Review of Impact

Impact (1963)
5/10
Lacklustre, has a little merit though
18 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Not anything to write home about, but I've always like Conrad Phillips in these budget-flicks from 'Butcher's films' which seem to be doing the rounds on obscure Satellite/Freeview channels and, put out by 'Reknown Films' on DVD.

A pretty thin story, of a reporter, Jack Moir (Phillips) who constantly bothers a local hoodlum nicknamed 'The Duke' Dukelow, with bad publicity about him. Needless to say, the latter has him put out of the way by framing him for a mail-train robbery of around £60,000. Moir is sentenced to 20 months in prison and swears/exacts revenge on his release. It's pretty staid to be honest. Two points, as Malcolmgsw points out, that 20 months for robbery of £60,000 especially involving coshing a cop, is a ludicrously short sentence, which would probably start at least eight years plus, even if you didn't serve the full term of it. Another load of rubbish surely is, as has also been said elsewhere, that the police (led by Mike Pratt) would surely not expect him to be hanging around waiting to be pinched with the evidence that was 'planted' on him (that he hadn't known about until they unearthed it). Of course, though, cops are cops 'We're a very narrow-minded lot' as was quoted in the film 'Villain' from Inspector Matthews. From an interest point of view, Ballard Berkeley as Moir's Newspaper boss puts in an early appearance before his 'famous' one as 'The Major' in Fawlty Towers. Anita West, 'The Duke's' resident singer and floosie disappeared as a character actress (sorry, actor) sometime in the seventies/eighties (Crossroads) but puts in a welcome appearance too. A pretty laughable ending is also had to add to the purile writing of the story. Again, bad skiffle and jazz music as well as short back-and-sides and Brylcreem add to the atmosphere but worth it only for a curious look of B-support movie featurettes..
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