Time Lock (1957)

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

A six-year-old boy is accidentally sealed in a bank vault that has a time lock protecting it. All the stops are pulled out to rescue the little tyke.I wish I could recommend it because it sounds like a terrifically suspenseful narrative. I mean, the kid is in darkness except for his flashlight. He's using up the oxygen. His parents on the other side of the door are in a frenzy.But it falls flat, mostly because the acting is generally poor and sometimes plain awful. You or I could handle some of the roles better. Nor does the dialog have much to be admired.This would have made a fine episode of "The Twilight Zone" or "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and almost certainly would have had more polish.Sorry.

Generally speaking, British "B" films are far outshone by their Hollywood counterparts. But this one, produced by Peter Rogers and directed (of course) by Gerald Thomas, was based on a reasonably exciting TV script by Arthur "Airport" Hailey. It was screenplayed by Rogers himself and rates with me as one of his best. In addition to his admirably taut script, Rogers has assembled a first-rate cast led by Robert Beatty, Betty McDowall, Vincent Winter, and of course, Lee Patterson. The large variety of camera set-ups and well edited inserts divert one's attention from the cramped, hole-in-the-wall set and other limited production values. There has to be a worthwhile quota quickie in there somewhere, and Time Lock is it!

Although the plot feels rather forced and awfully predictable, this is a surprisingly quite intense film that is able to keep one always interested all the time, due to the presentation of all the scientific evidence in an interesting manner, as well as an appropriately short running time. It feels well researched, the music used is applied well, and for Sean Connery fans it has the bonus of his presence in a brief supporting role as a welder. Still, the film does have quite a tendency for unnecessary melodrama; in particular McDowall overacts whenever she is on screen. But in spite of the film's flaws, the overall picture stands strong, and while it might not be everyone's cup of tea, I would highly recommend it if the film has even the slightest appeal to one's taste.

This is actually a pretty good thriller that benefits from the no-nonsense, fact-based dialogue and avoids sentimentality for the most part. Technically it's nothing remarkable and yes, the actors are largely undistinguished, but the story is developed in a pleasing and suspenseful way. Another reviewer's remark on this page that the film doesn't work because the child is unappealing is somewhat bizarre. The kid is on screen for all of two minutes and has but a few words of dialogue. And he's actually a cute little fella too, making you root for his rescue.In summary then, this is a movie which had the likes of Hitchcock or another of the greats directed it, have been a classic. Instead it's an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a bit in front of the telly - especially if you, say, find yourself off work ill one afternoon.