BREAKAWAY is the second of a couple of detective films starring the ubiquitous Tom Conway (brother of George Sanders) as a private eye who gets caught up in a double case involving a kidnapped woman and a special formula to combat metal fatigue that both the east and west are keen to get their hands on. Invariably the two cases are linked and with a aid of a few allies, Conway is soon hot on the trail of spies and the like.
Although it passes the time reasonably well, it's fair to say that BREAKWAY is an unremarkable British crime film. Other, even lower budgeted films did the whole private eye thing a lot better, for example the two Toff films made with John Bentley. Conway does have some basic charisma as the lead but he's getting on a bit here and he looks every inch his age.
The supporting cast is as interesting as ever for a British B-production. Honor Blackman is dolled up to look particularly glamorous - probably as glamorous as she ever looked, at least until GOLDFINGER. Michael Balfour contributes one of his patented 'buddy of the lead' role and has some good comic moments. American star John Colicos plays pretty much the same role as he did in the same year's PASSPORT TO TREASON, and boxer Freddie Mills is the bartender. There's also a nice cameo for Arthur Lowe. BREAKAWAY features a handful of action scenes including fist fights and one decently-portrayed car accident, but it's slim pickings for this particular genre.
Although it passes the time reasonably well, it's fair to say that BREAKWAY is an unremarkable British crime film. Other, even lower budgeted films did the whole private eye thing a lot better, for example the two Toff films made with John Bentley. Conway does have some basic charisma as the lead but he's getting on a bit here and he looks every inch his age.
The supporting cast is as interesting as ever for a British B-production. Honor Blackman is dolled up to look particularly glamorous - probably as glamorous as she ever looked, at least until GOLDFINGER. Michael Balfour contributes one of his patented 'buddy of the lead' role and has some good comic moments. American star John Colicos plays pretty much the same role as he did in the same year's PASSPORT TO TREASON, and boxer Freddie Mills is the bartender. There's also a nice cameo for Arthur Lowe. BREAKAWAY features a handful of action scenes including fist fights and one decently-portrayed car accident, but it's slim pickings for this particular genre.