The Good Die Young (1955)

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The Good Die Young is a cracking British Noir picture directed by Lewis Gilbert and featuring a strong cast of British and American actors. Laurence Harvey, Stanley Baker, Richard Basehart, John Ireland, Gloria Grahame, Margaret Leighton, Joan Collins and Rene Ray are the principals. While support comes from Robert Morley and Freda Jackson.Adapted from the novel written by Richard MacAuley, the story starts with four men pulling up in a car, guns are passed around them and it's soon evident they are about to commit a serious crime. We are then taken through the sequences for each man, how they came to be at that point in time, what brought them together and their common interest; that of women trouble and financial strife. It's excellently structured by Gilbert, four separate stories, yet all of them are on the same track and heading towards the grim and potently "noirish" final quarter. Such is the way that we as viewers have been fully informed about our characters, the impact when things get violent is doubly strong. It takes you by surprise at first because the makers have given us a smooth set-up, and then there is the shock factor because these were not criminal men at the outset. But then..A real pleasant surprise to this particular viewer was The Good Die Young, it's got fully formed characters within a tight and interesting story. The cast do fine work, yes one could probably complain a touch that the ladies are under written, but they each get in and flesh out the downward spiral of the male protagonists. Rene Ray is particularly impressive as the fraught wife of Stanley Baker's injured boxer, Mike, while Gloria Grahame (walking like a panther) is memorable as a bitch-a-like babe driving her husband Eddie (Ireland) to distraction. Basehart is his usual value for money self, but it's Baker and Harvey who own the picture. Baker does a great line in raw emotion, a big man, big heart and a big conscious; his journey is the films emotional axis, while Harvey is positively weasel like as playboy sponger Miles Ravenscourt; someone who is guaranteed to have you hissing at the screen with his stiffness perfectly befitting the character. Top stuff. 8/10

This is a fabulous movie and just goes to show you how good a film can be with excellent writing and acting. Even if there are no big-time stars in the movie, the four leads do fantastic jobs and are given great roles. The biggest names in the film are Laurence Harvey, Richard Basehart and Gloria Graham, but all three were at the time relatively cheap talent and affordable to this British production company. Additionally, Stanley Baker and John Ireland round out the great cast. It's also interesting that Basehart and John Ireland star in the film since they both play nice guys, as both have played some really wicked and exciting Noir roles and are two of my favorite Noir actors. In fact, ANY Noir film starring either is a must-see in my opinion.The movie is in some ways like Film Noir, but it lacks the same sharp dialog and most of the characters in the film seem like nice ordinary people you can care about--not the usual Noir thugs. Because of this, while the film is about a robbery committed by a gang, it is much different from films like RIFIFI or BOB LE FLAMBEUR because the film isn't about gangsters or professionals. While some might think this makes it less of a film, it deserves to be held in as high an esteem as these two other great films because it offers some amazing character studies and insights you don't normally get from a "caper film". Additionally, the usual film angles and cinematography isn't present but for this film it works out just fine.The film begins just before the quartet rob the post office to steal 90,000 Pounds. Instead of committing the heist, the film then abruptly changes and shows the back story of all four men and how these non-criminals came to a point in their lives where they were so desperate that they risked everything for money. These character studies were great because they really made you care about three of the men and in a way you really did want to see them succeed--now that's excellent writing! Richard Basehart is an American married to a young Joan Collins. Their lives are being ruined by an evil and manipulative mother who will do anything to either break up their marriage or at least keep Collins in London. Unfortunately, instead of just killing the horrid old woman (which most viewers will hope--believe me), he is stranded with his wife in London and living with the old harpy--and it's killing them inside. They need to do something to get back to America before Collins or her unborn child dies or Basehart commits murder!John Ireland is an American in the army and is married to Gloria Grahame. She's a small-time actress but also a tramp who blatantly cheats on him (with Miss Grahame, this is no surprise as her career was based on such roles). He needs out of this awful marriage and he's in trouble with the army and needs to escape.Stanley Baker is a journeyman boxer who has destroyed his body in the hope of retiring. Unfortunately, through no fault of his own, his nest-egg is gone and he is without job prospects after losing his left hand. He loves his wife but can't figure a way out of crippling poverty.Finally, we have Laurence Harvey. He is very unlike the other three in that you never like him and he was not intended to be likable. In many ways, he's like an upper class version of the cad he played in ROOM AT THE TOP but in this case his rich wife has had enough of his gambling, cheating on her and broken promises. She's leaving for Kenya and it looks like it might be alone. He is the most exciting of the three to watch in action, though as I said, he's NOT the nicest guy you'll see in film!So as you can see, all four men need money and otherwise they never would have considered a life of crime. Most interesting, though, is how over time it becomes apparent just how different Harvey is from the rest--leading to a bang-up conclusion to the film that seems very much like a typical Noir thriller. The final scenes are great, though some pointless and moralistic narration at the end does blunt the film's impact just a bit.So often overlooked but a terrific film throughout. See this film!By the way, if you wonder why Hollywood actors Basehart, Ireland and Grahame appeared in the film, it was relatively common in the 1950s for foreign production companies to recruit a few Americans (or in Ireland's case, Canadians) for their films. This added star power was thought to increase marketability in America and made financing easier. Oddly, this practice while common in Britain, was also very common in Italy where non-Italian speakers starred in films--such as Basehart in Fellini's LA STRADA.Also, listen closely to Grahame. Her British accent appears and disappears throughout the film and so this isn't one of her better roles.

Channel 4 recently screened The Good Die Young one afternoon so I set the video and was pleased I did.Four men, a boxer who has had one of his arms amputated, a rich man and two Americans are fed up of being short of money. The rich man suggests the four of them rob a post office which is having a delivery of £90,000 later that evening. After all agreeing, they head there but things start going wrong when a copper comes over to their car to tell them are illegally parked. He is shot dead and the gang the raid the van and take the money and escape into a nearby church yard. The rich man shoots the boxer first after he decides to give himself up, then as they are crossing the railway lines which are electrified, he pushes one of the Americans onto the live rails and is electrocuted. The two survivors manage to escape further from the police on an Underground train but the American decides he has had enough and goes back to his wife and they head to the airport to go catch a flight back to America. After making a last minute phone call to police telling them where the hidden money is, the rich man sees him in the phone booth but he is shot by the American. Thinking he is dead, he heads for the plane but is shot and then collapses into his wife's arms and dies. A sad ending.The movie has excellent location photography around London and one of the best parts is the railway sequence.This movie is worth having in a collection just for the cast: the gang leader is played by Laurence Harvey, the boxer is played by Stanley Baker (Zulu), the Americans are Richard Basehart (Voyage to the Bottom Of the Sea) and John Ireland. The rest of the cast includes a young Joan Collins (Empire of the Ants, Dynasty), Robert Morley (who only appears too briefly), Margaret Leighton, Freda Jackson (The Valley Of Gwangi), Rene Ray and Susan Shaw.Watching this is an ideal way of spending 100 minutes one afternoon. Excellent.Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

What a cast! Basehart, Harvey, Baker, and Ireland turn out stunning performances in this British film noir entry. The story is of three decent men, on hard times that are enticed to robbery by the one bad seed amongst them (Harvey). Also interesting to view Joan Collins in an early role, man she was REALLY hot when she was young. The tale is told in flashback, and younger viewers, more inclined to slash and bang, might find it a bit slow, but the ending is both subtle and surprising. A good one.