Vernon Sewell's outstanding British crime picture from 1962, Strongroom, co-scripted by veteran screenwriter Richard Harris, has now been re-released for contemporary audiences. This taut, tough suspense thriller in black-and-white builds to a sensationally grim final shot that lingers in the memory.
A Classic B-Movie With Lasting Impact
The film represents the classic B-movie format that once made up complete cinema programmes. This cheap'n'cheerful genre, though often producing forgettable work, sometimes liberated talented filmmakers to create terrific, unheralded pictures. As critic Matthew Sweet has valuably elucidated, these films hold significant importance in cinematic history. Interestingly, a character in Strongroom about to visit the cinema discusses the importance of seeing the full programme, creating a meta-commentary on the film's own context.
A Tense Bank Heist With Moral Complications
The plot follows Griff, played with menacing intensity by Derren Nesbitt, who leads a trio of robbers raiding a suburban bank just before a bank holiday weekend. In a particularly cynical touch, Griff poses as a postman using his dead father's old uniform to gain entrance. After manhandling the straitlaced manager Mr Spencer, portrayed by Colin Gordon, and his demure secretary Miss Taylor, played by Ann Lynn, down to the basement to open the strongroom, the criminals lock both employees inside with the cash before making their getaway.
The Criminals' Crisis of Conscience
A queasy, grisly fear settles on the criminals as they crouch in their van contemplating their next move. They realise with growing horror that if nobody notices the two missing employees, Spencer and Taylor could die of suffocation in the vault. Though nothing is said aloud, they understand they could face capital punishment for this outcome. Murder remained a capital offence when Strongroom was released, with executions often following convictions with little delay. This spasm of pseudo-conscience sets in motion disastrous consequences as time begins running out.
An Unlikely Connection in Desperate Circumstances
Alongside the chilling horror of their predicament emerges an amazingly real, delicately managed almost-romance between Mr Spencer and Miss Taylor. Forced to loosen their clothing in the stultifying heat of the vault, their inhibitions dwindle along with the air supply as they confront their potential mortality. This connection develops in the most poignantly reticent, platonic manner, adding emotional depth to their dire situation.
Powerful Performances and Shocking Conclusion
The film delivers several substantial shocks, with the most powerful reserved for just before the closing credits. Everything wraps up briskly within 80 minutes, maintaining relentless tension throughout. The performances feel stagy yet robust in the manner of British cinema from that era, remaining consistently plausible and watchable.
Derren Nesbitt brings a swarthy kind of non-handsomeness to his portrayal of Griff; in the same year he played the unforgettably nasty blackmailer-hoodlum in Basil Dearden's Victim. Both 1962 and contemporary audiences might anticipate some form of redemption or crime-doesn't-pay moral, but Strongroom defiantly resists such conventional resolution.
Re-release Details
Strongroom returns to UK and Irish cinemas from 30 January, followed by a Blu-ray release on 23 February and availability on BFI Player from 23 March, allowing new generations to discover this criminally overlooked British thriller.
