeth Sellars as the long suffering wife, Carol White, Mervyn Johns and Adam Faith. The casting of Richard Todd in the lead role of the down-trodden but defiant cosmetics salesman who wants to show everyone he can succeed is superb, inspired and brilliant, particularly given that he was normally cast as heroic and successful types, such as officers.It is impossible not to identify with the personal struggle against the injustice of the very difficult situation in which Todd's character has found himself and that was not of his own making. Although the film has the typical feel of the late 50s/early 60s era in British urban society (which I love, by the way!), I found his work situation, which is at the heart of the story, and the way he tried to deal with it achingly convincing and clearly reminiscent of more modern eras, particularly with the constant threat of up and coming younger, brighter and sharper sales staff being used by the management as an unsubtle threat to his position if he does not improve his sales figures. I am sure anyone who has ever been paid on a sales commissions basis in a competitive product or service field would be able to identify easily with that situation.His persistent determination to deal with the unsavoury types he thinks are responsible for the theft of his car in the face of police indifference and try to get back everything that he has lost, while everyone is telling him to just give up, is portrayed very convincingly and the final ending and resolution with the fight scene in the garage is utterly convincing and satisfying. I strongly recommend this film and I have always found it difficult to understand why Richard Todd never became the huge star I believe he deserved to be.