Joseph Losey - The Criminal (1960)

Stanley Baker stars as underworld kingpin Johnny Bannion, sprung from prison by his best friend Mike Carter to mastermind a daring racetrack heist. But when Johnny is sent back to jail shortly after hiding the stolen loot, he must survive and ordeal of brutality and betrayal at the hands of his fellow convicts and former accomplices in this gritty drama that was originally advertised as “The Toughest Film Ever Made In Britain!”.





Directed by American expatriate Joseph Losey, who fled to England as a result of the Hollywood blacklist, The Criminal is an uncompromising crime drama scripted by Alun Owen from an original story by Hammer screenwriter Jimmy Sangster. Losey’s morality tale of crime, betrayal and institutionalized mistreatment explores the contradictions of the tough guy submerged within the self-contained prison and underworld culture. Robert Krasker's superb cinematography creates a suitably harsh, bleak visual style. There are fine performances by Stanley Baker as the brutal central character based on notorious Soho gangster Albert Dimes, and Patrick Magee is suitably sinister as Barrows, the corrupt prison guard.

Recently released from prison, tough criminal mastermind Johnny Bannion (Stanley Baker) immediately sets in motion plans for a brazen daylight robbery on a racecourse. His only stumbling block is that the underworld racketeer represented by Carter (Sam Wanamaker) wants a bigger share for laundering the stolen money. The heist goes off without a hitch and Bannion drives out into the country to hide the loot, but when he returns to his West End flat, Bannion discovers police inspector Town (Laurence Naismith) is waiting to place him under arrest. Subsequently sent back to jail and into the clutches of callous prison warder Barrows (Patrick Magee), Bannion offers to hand over all the loot to prison godfather Frank Saffron (Grégoire Aslan) in exchange for being sprung from jail. The escape duly goes ahead when Bannion is being transferred to another prison and now it’s his turn to keep his side of the bargain by telling the double-dealing Carter where the money is. (britmovie.co.uk)







El criminal
Nada más salir de la cárcel Johnny organiza con su banda un robo en el hipódromo. Tras esconder el dinero, es detenido por la policía y condenado a quince años de prisión. Pero el escondite del botín lo mantiene en secreto. Los miembros de su banda deciden preparar su fuga para hacerse con el dinero.... Johnny Bannion ha pasado los tres últimos años en prisión ideando el más grande robo de su trayectoria. Fuera de prisión, pone su plan en acción. Entierra el dinero en el campo, pero Bannion es arrestado antes de tener la oportunidad de revelar el paradero a su pandilla. Pero cometen el gran error de dispararle antes de que pueda contarles toda la historia...



Les criminels
Johnny Bannion a passé ses trois dernières années de prison à mettre au point le plus gros vol de sa carrière. A sa sortie de prison, il met son plan à exécution. Il enterre l'argent dans un champ, mais il est arrêté avant qu'il ait pu révéler la cachette à ses complices. Ceux-ci s'empressent de le tirer de sa prison, mais ils commettent l'erreur fatale de le tuer avant qu'il ait pu leur révéler son secret...







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