The Criminal (Blu-ray)

Joseph Losey’s (The Go-Between, Accident) gritty crime drama about the British penal system, The Criminal features a great British cast including Stanley Baker (Zulu, The Guns of Navarone), Sam Wanamaker (The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, Death on the Nile), Grégoire Aslan (Cleopatra, The Return of The Pink Panther), Margit Saad (Playback, The Saint) and Jill Bennett (For your Eyes Only, Moulin Rouge). The Criminal was deemed shocking upon its original release for its unashamedly graphic violence but was highly acclaimed for the beautiful stark black and white cinematography by Oscar winner Robert Krasker and cool score by jazz legend John Dankworth. The Criminal  is an intelligent and naturalistic precursor to the British gangster film genre that continues to enjoy success to this day.

Ex-con Johnny (Stanley Baker) used his time in prison wisely – to plan the biggest robbery of his career. The robbery goes smoothly and Johnny goes to bury the money in a field until the heat is off, as agreed with friend and racketeer Mike Carter (Sam Wanamaker) and the rest of the gang. In a moment of weakness, Johnny pockets five hundred odd pounds from the haul. Coupled with a tip-off from his ex-girlfriend (Jill Bennett) this proves to be his undoing and Johnny is soon back in prison. The rest of the gang try in vain to get the location of the money out of him without success until Mike hits upon the idea of a break-out using Johnny’s new love Suzanne (Margit Saad) as bait.