If it wasn't for the inward nonacting of Patrick McGoohan, this film would rank lower in my rating. It's an intriguing subject that I don't think could be done any better and might have worked as either a stage play or TV drama with a limited set. But to expand this for the big screen takes away the intimacy of one man's troubled mind after his lack of willingness to participate in the attempt to stop a post office robbery and how he is viewed by his peers following the incident.
Under the direction of veteran Anthony Asquith (also one of the screenwriters), this film certainly makes the viewer think. McGoohan gains the audience sympathy, not their jeers (unlike those he works for and the wretched locales), because in a flash of a moment of his life, he had to make a quick decision that could either make him a live hero, a wounded hero (like coworker Bill Travers) or a dead hero which happens to the third man who reacted quickly and didn't survive that decision.
His wife, Virginia McKenna (later the real life of Travers), stands by him in spite of the hideous gossip of the locales and the treatment their son gets in school. This becomes unpleasant to watch because nobody thinks outside their feelings about Travers and the deceased coworker or even how they would react. In real life, many people have been surprised by the reactions of seemingly strong men who didn't jump in when a crisis occured, something inside them beckoning them to get away.
Look for a young Michael Crawford as a young postal clerk involved in the gossip after the incident. The performances are good and the pacing only slow intermittently, so I'm surprised that I was left cold by the story which made me angrier at the reactions to what McGoohan chose to do. Then there's the angry supervisor who on the surface appears to be sad about the violence that left one man wounded and the other dead, even though his eyes indicate he's more angry about the lost funds. A sad situation that left me with no proper resolution, this ultimately served no purpose.
Under the direction of veteran Anthony Asquith (also one of the screenwriters), this film certainly makes the viewer think. McGoohan gains the audience sympathy, not their jeers (unlike those he works for and the wretched locales), because in a flash of a moment of his life, he had to make a quick decision that could either make him a live hero, a wounded hero (like coworker Bill Travers) or a dead hero which happens to the third man who reacted quickly and didn't survive that decision.
His wife, Virginia McKenna (later the real life of Travers), stands by him in spite of the hideous gossip of the locales and the treatment their son gets in school. This becomes unpleasant to watch because nobody thinks outside their feelings about Travers and the deceased coworker or even how they would react. In real life, many people have been surprised by the reactions of seemingly strong men who didn't jump in when a crisis occured, something inside them beckoning them to get away.
Look for a young Michael Crawford as a young postal clerk involved in the gossip after the incident. The performances are good and the pacing only slow intermittently, so I'm surprised that I was left cold by the story which made me angrier at the reactions to what McGoohan chose to do. Then there's the angry supervisor who on the surface appears to be sad about the violence that left one man wounded and the other dead, even though his eyes indicate he's more angry about the lost funds. A sad situation that left me with no proper resolution, this ultimately served no purpose.