Escape by Night (1953)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Just so...so bad

A Major Disappointment

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

To me Sid James was the embodiment of the "Carry on" series. Sid was a very beloved comical actor. "Escape by Night" gives us the opportunity to watch him in a serious role. Sid is convincing as the Italian gangster, Gino Rossi. Perhaps he is too convincing. As with Stellan Skarsgård's portrayal of the Russian citizen Dima, Sid doesn't play a character, but rather a stereotype or a cliché. Rossi is highly suspicious, violent and trigger-happy. Just, what you would expect from an Italian gangster. Sadly his character becomes too one-dimensional.I must openly admit that this film didn't engage me. I am no fan of gangster films. I more like "whodunits" and psychological thrillers. The plot is very protracted. What enlivens the film is the presence of Andrew Ray as the working class boy, but today I think it would be difficult to convince a boy of his age that you are a secret agent.

This film starts off well but tails off very quickly.Sid James plays a gangster on the run who is befriended by Bonar Cellano as a journalist seeking a scoop.James is hiding in a closed theatre where a small boy played by Andrew Ray goes to play.The boy is convinced that James is a secret agent and brings them food.Hid,played by his own father,comedian Ted Ray,finds out and calls the police who rush to the theatre.However in helping James escape the boy falls from a building badly injuring himself.There is a chase through atmospheric streets at night.Colorado and James struggle and James is shot and killed in the process.Colorado phones in his story.Promises much but rather a let down.

This crime drama has some decent atmospheric settings and touches, but the rest of the movie is far too dreary to be satisfying. Most of the story concerns Tom Buchan, a journalist who wants to get the life story of Gino, a notorious crime boss. The two hide out together in an abandoned theater and make plans for Gino's getaway, while Gino tells Buchan about his life. They use a naive young boy to send messages to those outside. The abandoned building setting is done pretty well, and is quite suitable to the story. There is also some rather good use of lighting and other detail to set an appropriate tone.Unfortunately, most of the rest of the movie is just not very good at all. The biggest problem is with the characters. The journalist is supposed to be the hero, but he is self-centered, irresponsible, vain, and not nearly as clever as he (or the script-writer) thinks he is. The rest of the characters are either offensive brutes or are inexcusably foolish. The generally weak, stale dialogue doesn't make things any better. The story itself has some interesting features, but moves too slowly, and without any worthwhile characters to follow, there are many drab and lifeless stretches. The climactic sequence does hold some drama, and could have been quite good - but all the characters are such losers that there just isn't any reason to care about what happens to them, so the climax loses much of its impact.There are some good features to "Escape By Night", and it could have been a much better movie with better characters and writing. But as it stands, there is really no reason to watch it unless you are a big fan of any and all crime/gangster movies, regardless of their quality.