Martin Bradley Probably the only good thing you can say about this British crime movie is that it makes excellent use of its North of England locations, (it was filmed mostly in Rotherham), and has some good, atmospheric photography by the great Douglas Slocombe. Otherwise, it's pretty terrible as femme fatale Diana Dors, (far from her finest hour), urges down-on-their-luck brothers George Baker and Terence Morgan to robbery and murder. It is atrociously scripted (by producer George Minter and Denis O'Dell from a play by Jack Popplewell), directed (by Gordon Parry) and acted (by the entire cast)and has largely been forgotten. It should have stayed that way.

MikeMagi When the British make a "B" movie, they tend to get it right -- and "Tread Softly Stranger" is a good example. George Baker as Johnny has left London and returned to his childhood home -- a scraggy northern town -- to escape the bookmakers who are screaming for his hide. His brother, Dave, a payroll clerk at a local steel mill, is a wimp, hopelessly smitten with next door neighbor Diana Dors. When the brothers set out to heist the mill's payroll, everything that can possibly go wrong does -- no surprise. But there's a nifty twist at the end that certainly is surprising. The atmosphere -- from grubby pubs to the factory's blistering operations -- provide a colorful backdrop. Worth watching.

lucyrfisher The script is unremarkable and the direction leaden. But it's worth watching for the setting in a genuine industrial town – not just for the factories spewing smoke (which are no doubt now "heritage centres", art galleries and yuppie flats if they haven't been levelled), but for the shabby rooming house where the brothers and Diana live. The Victorian decor and furniture is still there 50 years later. You can't tell from this film that George Baker is a good actor, and Diana isn't asked to do much more than pose around (but she looks gorgeous and I love her clothes, apart from those embarrassing shorts she makes her first appearance (just) in). But I can't help feeling this is an American script transferred to Britain. I'm sure "up north" didn't have hostess clubs in the 50s, or so many Irish people: the nightwatchman, his son Paddy and the landlady are all Irish. In fact no one has a northern accent, and Paddy's girlfriend has a ridiculously posh English accent that is probably dubbed on. The plot is the same old "We've got a suit-case full of money but it's no use to us, we'd better burn it/put it down the toilet/let it blow away in the wind."

samhill5215 This is not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. But it IS fun, lots of fun. The characters are real people with all the frailties and peculiarities that make them interesting. Even though I half expected the outcome it didn't really matter because the way there was so much fun to watch. Nobody was perfect, all good or all bad, just real. Of the two brothers one began as shady and questionable character and the other as an upright citizen but as the film progressed they switched places. The transition was believable and based on facts clearly brought out in the script. Diana Dors was the fulcrum about whom the entire exercise revolved and she did an excellent job playing a woman who is confident of her appeal, willing to use it, but is anything but one-dimensional.So what's not to like? I can't help but think that in the hands of a better director this could have been much, much better. Those same elements that made it fun could have made it great had they been handled more expertly. Dors' sensuality was shamelessly exploited and don't get me wrong, I just as shamelessly enjoyed every bit of it. But there were some superfluous shots that did nothing to advance the plot and appear to have been inserted just to give us another look at this gorgeous woman. And then there was the theme song, played to distraction. I for one, don't get the connection. What do the words "Tread Softly Stranger" have to do with the relationship between two brothers and a woman?But in the long run, even though I can't rate it any higher, I heartily enjoyed this film and will gladly do so again. For those who haven't yet seen it do so immediately.