Set in Manchester, heartland of England's industrial north, Don Starling escapes from jail becoming England's most wanted man. Ruthless villain Starling together with his cronies engineered a robbery that resulted in the violent death of a young girl. Detective Inspector Martineau has been assigned to hunt him down and bring him in. From seedy barrooms, through gambling dens the trail leads to an explosive climax high on the rooftops of the city.
Cinematography
Hammerscope makes Manchester look gorgeously miserable.
Acting
Stanley Baker's weary intensity anchors every scene.
Direction
Val Guest treats the city as a suffocating character.
Director
Val Guest
Stanley Baker
Insp. Harry Martineau
John Crawford
Don Starling
Donald Pleasence
Gus Hawkins
Maxine Audley
Julia Martineau
Billie Whitelaw
Chloe Hawkins
Joseph Tomelty
Furnisher Steele
George A. Cooper
Doug Savage
Vanda Godsell
Lucretia Luske
Alister Williamson
Sam
Lois Daine
Cecily Wainwright
John Harvey
Fingerprint Officer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot on location in Manchester, this was one of the first British crime films to embrace authentic northern industrial settings rather than studio replicas.
The 'Hammerscope' widescreen format was Hammer's answer to CinemaScope, and here it turns cramped streets into claustrophobic tunnels of doom.
GB
