Hell Is a City (1960)

The greatest movie ever made..!

Expected more

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

This 'Hammer Films' production is still comfortable viewing, even now (2017), largely because of the familiar cast and memorable outdoors scenery. It also helps that the rapid-fire screenplay keeps us moving along with the plot at a brisk and exciting pace. There's also lots going on to pay attention to besides the main cop pursuit.Inspector Martineau (Stanley Baker) marches through the plot leaving his neglected wife, Julia (Maxine Audley) behind. (Despite a rather significant part in the story and being an actress of some renown, she isn't on the list of credits. I have no idea why.)American actor John Crawford plays villain Don Starling and is convincing as the hardened prison escapee trying to round up his swag while avoiding the cops.There are familiar faces aplenty for those 'spotters' among us... and even a turn from an unrecognizable Warren Mitchell (In Sickness and in Health) as a traveling salesman who comes across a dead body. (If you look carefully you can see the victim blink when she's discovered.)A busy Donald Pleasance found time to squeeze in this project with nearly 20 other film and TV commitments in 1960! He plays a bookie with a heart... and a cheating wife (Billie Whitelaw).Sarah Branch (Who?) plays a beautiful deaf and dumb girl innocently caught in the crossfire of crime. And I must say that my only real peeve about this movie is that she never got together with the young detective Devery (Geoffrey Frederick), who comes to interview her. There were obvious sparks going on here yet the viewer is left hanging! Boo!The story is actually a rather complex one, but basically, Starling escapes from jail and teams up with his old partners in crime. Inspector Martineau reckons he knows what the villain is gonna do next so he races off to Manchester to see if his hunch pays off. It does of course as Starling beats it back to the scene of the crime to pick up some stashed jewelry. He and his gang also pull off a robbery which nets them a lot of cash but results in a murder. The body is dumped on the Manchester moors but even that doesn't go according to plan...I suspect that director (and writer) Val Guest was paying his respects to the American 'noir' films of the 1940s here. Hard boiled cops and robbers, fancy dames and dark sleazy surroundings... and it's filmed in black and white!Get yourself over to YouTube and find out for yourself. There's a great copy there in full wide-screen.

Well-made noirish drama involving a prison escapee returning to Manchester to collect the loot from the theft that landed him behind bars. Val Guest's direction is spot on - he really knew how to tell a story. Stanley Baker is a standout as the conflicted cop that's obsessed with his work - is tired of his wife - and is in love with another woman. Equally good is John Crawford as the truly menacing criminal. The rest of the cast does a great job. The filming in and around Manchester was an added bonus and gave the film greater authenticity. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys the genre.

Director Val Guest has said of Hell is a City, that he was very influenced by Jules Dassin's classic Naked City, and many of the location shots attest to this influence. The final pursuit scene with Martineau and Starling in combat are as thrilling as the Williamsburg Bridge scenes from Naked City with the action of the streets below serving as backdrop to the fighting men clambering high above.Inspector Harry Martineau (Steve Baker), a hard-nosed detective stationed in Manchester England, feels that an escaped thief Don Starling (John Crawford) is going to return to town to retrieve a cache of stolen jewels that he hid before he was convicted. Martineau has domestic troubles as he and his wife Julia Martineau (Maxine Audley) bicker about his role as a policeman and their childless marriage. The escaped criminal Starling arrives in town and immediately forms a gang to rob a bookmaker Gus Hawkins (Donald Pleasance), of what they think will be the minimal amount of money to get the crook out of town but what they steal is a large amount of money marked with a green ink by the bank to prevent theft. Starling accidentally kills a young girl during the robbery and while dumping the body at a deserted location the gang is spotted and Martineau instinctively knowing who is responsible, takes steps to track down as much information as he can, in many instances only steps behind the crook. On the run Starling starts going to as many places as he can for refuge, at one point hiding in the attic of the bookmaker he robbed Gus Hawkins, threatening his philandering wife Chloe (Billie Whitelaw). Starling manages to knock Hawkins unconscious sending him to the hospital and Martineau, following up on his hunch, figures out the truth and squeezes more information from Hawkins' wife Chloe. At a large coin-flipping gambling game, where some of the tainted money exchanges hands, Martineau catches up with the accomplices in the robbery and gets closer to the murderer. When Starling recovers the cache of stolen jewels from a furniture dealer he confronts a young girl Silver Steele (Sarah Branch) and draws the attention of the neighborhood and Martineau who pursues the thief to a final showdown on the rooftops above Manchester.What is admirable about Hell is a City are the great locations shots taking place in the streets, and moors of the city of Manchester. Guest sets up his camera consistently to show the actions of the protagonist and antagonists mixed into scenes of everyday life, showing how the element of crime exists as something endemic to society as a whole.The film teeters over into the world of melodrama at points but only to show how Martineau tromps into that world and drives through to get what he wants. The way that Martineau questions Chloe Hawkins shows what he knows about the woman and the ruthless methods he uses to get to the truth. The way the director sets up this relationship is masterful, by introducing Chloe as she is passionately kissing a younger man before going home to see her husband Gus we understand immediately that she is the trophy of an older wealthy man. The later scene with Starling we understand further that her philandering ways has a history as we understand that the two have had a previous relationship. Later as Martineau questions her we know that he is aware of the woman&#146s behavior, and he uses this information to essentially blackmail her for cooperation.Director Guest manipulates the mise en scene so well that we can practically feel the breeze hitting our faces on the moors. His choice of background actors at the coin-tossing gambling game says volumes about this community in England.The garage where the taxis are maintained is covered with excellent high-angle shots showing the large windows and arched ceiling of a burned out church. On the commentary tract director Val Guest talks about some of the choices for locations in the film, and his comments on this building is an interesting one. There isn't really anything that his location manager is trying to put forth with this old religious building as a garage but it certainly adds to the overall appeal of the film.The commentary tract has a goodly amount of additional perks for the film buff. Journalist Ted Newsom leads a discussion with director Val Guest that includes casting American actor John Crawford in the lead role of Don Starling and his ultimate successes with other Hammer Studio films. In particular the alternate ending is something that should impress many viewers given today's circumstances regarding leaving a positive ending on a movie.The colorful names add to the pleasure in this detective actioner. Names like Don Starling, Silver Steele, Lucky Lusk, Clogger Roach add to the background for the action in the movie.The fact that Hammer Studios left this kind of great filmmaking to go heavily into the Horror genre was probably a decision based on economics. Hell is a City is a wonderful Actioner but probably doesn't have a big effect on box office receipts like a good blood splattering slasher or vampire flick.If you like Film Noir this movie will whet your appetite! Enjoy it with a good black cup of Starbuck&#146s brew for that extra noir kick!

This is a wonderful example of how worldly some british films can seem, while maintaining their local flavor. I believe that this film is very appropriately set in Manchester, anyone having been to Manchester will tell you its quite a tough place.50s British entertainment was heavily influenced by Hollywood and continued to be influenced especially on TV until the late 70s, when things all started to get a bit colorless. This movie was made in a time when entertainment came first and the needs of the audience and hence a box office return, came before the politically correct requirements of the day. Having said that I have to say I'm VERY glad that you don't see many characters quite as sorry as Martineau's repressed housebound wife these days!For those who are not familiar with director Val Guest - check out his other movies. He was a director who knew exactly what he was doing.