Strongroom (film)

Strongroom is a 1961 British crime drama film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Derren Nesbitt, Colin Gordon and Ann Lynn. The screenplay concerns a group of criminals who lock two bank employees in a safe during a robbery.

Strongroom
Brazilian poster
Directed byVernon Sewell
Produced byGuido Coen
Written byRichard Harris
StarringDerren Nesbitt
Colin Gordon
Ann Lynn
Music byJohnny Gregory
CinematographyBasil Emmott
Edited byJohn Trumper
Production
company
Theatrecraft
Distributed byBryanston Films (UK)
Release date
May 1962 (UK)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£17,000[1]

Plot

Three small time crooks, Griff, Len and Len's brother Alec hold up a bank just after closing time on a Friday preceding a Monday Bank Holiday.

The stuffy bank manager Mr Spencer and his secretary, Rose are locked in the bank's air tight vault, or "Strongroom" by the crooks when two cleaners unexpectedly arrive. The robbers escape but realise that they face possible murder convictions as the bank will be closed for days and the two employees will suffocate. The crooks improvise a plan to leave the keys to the vault in the bank manager's car and alert the police by an anonymous phone call. Alec has this task. He is seen driving off but is killed in a road accident. Griff and Len receive a knock on the door from the police. The news of Len's brother's death is given. Len panics at both his brother's death and what'll happen to the bank workers but keeps his mouth shut.

Meanwhile in the vault the two are calculating their length of air supply: a maximum of 12 hours if they conserve their breath... they will not live until Tuesday morning when the vault is opened. They hope someone will rescue them. The manager howver out playing a carefree round of golf.

Len tries to retrieve his dead brother's belongings from the coroner but gets angry when told by that the items, which include the strongroom keys, cannot be returned for weeks. The duo decide to get hold of an oxyacetylene torch and try their best to break through to the suffocating bank workers. In the meantime, it is noticed that the dead brother's belongings include a strongroom key, after Len's rantings lead to the suspicion that something is wrong. The police track down the maker of the key and he tells them which bank had this key.

The police are about to arrest the two, when the boys explain that they're trying to free the workers trapped inside. Reluctant at first, they understand and let them continue. The duo get an air line through the door but their relief is shattered when the vault is opened and a police officer states "This one (Rose) is DEAD sir!" The look from Griff and Len sums up the impending doom for the pair, as murder was a capital offence at that time in the UK.

Cast

Critical reception

The Radio Times wrote, "director Vernon Sewell sets up this improbable story quite neatly, but it's hardly breathless entertainment."[2] TV Guide noted "a suspenseful, taut crime drama."[3]

References
  1. Petrie, Duncan James (2017). "Bryanston Films : An Experiment in Cooperative Independent Production and Distribution" (PDF). Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: 7. ISSN 1465-3451.
  2. "Strongroom | Film review and movie reviews". Radio Times. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  3. "Strongroom Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
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